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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/20/1992 Meeting e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall Apri 1 20, 1992 5:30 p.m. PRESENT: Shawn Boles, Ruth Bascom, Randy MacDonald, Roger Rutan, Kaye Robinette, Paul Nicholson, Bobby Green, Debra Ehrman (5:45). The special meeting of the Eugene City Council was called to order by His Honor Mayor Jeff Miller. I. FIESTA LATINA CINCO DE MAYO FUNDING REQUEST e Mr. Boles directed attention to the staff analysis of the funding request from Fiesta Latina for a street fair celebrating Cinco De Mayo. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Mr. Green, that the City Council authorize funding in the amount of $915 to support a street fair celebration of Cinco De Mayo. Mr. Robinette clarified that this is a one-time request and is appropriate to be supported through contingency funding. The motion passed unanimously (7:0). Ms. Ehrman arrived (5:45 p.m.). II. WORK SESSION: EUGENE DECISIONS--DEVELOPMENT OF DETAILED STRATEGIES Mayor Miller allowed Tony Mounts, Financial Management Services Director, to facilitate the meeting. Mr. Mounts stated that there are 30 components that have neither been included nor excluded from council discussion to date. These components are listed according to their financial impact. Mr. MacDonald brought up the strategic value of developing a third option, in addition to strategies A and B. Mayor Miller said that a combination of the two strategies would be beneficial. Mr. Boles said that one strategy offers across-the-board budget reductions and the other consists of efficiency strategies. Mr. MacDonald concluded that it would be more effective to provide two strategies to the public. Mr. Mounts said that items in the "excluded" category consist of items that the council does not wish to discuss further at this stage in the process. These items received at least six votes from the council to exclude from further discussion. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. Apri 1 20, 1992 Page 1 e e e Glen Svendsen, Financial Analyst, said that the balance of components that received at least six votes to include in strategies is $994,000, which does not include $800,000 on which the City Manager needs council direction. Ms. Bascom brought up the issue of City employee compensation. Mr. Nicholson viewed this as a serious public relations problem. Linda Norris, Assistant City Manager, said that this issue could be addressed as part of a long-term process, which would thoroughly examine the compensation packages of City employees. Mr. Nicholson pointed out that some of the components have addressed this issue already, such as implementing volunteer programs. He stated that the public expressed a desire for reduction in middle management and compensation. Mr. Boles thought that the council should make decisions about middle management and compensation based on sustainability criteria, and not on public relations issues. He said that staff is already examining management issues for the long term and one consequence may be to eliminate some middle management positions. Mr. Boles also pointed out that the study conducted by the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce indicates that direct compensation for City employees is within the norm but that benefits packages may be questionable. Mr. MacDonald said that any study done on compensation should be comprehensive. He said that market issue8dn~edb~oehQmiRQdinBdain a rational, realistic manner. Mayor Miller suggested that this item be tabled. Mr. Nicholson reiterated his concern that these two issues were those most frequently suggested by the public for reduction. He said that until the council examines them, it will not gain community support for the packages it presents. Mayor Miller stated that the study conducted by the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce addresses these issues in depth. Mr. Nicholson said that the public is not aware of that study. Ms. Bascom wondered why staff could not provide figures which specify reductions which would occur with compensa- tion reductions. Mr. Mounts said that there are too many underlying assump- tions that would affect those figures. A. ComDonent 143. Recreation Division Mr. Robinette wondered if there would be a different reaction to a 50 percent membership fee at the lower levels, such as level 1. Mr. Mounts said that it made more sense to examine individual customer bases for certain service around human services, community planning, and swimming pools. In response to a question from Mr. Robinette, Mr. Mounts said that the number of people who use more than one service is not known at this time and difficult to measure. The council agreed, by consensus, to exclude this item. B. ComDonent 146. Community Centers Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Mr. MacDonald, to accept alterna- tive 1 of component 146, which proposes to increase fees to recover 53 percent of full costs over two to three years. Mr. Mounts said that there were some analyses of alternatives which were inadvertently excluded from the packet. Mr. Rutan wondered how alternative 1 MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 20, 1992 Page 2 e e e would affect programs. Mr. Mounts said that based on market assessments, alternative 1 is sustainable. He said that fee increases would be phased in over a two- to three-year period to achieve 53 percent cost recovery. Mr. Robinette wondered why the recovery of net direct cost for level 1 is