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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-06-26MINUTES Council Chamber, Civic Center Huntington Beach, California Monday, June 26, 1978 A tape recording of this meeting is on file in the City Clerk's Office Mayor Shenkman called the adjourned regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach to order at 7:30 P.M. ROLL CALL Present: MacAllister, Bailey, Mandic, Siebert,..Shenkman Absent: Pattinson, Thomas The Pledge of Allegiance was Ted by Councilman !i0ert. Mayor Shenkman announced that this was the day and hour set for a public hearing for the purpose of soliciting input on the City Budget for the Fiscal year 1978-79 and on the use of General Revenue funds as part of the budget.. The proposed General Fund budget is $27,210,827 and the proposed General Revenue Shartng Fundbudget is $2,.170,823 to City departments for the following items: DEPARTMENT AMOUNT City Administrator ..........................$ 34,452 City Treasurer...... ..... 1,710 Personnel ................................... 330 Finance..................................... 2,620 Library ..................................... 112,000 Recreation & Parks .......................... 142,564 Fire ........................................ 118,198 Police ...................................... 195,344 Harbors & Beaches ........................... 135,700 Public Works ................................ 290,371 $1,033,289 The City Clerk informed Council that all legal requirements for publication and posting had been met and that she had received no communications or written protests on the matter. Mayor Shenkman declared the hearing opeYi. BUDGET STATEMENT Mayor Shenkman presented background information as to how the City Council and staff were attempting to prepare the City 's 1978/79 budget, particularly in light of the Jarvis. initiative. He informed the public that the usual three minutes allocatedtoeach speaker would be extended to four minutes. 122 Page #2 - Council Minutes - 6/26/78 He also stated that the Council would meet on June 27th and June 28th, 1978 at 7:30 P.M. in order to further review the City's budget and make final recommenda- tions, but that there would be no further public input on the matter. Mike Deacon, Administrative Aide to Assemblyman Dennis Mangers was introduced by Mayor Shenkman to speak on the matter. Mike Deacon addressed Council, pre- senting them with a transmittal of recommendations regarding the proposed budget. He referred to the 2.8 million dollars referred to in the newspapers and reminded Council that confirmation of this figure had not been received as yet from Sacra- mento. It was his recommendation that Council not consider expenditure of the funds anticipated from the State at this time. He also informed Council that the State was attempting to prepare a formula for distribution of the funds. Eric Garland, City, addressed Council regarding a petition submitted in February, 1977 regarding construction of a block wall in the vicinity of Yorktown Avenue and Bridgeport Drive. He stated that the matter came before Council on February 6, 1978 in order to be incorporated into the City's budget and that the sidewalks were to be funded from Gas Tax money but that no provision was made for the block wall. The City Administrator responded that this was correct and that due to the Jarvis initiative, the project was not implemented. Mr. Garland inquired of Council why he had not been notified of the situation. Mayor Shenkman directed the Director of Public Works to meet with Mr. Garland and clarify the matter. Sally Tunstall, City, addressed Council. regArdigg-expenditure of City funds, citing various instances where .she believe& they had been wasted. She was not in favor of hiring another attorney for the City. In conclusion, Mrs. Tunstall suggested that other means be sought to conserve funds other than imposing a user's fee of $6.00 per home upon the community. John S. Cole, City, addressed Council with regard to the 'Meals on Wheels' pro- gram and stated that he would not like to see the service terminated or turned over to some other agency. Thomas J. Barone, City addressed Council and spoke in support of the 'Meals on Wheels' program. He stated that he was a volunteer on the program and receives 15¢ per mile but if necessary in order to keep the program operating, would con- tinue with no compensation. Melanie_ Manning, City, addressed Council and spoke in favor of the City's Library Annexes to remain open. She urged Council to consider other new uses for volunteer workers and suggested that a fee of 25� per book would be totally unacceptable. She stated that a $1.00 per year fee for a membership card would be more feasible. Sharon Andrews, City, addressed Council stating that she was concerned regarding The Senior Outreach Transportation program and elaborated on the services rendered, stating that this program had assisted senior citizens both mentally and physi- cally and urged that the program continue to be maintained. Ben Borcorman, City, addressed Council and expressed his dissatisfaction.with the expenditure of funds and priorities of the City. He also expressed his dissatis- faction with Council. 