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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/13/1988 Meeting (2) e M I NUT E S City Council Work Session McNutt Room--City Hall June 13, 1988 11: 30 a. m. PRESENT: Emily Schue, Roger Rutan, Freeman Holmer, Ruth Bascom, Jeffrey Miller, Cynthia Wooten, Rob Bennett, Debra Ehrman. The work session of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon was called to order by His Honor Mayor Brian B. Obie. 1. GENERAL BUSINESS Ms. Schue said Mr. Gleason suggested that the council send a representative to the bankruptcy hearing to suggest that any leftover endowment money be spent for Sunset cemetery maintenance rather than attorney fees. She asked if the council felt comfortable with this. Mr. Bennett said it does not seem that the council has enough information to take a position. He said he understood that there are a lot of creditors, not just attorneys, competing e for remaining payables. City Manager Mike Gleason said there is a Bancroft claim against it and attorneys will be directly affected by the settlement. He suggested that the bankruptcy court pay for maintenance as opposed to legal fees. He said this would put the attorneys in a bind, but the City has a lien on the sales of the property. Mayor Obie said the City has resisted this on past similar situations. Responding to Mr. Holmer's query, Mr. Gleason said there are about three other cemeteries that face similar circumstances. Mr. Miller said he was wondering about the precedent. He said the real issue is what is the appropriate role of the council and what are the financial implications. He said that since the hearing is tomorrow, there is no way to obtain more information before the hearing. Mayor Obie said it does not seem there is enough support for council involvement. Ms. Wooten said she was approached by a Downtown Commissioner who asked if there would be a conflict of interest with Downtown Commission applicants being members of Eugene Downtown, Inc, City Attorney Tim Sercombe said there would be no conflict in terms of gross disability. He said it would be a case by case determination of a conflict as opposed to a disability from offi ce. Mr. Bennett asked if Mr. Sercombe is looking into the issue raised by Ms. Wooten about a possible conflict of interest in Mr. Bennett serving on the DEI board. Mr. Sercombe said he is not looking into the issue, but someone - MINUTES--City Council Work Session June 13, 1988 Page 1 may be doing so. Ms, Wooten said she thought the issue has already been e resolved. Mr. Sercombe said there is not a gross disability there, but it would depend on the frequency of incidents when Mr. Bennett would have to excuse himself from the case at hand. Ms. Wooten said that both she and Ms. Ehrman feel strongly about the lack of service for AIDS victims in Eugene. She said they were convinced by Sacred Heart Hospital that it is essential that there be a minimal amount of support to SHANTI. Ms. Wooten said they requested Mr. Porter to consider giving $5,000 to SHANTI from the Civic Emergency Fund. She noted that $2,000 was given to the Food for Lane County last week. Ms. Wooten said the organization has trained volunteers without public support. She said that $5,000 is a small amount and she will bring the issue to the full council on June 15. Ms. Schue asked how much is in the Civic Emergency Fund. Finance Director Warren Wong said there is $3,000 left in this year1s, but another $5,000 will be added as of July 1, 1988. Mr. Miller said he feels it is appropriate to allocate $3,000 this fiscal year and $2,000 next fiscal year, but he would not like to set a precedent. He added that the time should be taken to examine the broader issues and have AIDS support become a part of the Joint Social Services Fund at some point. Ms. Wooten said they are working with the Lane County Health Department to create a semi-official AIDS committee to look at available resources and solutions so as not to continue on a "band-aid" basis. Mayor Obie said the AIDS dilemma seems like a high priority and asked why it is not funded in the e Joint Social Services Fund. Ms. Wooten said a report is due out in a couple of months, but the council has the votes on the joint fund to include that and create an interagency working group to ensure support in the future. She said the committee had other higher ranking priorities. Mayor Obie suggested that $5,000 be given as a direct grant. Ms. Wooten said the City should look at ways to create priorities for its own money because it is giving eight times as much as other contributors in General Fund cash and needs to look at reshaping the Joint Fund. Mr. Bennett said he does not like this "going around" the Joint Social Services Fund. He said no one ever feels good coming out of those meetings because there is never enough money. He said it may be appropriate to change the process. Mr. Rutan agreed and said he is not sure what the City's $5,000 would do. He said the Joint Social Services people have to look at a myriad of concerns within the full spectrum of health care and AIDS is not the only one in need, Mr, Holmer said there is no information offered on the total budget or what the $5,000 would be for. He said the City first should examine where the appropriate responsibility lies. Mr. Bennett said he would not vote in favor because all the requesting groups believe they face an emergency and he would have a difficult time looking at someone who was not funded. He said the process should be addressed before the money is granted. Ms. Ehrman disagreed with Mr. Bennett's use of the phrase "going around the Joint Social Services system." She said support for AIDS was a close vote of the 20-member advisory committee which makes the recommendations, but needs e MINUTES--City Council Work Session June 13, 1988 Page 2 have increased and contributions have not. She added that the $5,000 would e only be a subsidy and would not provide continued support. Ms. Schue said it seems clear to her that the council needs a session on the whole Social Services funding relationship with Springfield and Lane County. She suggested that a meeting be scheduled to review the whole area. Ms. Wooten said SHANTI has