not 53 percent of $1.25 million. Mr. Mounts said that the total cost is $1.775 million. He said that the net cost does not reflect revenue. Mr. Mounts clarified that new adult membership fees would be approximately $40. The motion passed, 7:1 (Ms. Ehrman opposed). Ms. Ehrman expressed concern about providing services to community members based only on their ability to pay. Mr. Boles emphasized that the community and the council will have an opportunity to re-examine these decisions. Mr. MacDonald agreed with Ms. Ehrman, and stated that this issue should be presented to the community. C. Component 117. DeveloDment Services Mr. MacDonald moved, seconded by Mr. Rutan, to include compo- nent 117, which recovers the full cost of building permits/plan check development services through user fees. Mr. MacDonald emphasized that this issue needs to be presented before the community. Mr. Nicholson requested more information on how the component would affect the users. Mr. Ehrman said that the council had already voted to proceed with this option. Mr. Rutan said that Mr. Nicholson's question may have no answer. He said that as a result of this option, some development projects may not occur. For other developments, it may result in significant hardships. He said, however, that extensive analysis has already been done and community input has been received. He thought that it was time for the council to make very difficult value judgments. He pointed out that there will be citizens opposed to every strategy that the council suggests. Mr. Nicholson stressed that there is a difference between unfortunate options and unjust options. Ms. Ehrman pointed out that the public has expressed support for this option. The motion passed 7:1 (Mr. Nicholson opposed). D. Comoonent 115 AI. Statistical Samoling Mr. Nicholson was unsure whether this option applied only to licensed profes- sionals, such as electricians and plumbers. He said that if so, it should not be so restrictive. Mr. Mounts said that a different license is required to inspect work than to perform work. Abe Farkas, Director of the Planning and Development Division, stated that licensed professionals must be certified by the State. Mr. Nicholson stated that it seems more appropriate to address this issue on a legislative level. He suggested that the component be discussed in the near future, with the intent on ratifying the concept and removing State barriers. Ms. Ehrman expressed a desire to ascertain how those MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 20, 1992 Page 3 . affected would view that option. Mr. Nicholson proposed that the council place this item in its current agenda of possible ways to reduce costs, recognizing there are external costs. The council agreed, by consensus, to place this item in the "deferred" category, as Mr. Nicholson suggested. E. ComDonent 119. Transfer and/or Privatize Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Robinette, to include compo- nent 119, which would transfer building permit/plan checking programs to the County and/or State and/or privatize functions. Mayor Miller stated that the County is considering this option. Mr. Mounts said that this program would achieve a short-term savings of approximately $350,000. Mr. Boles pointed out that the savings achieved with this option overlap with savings from other related options. Mr. Robinette suggested that this component be placed under Strategy B. Mr. Nicholson expressed concern about the County adding functions without losing money. He wondered whether the City could enforce a sustainable level without transferring responsibility to the County. Mr. Rutan noted that in the past when building permits were not the City's responsibility, the system was inefficient and more time consuming. e Ms. Ehrman left the meeting (6:40). Mr. Boles said that the council must address the issue of reducing the burden on the general fund by providing services differently. The motion passed unanimously, (7:0). F. ComDonent 118A. Critical Fire and life Safety and Aesthetic Issues The council agreed, by consensus, to add this component to the "deferred" category for consideration at another time. G. ComDonent 139. Turf and Ground Mayor Miller wondered if there was a way to naturalize the turf so as to reduce the maintenance required. Mr. MacDonald pointed out that sometimes ecosystem management requires more intensive management which is sometimes more expensive. He added that that does not apply in this area, however, and expressed a preference to keep areas as natural as possible. Mr. Green asked whether there was any consideration given to the cooperation of school districts and the affected properties. Mr. Mounts said that was not addressed in this analysis. Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Mr. Robinette, to include compo- nent 139, which would reduce the general fund support of turf and ground park maintenance by 50 percent. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 20, 1992 Page 4 e Mayor Miller expressed opposition to the motion. Mr. Boles also expressed opposition to the motion, stating that the component is not sustainable. Mr. MacDonald suggested reducing general fund support by a figure less than 50 percent. Mr. Boles suggested that staff analyze this component more thorough- ly, in order to provide more reduction options. The motion failed unanimously (7:0). The council agreed to add this component to the "deferred" list, directing staff to investigate other options. Mr. Boles stated that he is opposed to including components 154 and 156. He then left the meeting (6:50 p.m.). H. Comoonent 154. Swimming Pools Mr. Robinette moved, seconded by Mr. Green, to adopt staff alternative 1, which would achieve a 40 percent cost recovery of full net General Fund support, plus provide a low-income scholarship program. The motion passed 6:1 (Mr. Boles op- posed). e I. Comoonent 156. Swimming Pools In response to a question from Mr. Robinette, Mr. Mounts said that this component differs from 154 in that it only decreases instructional swimming programs and the general fund would continue to support open swim time only. The council agreed, by consensus, to exclude this component. Mr. Boles returned to the meeting (6:55). J. Component 152 A. Senior Centers The council agreed, by consensus, to exclude component 152 A, which would have established a more substantial annual membership fee for senior centers in order to recover 50 percent of the net cost. K. Components 131 and 134. Street Trees Ms. Bascom commented that it was difficult for Eugene Water and Electric Board to achieve standards similar to those of the City of Eugene. She was opposed to contracting for street tree maintenance. She added that the expertise of City employees cannot be improved and funding should not be reduced. Mr. Mounts said that the original strategy was to reduce general fund support and contract for services. He said that park tree trimming is funded through the general fund. Mr. Mounts said that this component would save approximately $360,000 of the general fund if those services were then supported by the road fund. Mr. MacDonald said that when the council voted on component 131, it voted based on a certain level of impact. However, now that that level has changed, as indicated by staff, he suggested that the council reconsider e MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. Aprn 20, 1992 Page 5 e e e component 131 concurrently with 134. He said that component 131 should be in one strategy and 134A in the other. Mayor Miller moved, seconded by Mr. Green, to include component 131, which would investigate savings regarding maintenance of street trees resulting from addressing life safety issues, as the highest priority, and support the program entirely with Road Funds. Mr. Rutan pointed out that this motion would not reduce the amount of mainte- nance on street trees. However, it would reduce additional programs funded with the Road Fund. Mr. Nicholson said that this decision is contingent on decisions about revenues. Mr. MacDonald said that if this motion passes, the public should have information regarding the effects it would have on programs supported by the Road Fund. Mr. Rutan said that all the components will result in some programs not being funded. He said that neither the council nor staff know exactly which ones. The motion failed, 4:3 (Ms. Bascom, Mr. Nicholson, and Mr. Rutan in support). The council agreed, by consensus, to place component 131 in the "deferred" category. Regarding component 134, Mr. Mounts said that this would reduce program funding from $450,000 to $225,000. Mayor Miller clarified that $450,000 is the total cost from the general fund from all street tree maintenance. Mr. Mounts stated that all the street tree crews are Public Works employees. Mr. MacDonald thought that $225,000 would not be adequate to support life safety issues and would not be sustainable. The council agreed, by consensus, to exclude component 134. Mayor Miller expressed a desire to place component 131 in Strategy A. Mr. MacDonald said that he would require more information that certain services supported by the Road Fund would be continued. l. ComDonent 144 and 145. Athletic Services Mr. Mounts said that the alternative to 145A is component 144A. In response to a question from Mr. Green, Mr. Mounts said that approximately 70 percent of the fees from field use would fund youth athletic programs. Mr. Mounts added that component 144A addresses only adult athletic programs. Mr. MacDonald moved, seconded by Mr. Nicholson, to include component 144A, alternative 1, which would increase fees for all adult athletic programs, over a two-three year period to recover 73 percent of full cost ($101,000). In response to a question from Mr. Rutan, Mr. Mounts said that it is possible to achieve alternative 1 of component 144A. Mr. Rutan expressed concern that MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 20, 1992 Page 6 - this component may result in a decrease in participants, and asked whether staff had accounted for this in its analysis. Mr. Mounts responded affirma- tively, and added that some programs may have to engage in sponsorship activities if this component is implemented. Mr. Boles shared Mr. Rutan's concern regarding drop-out rates. The motion failed, 5:2 (Mr. MacDonald and Mr. Boles opposed). M. Component 136. landscaoinq/Park Trees/Hendricks Park Mr. Robinette moved, seconded by Mr. MacDonald, to include component 136, which would reduce the general fund support of landscaping and maintenance of park trees by $200,000. Mr. Boles expressed opposition to the motion, and stated that the parks are a great asset to the community. Ms. Ehrman returned to the meeting (7:40 p.m.). Mr. Robinette pointed out that the total budget for this program is $650,000, and that eliminating only $200,000 would not be debilitating. He said that there would be funding to provide maintenance in addition to that needed on an emergency basis. The motion failed, 5:3 (Mr. Boles, Mr. Nicholson, Ms. Ehrman opposed). e N. Revisit Comoonent 134A The council revisited component 