1 t1 Page #3 - Council Minutes - 6/26/78 Dan Bridges, City, addressed Council and expressed his concern regarding the adverse publicity which had been accorded Council. He also spoke regard- ing proposed cuts to the budget, discussing those with which he was not in agreement and suggesting other cuts which he would recommend. He suggested that it was not efficient for the City to employ its own crew of tree trimmers and that an outside agency be considered. Mr. Bridges stated that he would favor City employees being included in the Social Security System. Harold D. Subnick, City, addressed Council and expressed his concern as to just where the priorities of the City lie. He did not believe that the July 4th Parade should supersede other priorities. Leslie J. Ross, City, addressed Council and urged Council to respond to the suggestions and recommendations of citizens. Mr. Ross spoke of funds which could be raised and proposed cuts to the City's budget which he believed could be made. He made several suggestions of raising various fees and suggested that Council regard State aide as a 'one-shot windfall'. In conclusion, Mr. Ross urged Council not to make any cuts to the Police Depart- ment. GeorgeB_. Arnold, City, addressed Council''and' made several suggestions of ways by which he believed the City could produce more revenue. He was not in favor of reducing the Police Department. Mr. Arnold was also of the opinion that the Bolsa Chica area could be developed to bring more revenue to the City. George E. Arnold addressed Council and stated that he did not believe the City had a need for a Public Relations' Officer. He was also not in favor of the number of lifeguards employed by the City and made various other sug- gestions. Paul Burton, City, addressed Council and distributed a copy of a recreational magazine and spoke to Council regarding Adventure Playground. He stated his belief that the Recreation & Parks Department offered excellent programs and urged Council to consider their continuance. Mr. Burton pointed out that a considerable amount of 'volunteer time' had been spent in maintaining these . programs, which greatly benefited the children. Lynne Ross, City, addressed Council and named several department heads whom she believed were a credit to the City and stated that she hoped that the City would be able to retain people of this calibre. Mrs. Ross stated that she interpreted the 'spirit of Jarvis' in two sets of informal petitions listing approximately 1,323 signatures favoring continuance of the helicopter program to be presented to Council, which she read to Council. She stated it was necessary to the safety of the City to maintain the Police helicopter program as offered at present, as also were the Police and Fire Departments. Mrs. Ross read from a letter written by Judge John H. Wyatt, Jr., West Orange County Municipal Court favoring the helicopter program. Clancy Yoder, City, addressed Council and stated his disappointment that Councilman Pattinson was not and had not been present for consideration of the City's budget. He believed that Council should consider consolidating the payroll departments into one payroll office. Mr. Yoder made several other suggestions for Council's consideration relating to cut -backs in spending. 124 Page #4 - Council Minutes - 6/26/78 As President of Mariner's Cove, Mr. Yoder stated, referring to the proposed use tax, that they were self-supporting and pay for their own garbage disposal, maintain their own streets, pay for their own street lights, that they have a security gate and seldom use the City street for parking. He suggested that should the proposed user fee go into effect, Council make special consideration of complexes such as Mariner's Cove, which are self-supporting. Another suggestion which Mr. Yoder made to Council was that he believed the library should be supported by the citi- zens who use it. Doug Elson, Director of the Huntington Beach Community Clinic, addressed Council regarding the clinic. He stated that the clinic sees over 1,000 medical patients each month and many other people receive counseling. He urged Council to continue supporting the clinic, especially since revenue -sharing funds from the County seem to be in jeopardy. The City contributes $300 a month in support of the Clinic. Mark Porter, President of the home Council, addressed Council and stated that he believed Proposition 13 mandated a reduction in the size of government. He referred to remarks made earlier in the meeting by.Sally Tunstall, with which he concurred. Mr. Porter made several suggestions and recommendations to Council regarding expenditure of revenues. He believed