a $50,000 budget and trained volunteers who are supervised by members of the medical community on the board. She said that people are dying now and it would take too long for the process to be considered. Ms. Bascom said that of the 20 requests for funding, 12 were reduced and five dropped. She said she sees the AIDS issue like the issue of childcare; both are large and unaddressed. Ms. Schue said Ms. Wooten has made a strong case and a year would be too long to wait, but she still feels a little more information is needed about SHANTI before an allocation can be made. Mayor Obie asked if a majority would be willing to look at a proposal in good fa ith. The vote split 4:4, and Mayor Obie cast the deciding vote to look at a proposal. The council agreed to examine who SHANTI is and the nature of the emergency. Mr. Holmer asked for a representative of the majority side of the advisory committee to provide some rationale behind the Joint Social Services decision. Mayor Obie asked when the council should review the Joint Social Services Fund. Ms. Bascom said there is an on-going effort such as working with the United Way, and the council should hold a session after the report ;s completed. Budget Committee member Kappy Eaton said that preliminary data is already out and the final report is due in about six weeks. She said the whole Human Services Planning Project can be updated at that time. Mayor e Obie said the review of the Joint Social Services Fund will be held in September and scheduled around the final report. II. FY89 BUDGET Mayor Obie asked Mr. Gleason for a preface to his report. Mr. Gleason said he submitted the requested report in rank order. He said the budget coordinators for each department examined their worksheets for such administrative items as travel/training, extra help, materials/supplies, and conferences. He said these line-item cuts are departmental as well as general city. He noted that the items beyond number 17 would have substantial impact and advised that the council should give these real consideration. Ms. Wooten said she is still unsure why the cutting of the Fleet Fund Reserve is not an appropriate idea. Ms. Schue pointed out that the City agreed to pay the fund back from the unappropriated ending balance. Mr. Miller said taking $141,000 out of either the Fleet Fund or the Unappropriated balance does not solve the future budget problems. He said a long-term view is needed and he would like to see a consensus of reducing $141,000 in General Fund dollars. Mayor Obie said he was concerned with keeping pace with the process. He said reductions need to be made to e MINUTES--City Council Work Session June 13, 1988 Page 3 -- --- on-going programs so that problems are not compounded next year and the City e can manage its way through the process. Ms. Schue said that staff advised the council, and the council agreed, to cut programs and not make incremental cuts. She said they did make $640,000 in program cuts and there is $850,000 in unfunded capital projects, but there is nothing on the list that is pressing. She said they have the unappropriated fund balance every year and it seems the Budget Committee's proposals are a good compromise considering all the factors they had to deal with. Mayor Obie reminded the council that compromises were needed in order to solve the issues by the end of the budget year. Mr. Holmer commended Mr. Rutan for his list of possible places to address. He said he disapproves of taking $141,000 from the Fleet Fund and of deferring capital investments. He said this all stems from the fact that the council and Budget Committee did not follow through on the process that it created in November, Mr. Holmer said if it wants to count on new revenues, it must agree on what the new revenues would be. He said that personnel costs are over-budgeted and there is leeway for one-time cuts if need be, but he hopes the council can reconfirm its commitment to the strategic financial plan. Mr. Rutan said as the management team of the City, we need to balance the budget without added revenues. He agreed that $640,000 in cuts have been made but said that is not enough. Mr. Rutan said the $3 million in capital projects is from all funds, but only $1.2 million is from the General Fund. He said the unappropriated ending fund balance is important for the Moody's e bond ratings and other financial evaluations. Mr. Rutan said he is reluctantly willing to compromise to pass the budget by July 1, but feels his recommendations are worthy of discussion. Ms. Ehrman asked to be refreshed on the status of the Officers-in-the-Schools program, Mr. Gleason said the City has $45,000 that has not been deleted from the program, but the council wanted to review the program before any cuts were made and a proposal will be forthcoming. Ms, Schue said there were some good ideas in Mr. Rutan's proposal, but time is running out. She said a subcommittee could be appointed to review such items as transportation and travel for all departments. She added that $1.44 million from the State gas tax fund goes to capital improvements in the City. Mr. Bennett said he is willing to support the Budget Committee recommendation in some way, but is not in favor on doing it through a line-item process. He said he thinks it is highly inappropriate to appoint a subcommittee to administrate the City and feels policy direction is what is important for the council to be concerned with because of their lack of expertise in line-item budgeting. Mr. Bennett added that he thought it was beneficial to have the alJdit procedure in other areas and to see compari sons from other simi larly sized cities. Mayor Obie asked about next year's process, Mr. Rutan said that is the real question. He said this year's process came out with a few misunderstandings, and he would like to start looking at the next five years now. Ms. Bascom e MINUTES--City Council Work Session June 13, 1988 Page 4 agreed that this year's process had its flaws and needs to be altered. She e said the six years may be too long and she would favor giving the City Manager more discretion. Ms. Wooten agreed that the councilors are policy makers and should not be concerned with specific line-items, but she said they