134A, in order to allow Ms. Ehrman to vote on the issue. She-was in favor of including the component, thereby the component had enough votes to be placed in the strategies. O. Comoonent 148. Outdoor/Environmental Proqrams Mayor Miller moved, seconded by Mr. Rutan, to include component 148, which would eliminate the outdoor/environmental program. The motion failed, 5:3 (Ms. Bascom, Mr. Rutan, Mr. Green in support). Mr. MacDonald moved, seconded by Mayor Miller, to include component 149, alternative 1, which would increase fees for adult programs over three to five years to recover 100 percent of the costs. The motion passed, 6:2 (Mr. Boles and Mr. Nicholson opposed). P. Comoonent 128. land Use Permits e MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 20, 1992 Page 7 - e e Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Mr. MacDonald, to include compo- nent 128, which would increase the cost recovery to 50 percent by increasing user fees. In response to a question from Mr. MacDonald, Mr. Mounts said that this analysis was based on projected future levels of activity. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Q. ComDonent 108. Hult Center Ms. Bascom stressed that the Cultural Affairs Commission specifically request- ed that performance rental rates for local art groups be excluded from this component. The council had a brief discussion regarding this matter. Mr. Robinette moved, seconded by Mr. Rutan, to include compo- nent 108, alternative 4. The motion failed 6:2 (Mr. Robinette and Mr. Green in support). Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Mr. Rutan, to include component 108, alternative 2. Several council members thought that the increase in rental rates for rehears- al days from nothing to $520 was too drastic. The motion passed, 6:2 (Mr. Green and Ms. Ehrman opposed). R. Comoonent 137A. Riverside Park/Owens Rose Garden Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Rutan to include component 137A, which would reduce general fund support by $69,127 and incorporate the use of volunteers. Mr. MacDonald expressed a concern that this component would not sustain the program. Mr. Nicholson wondered whether volunteers would be able to make up for the funding reductions. Ms. Bascom expressed concern about programs in Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services being considered "not as important" as other programs. Mr. Nicholson shared her concern. However, he stated that utilization of volunteer efforts to decrease the burden on the general fund was among the most frequent of public responses. The motion passed, 6:2 (Mr. Boles and Mr. MacDonald opposed). S. ComDonent 124. Business Licensing Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Mr. Nicholson to include component 124, which would reduce the service level and reduce the budget by 50 percent by allowing some businesses to become self- regulating. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 20, 1992 Page 8 e e e T. Comoonent 130. Metro Partnershio Contract Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Mr. Nicholson, to include compo- nent 130, which would eliminate general fund support for the Metro partnership contract, and thus eliminate the contract. Mayor Miller opposed the motion, stating that the partnership must exist. Ms. Ehrman said that the services that that partnership performs will still have to be done. Mr. Nicholson maintained that the services can be allocated to other departments and agencies. Mr. Robinette stated that he supports the motion, but also supports the partnership. He said that if the City is unhappy with the partnership, it should be changed. Mr. MacDonald stated that component 122B should be under Strategy B and component 130 should be under Strategy A. Mr. Rutan said that the Metro Partnership is the link between the private and public sectors. He commended the Metro Partnership's past services, but also commented that presently, there seems to be a shift in the organization to supporting businesses. Mr. MacDonald amended the motion, seconded by Mr. Robinette, to place component 130 in Strategy A and component 122B in Strate- gy B. The motion passed, 6:2 (Mr. Rutan and Mr. Green op- posed). U. Comoonent 140. Animal Control Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Robinette, to include compo- nent 140, which would reduce animal control enforcement servic- es. Mr. Boles said that this component is not sustainable because it affects police services. Mr. Nicholson suggested that the City subsidize nonprofit agencies. Mr. Rutan pointed out that the City is currently competing with private veterinarians. The motion passed, 7:1 (Mr. MacDonald opposed). V. Comoonent 125. Business licensing The council agreed, by consensus, to add thi s component to the "defer" category. W. Comoonent l12A. Sister Cities Mayor Miller stated that the Sister Cities program requires the Mayor's connection. He said the program can be privatized, but it will still involve the City Manager's Office. The council agreed, by consensus, to exclude the component. X. Comoonents 101. 107. 115. 111. and 121 MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 20, 1992 Page 9 . e e The council agreed, by consensus, to exclude components 101, 107, Ill, and 121, and to add component 115 to the "defer" category. The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. '" Re. s%ect. '.. "l~i ted~' 7~~~ ~__ ..~" ~. Micheal Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Kathy Varner) mncc 042092 flf. MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 20, 1992 Page 10