the City Clerk's office without expansion, maintained good service to the City in relation to the growth of the City and the volume of records passing through the office. Mr. Porter stated that he believed there was a tendency of staff to put monies in the.General Fund and not use them for the services for which they were intended. He believed there were some neces- sary programs and services which should be offered to the public, such as the 'Meals on Wheels' program, and urged Council to carefully consider such priori- ties in considering the budget. Dave Garofalo, City, addressed Council regarding the City's response to the services needed within the City which in the past be believed to have been adequate. Mr. Garofalo suggested that Council consider making investments on behalf of the City which would prove beneficial some time in the future. He believed that attempts to 'lump sum' and 'general tax' the homeowner would be a mistake on the part of the City. Various suggestions were made to Council with regard to renovation of the downtown area of the City. Steve Kane, City, addressed Council and stated that he had supported the Jarvis initiative as a means to reduce wasteful government spending: He urged Council to protect the 'Meals on Wheels' program, the Senior Citizens' Transportation program, the Police Department, Fire Department, Paramedics and the Helicopter programs. Mr. Kane stated that he was also in support of the 4th of July Parade, but did not approve of the new attorney which the City had recently appointed to the Attorney's office. In conclusion, he urged Council to consider the senior citizens and support their needs and the needs of all citizens, when reviewing the budget. Dr. Ralph Sauer addressed Council and cited many of the services which the City had provided in the past to himself and his family, of which he was appreciative. He also stated his support of the new City Attorney, Gail Hutton. With regard to personnel lay-off, Ur. Bauer urged Council to consider.alternatives. He elab- orated on many of the services provided by the City which, in his opinion, made life 'worth living', and which he hoped would be continued in the future. In conclusion, he urged Council to cut the budget level 10% and he believed that consequently the City would be in good shape. 'I. Page #5 - Council Minutes - 6/26/78 1 Pat Boucher addressed Council and stated that she was the wife of a City employee. Mrs. Boucher complimented all City employees and also the Fire and Police Deaprtments, however, she stated her disapproval of taxpayers' money being being spent on education of City employees to further their personal goals. Jean Cardinal addressed Council and stated that she and her husband had lived in the City 24 years. She spoke in favor of the City recreational programs, of which her family of five children had availed themselves and greatly benefited in the past. She had worked for the City recreational program and also as a noon supervisor in the Huntington Beach Union High School district and was aware of the value that such a program offered to high school and college students. She urged Council to consider maintain- ing a complete and comprehensive recreational program for the City. Theresa Riley, City, addressed Council and expressed her disapproval of the recent hiring of an employee to the City Attorney's office. She stated that she has been a volunteer worker at the Main Street library for the past three years and in her opinion, a fee of $5.00 would be too much for 50% of the people who need to use the library. She suggested that a $1.00 limit be put on any proposed charges for the use of the library. Ed Zschoche, City, addressed Council regarding the management audit. He recommended that capital expense be re-evaluated. Mr. Zschoche believed that the Warner Avenue Fire Station hours of operation could be reduced, rather than other fire stations, since he belived the Warner Avenue facility was located in a less densely populated area of the City. He referred to the Council's recent approval for the County to spend $26,000 on a dump for a sewer for boats and inquired why developers of the property were not required to install the sewer line during the course of development. Mr. Zschoche suggested that there should be some freeze on hiring and some strong direc- tion given in contract negotiations this year. In his opinion, employees should not be asked to forego their salaries since if there is an abundance of employees, or too many high salaries, the fault was not that of the employees. Don Dodge, City, addressed Council and stated that he would like to see a zero -base budget with reductions from the top. He urged an increase in trash fees and water fees, believing that property owners should pay for services rendered and suggested beach fees (in the form of parking meters). Mr. Dodge gave reasons why he believed the police helicopters could be better accommodated