cannot have the City Manager do their dirty work for them. She agreed that the process needs to be altered and program cuts for the future need to be examined. Ms. Wooten suggested that a committee be formed to address new revenues and look at both the short- and long-term implications. Ms. Schue said the council has not laid out guidelines for staff, and part of the problem is that the public does not realize the City is hard-pressed. Mr. Miller said if there are no meaningful reductions for addbacks, the problems will compound themselves. He said he feels the staff has the resources to creatively get the job done. Mr. Holmer suggested a refinement of the original priority list. He suggested that the City Manager make recommendations about program priorities. Mr. Rutan said that type of process is valid and can be done with the proposals he offered. He said the staff is capable and it is important that the council give that direction with thought and knowledge of the budget process. Ms. Ehrman agreed that she would like a more detailed list. She said one ballot may not work for all five years and may need to be updated. Ms. Ehrman said that all of Mr. Rutan's cuts, with the exception of personnel, have already been scrutinized by the budget process either this year or in recent years. Mr. Miller said one thing that is needed is public hearings on the strategic e policy that would help make things easier and clearer. Mayor Obie agreed that a public hearing should be held early on. Mr. Holmer said programs have to be addressed rather than line-items. He said that transportation policy addresses a line-item but also addresses a policy decision. Mayor Obie said that would be a part of administrative financial policy, something the council did not include this year. He asked when the process should start. Ms. Wooten suggested a refinement of program areas and said there is a need to cross-tabulate administrative and overhead costs to the programs. Ms. Wooten said it is not appropriate that the council cannot touch administrative overhead categories. Mr. Rutan said he would like to hear a presentation on new revenues, but added that the old list has not changed for a long time. Ms. Schue suggested that the council has been thinking too small. She said that gas tax money and County funding for urban transition are showing up in this year's budget. She said there is a need for a general discussion about new revenues. She added that the council should have input into what appears on the prioritization list. Ms. Bascom said that it may be possible to restructure some programs such as the Neighborhood Program, rather than cutting them. Mayor Obie said the council should begin work on next year's process shortly after July 1. Ms, Wooten said it is inappropriate to "accuse" the Budget Committee of changing budget priorities, She said the relationship with the e MINUTES--City Council Work Session June 13, 1988 Page 5 Budget Committee is unclear and needs to be addressed. e Mr. Bennett asked why time is being spent discussing line-item issues, instead of program cuts. Mayor Obie said line item cuts can solve part of the problems. Ms, Ehrman suggested that a combination of the two would be helpful. Mr. Holmer said savings on line-item cuts may save a program. He said line-items cannot be ignored as long as the focus is kept on policy. Ms. Bascom asked if it is appropriate to have the Mayor as part of the Budget Committee. Mr, Rutan said consideration of that would be part of the overall review of the Budget Committee process, but he feels the inclusion of the Mayor is legitimate. Mayor Obie said the Mayor may have a unique role of making recommendations to the Budget Committee. Mr, Bennett said he is not willing to be second guessed by the Budget Committee, although it is appropriate to have public input up front. Mr. Rutan said that when next year's budget is discussed, he wants to make sure the council is willing to take a strong stand and positive distinctive action to balance the budget. Ms. Wooten agreed the council must stand up to budget cuts but added that the problem is that councilors do not agree on what programs should be cut. Ms. Ehrman underscored the fact that the public must remember that the City system is based on a volunteer council and Mayor who have other commitments and who are not budget analysts. Ms. Bascom asked if the council has discredited the ASA approach. Mayor Obie said if Mr. Gleason wants to recommend using that approach, he can. e Mayor Obie summarized the consensus views of the council today: 1) include council input on making a more elaborate list of priorities; 2) include the recommendations by the City Manager on program cuts; 3) deal with administrative financial policies; 4) include a refined ballot each year; 5) include potential phasing and restructuring of programs; and 6) include consideration of the Mayor's role in the budget process. Mayor Obie said that it seems that new revenue is not in the cards for the near future. He said he has received feedback from all sectors of the community who are not willing to consider new revenues. Mr. Holmer said there are some things that may warrant going to the people for specific requests for revenue, such as a new library, but not as a general source of new revenue. Mr. Rutan said he would not rule out new revenue opportunities such as the opportunity to expand the base of the gas tax or receive more road tax money, but he does not want to see increases in the cost of government. Ms. Schue advised councilors to read the list of capital projects the City is planning to do; she said many of them are not that urgent, Mr. Bennett said there is a procedure of prioritizing capital projects; he said they move up the list and are a long-term investment to the community. Ms. Wooten said the City cannot continue to defer capital projects if new revenues are not examined. Mayor Obie asked Mr. Wong for a list of the capital items not on that list. e MINUTES--City Council Work Session June 13, 1988 Page 6 e Mayor Obie adjourned the meeting at 1:16 p.m. Recorded by John Makosky Respectfully submitted by ~~~'~1 Micheal G. Gleason City Manager e e MINUTES--City Council Work Session June 13, 1988 Page 7