at Meadowlark Airport. He made several further suggestions to Council, including the elimination of crossing guards at a cost to the City. Sal Salomon, City, also Chairman of the City Special Events Committee, addressed Council and spoke in favor of the 4th of July Parade. He elabora-ced on the historic significance of the event and its benefit as a reminder to children of the Country's history. In conclusion, he concurred with Mr. Garofalo who had spoken earlier and suggested that revenue be derived from tourists to the City. Charlene Bauer, City, addressed Council and mentioned that her husband had addressed Council earlier regarding their appreciation of the services offered Page #6 - Council Minutes - 6/26/78 by the City to residents. She gave reasons why she believed the library should remain free to the public. Mrs. Bauer urged Council to also consider maintaining the recreational programs which in her opinion kept children from getting into mis- chief, and occupied many of the City's youth implementing the programs. Robert Wells addressed Council and stated that he had been a newsman in the past and covered many Council meetings. He believed the information which is printed by the press is gleaned from Mayors, City Attorneys, Finance officers, etc. and consequently may become misconstrued. Mr. Wells believed that the tax derived from one home was in an amount which would send one child to a good school for one year, and therefore, reasonable. He did not believe that there had been any 'rip-off' as had been suggested. With regard to the hiring of another City Attorney, Mr. Wells believed that with potential law suits in the amount of eleven million dollars, this action was justified. Referring to beach visitors to the City, he believed that ways could be found to derive revenue, citing in particular the southeast portion of the City where bicycle trails have been stenciled on the streets, which area is occupied by illegally parked ears. Glen Davison, City, addressed Council and stated that she had been hearing talk since February regarding the effect of Proposition 13 upon the City's budget. In her opinion, the City is completely and utterly confused. Assemblyman Mangers had, she stated, informed the City that he did not know how much money was coming, when it would be available and what 'strings' were attached. In her opinion, it was asking too much of Council and department heads to expect them to make esti- mates which would have such an impact on employees and citizens. She suggested that Council adopt an interim budget for a period of three to six months, whichever they wished, based on last year's. budget and take the time to find out how much money the ..City will be getting and also to study citizens' input. Ernie Gisler addressed Council and identified himself as being a farmer all his life from the valley, when the City was referred to as "Gospel Swamp" down in the flats, which has now been developed into homes. He strongly urged Council to consider approving the 4th of July Parade for this year. There being no one present to further speak on the matter the hearing was closed by the Mayor. Mayor Shenkman thanked the public for their input, to be considered before adopting a final budget. Councilwoman Bailey spoke with regard to her prior motion to cancel the 4th of July Parade. She stated that she had received many telephone calls to the effect that it would not be proper to approve the Parade when consideration is being given to eliminating summer programs and summer jobs. She suggested that had more thought been given to the matter, perhaps the parade could have been made self-supporting. In her opinion, the 4th of July Parade had developed originally as a community effort and she believed that it should have continued as such; that she was not in favor of spending $3,500 for other bands to be transported to the City of Huntington Beach for the function. She stated that she was not in favor of cancelling the fireworks show or the carnival because she believed that these functions might even bring revenue to the City. A motion was made by Bailey that the 4th of July Parade be canceled for this year and that the City consider community involvement as a means of conducting Parades which would be self-supporting. The motion failed for lack of a second. 127 Page #7 - Council Minutes - 6/26/78 RECESS - RECONVENE A recess of Council was called at 9:35 P.M. by Mayor Shenkman. The meeting was reconvened by the Mayor at 9:45 P.M. On motion by Siebert, second Mandic, Council adjourned the adjourned regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach to Tuesday, June 27, 1978 at 7:00 P.M. in the Council Chamber, Civic Center. The motion carried. ATTEST: Alicia M. Wentworth City Clerk By: Deputy Ci C erk 191 Alicia M. Wentworth City Clerk and ex-officio Clerk of the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach, California Deputy Ci Clerk Ron Shenkman Mayor 11N