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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - CC - 1996.06.05500 CITY OF BURLINGAME CITY COUNCIL STUDY MEETING Wednesday, June 5,1996 City Hall Conference Room A Mayor Bud Harrison convened the study session of the City Council on the above date in Conference Room A at7:02 p.m. CouNclI- pRESENT: HlRRlsoN, JANNEy, KNIGttt, O'MeuoNv, StwnLLI Srepp PRpspNr:ARGyRns, BpcrER, CoLptrla,N, ERgecHBR, EscorrmR, MALFATTI, P.tLtrlrR, RtcHuoNn, ScuwRntz, TowNS, Wllltlrus OrgBns PRESENT: Penr & RgCneeUON COIT,TvTISSIONERS DON ROSPRTS AND EO LENTOS; CHeN{ssR or CoUUERCE REpRESENTATTvES AND Gponcprrp NevI-oR 1. Rsvrpw Pnopospo 1996-97 Buocpr eNo CepneI- Pnocner\,I Budget Chairman Rosalie O'Mahony asked the city manager to give an overview of the budget. The city manager indicated that the budget was "balanced but very plain vanilla." The general fund budget is up 3.3 % over the prior year; water, sewer, and waste enterprises are up .6%; and capital improvements decreased 62%. The total budget is down 19.6% from the prior year as a result of the large decrease in capital improvements. The two major reasons for the plain vanilla nature of the budget are (1) the limited revenue growth at 1.7 % due primarily to the phase out of PERS surplus funds, and (2) the Prop 62 "risk" that the city faces as a result of the Guardino decision. This places 2% of our existing hotel tax at risk. The capital improvement program is recommended to return to a pay-as-you-go basis. There are seventeen projects totaling $6.5 million proposed. Over 57% of these are funded from the general fund and 2% hotel tax reserve. The budget chairman then asked Mayor Harrison to review the police department budget. Council reviewed the program status of the police department including the proposal to contract out school crossing guards. Mayor Harrison noted for the benefit of past council member Frank Pagliaro that only three new cars are proposed for next year. Councilwoman Knight asked about the status of booking fees and the reduction in number of moving violations. Chief Palmer indicated that we are still paying booking fees and the reduced citations are a result of numerous factors. Councilwoman Janney next reviewed the fire department budget and the workload statistics. She noted that while the number of fires seems to fluctuate, we have an increasing number of emergency medical calls. The proposed budget increases only I .7 % ilrc to the retirement of a number of employees and new employees coming in with a lower salary range. There is also a reduced training cost as a result of completing much of our paramedic training. Councilwoman Knight asked about the amount of activity serving the Millbrae Gardens area due to the overpass construction. The fire chief noted there has been very minor impact; and now that the overpass is partially completed, we are only responding to structural calls. Councilwoman Knight also noted that there is a proposal that County Emergency Services be I I 501 transferred to the sheriff department. The city manager indicated this is still under review as a result of the county budget problems. It was noted that existing staff will continue the BEST program in Burlingame. Councilwoman Knight next reviewed the numerous departments for which she was assigned. These included public works, city hall, and park and recreation. She asked that next year some of this responsibility be divided up to other council members. She reviewed the city attorney's budget, finance, planning, government buildings, building inspection, city engineer, street cleaning, weed abatement, sewer, wastewater treatment plant, water budget, park, and recreation. She discussed with the park department the possibility of increased cleaning of the landscaping in city parking lots and the division of labor between public works and parks. Mayor Harrison noted that he discussed with the sheriff's department the possibility of increased use of a program similar to work furlough crews for cleaning. Staff will check into this. Councilwoman Knight also questioned who's responsibility it is for the newsrack ordinance. It was also noted that recreation revenue figures are very strong. After this discussion, council indicated no questions in any of the budgets reviewed by Councilwoman Knight. Councilman Spinelli reviewed the library budget. He noted that we will still be in temporary quarters for all of 1996-97. There's been an increase in budget as a result of employee benefit increases which are outside the control of the library department; but the overall budget is still at2.9% and looks very good. Councilwoman Knight commented on a recent newspaper article about the problems in financing libraries county-wide. Vice Mayor O'Mahony asked that we review the circulation numbers at the Easton branch. The city librarian noted that while circulation at the main library is down slightly as a result of the temporary quarters, there has been an increase at the Easton branch but additional hours would be a cost factor. Budget chair O'Mahony expressed her appreciation for the strong team effort between the department heads and finance director in preparation of the budget. Council next turned to the capital improvement program. Chair O'Mahony noted that the proposed capital improvement program is divided into three parts. The first includes projects which will be funded in 1996-97; second group is tentatively proposed for funding in 1997-98; and the third category is future projects of which funding is uncertain or unknown. The city manager reviewed the proposed projects for 1996-97. The major funding is for the landfill closure at $2 million. For 1997-98, the $3 million California Drive sewer interceptor will be the major project. We are returning to approximately normal level of capital expenditures at the $6-to-7 million level since the library financing has been completed. The next item council discussed was corlmunity group funding. Mayor Harrison noted that the Poplar ReCare had requested $1,000 less than the council approved in the prior year. Other than that, he recommended that we fund all of the community group requests at the same level as last year. This would include the following: Arthritis Foundation CALL-Primrose . Center for Domestic Violence Prevention Center for Independence of Disabled Crisis Center Friends for Youth $ 2,000. 2,000 . 2,000. 1,500 . 1,500 . . .750 502 Human Investment Project Mission Hospice Poplar ReCare . . Project Read . Project FOCYS Project Reach/PARCA Samaritan House Shelter Network of San Mateo County Winter Shelter 1,500 1,000 2,000 3,000 3,500 1,500 3,000 2,000 7,000 This would be a total of $34,250; a $1,000 amount would be held in contingency Council next turned to community promotion budget. Councilwoman Knight questioned what the city was receiving for the $5,000 contribution to SAMCEDA. Mayor Harrison reviewed the brainstorming that had been accomplished by major industry and business leaders and that they are hoping to move to the implementation phase of various projects. Councilman Spinelli noted that he would support continued funding for one year. Vice Mayor O'Mahony said she would like to see something tangible very soon. Councilwoman Knight indicated that she had been very troubled by the recent stand of the Chamber of Commerce and felt they are taking a more political position on issues such as BART using public funds. She indicated she would have difficulty supporting any increase and may wish to reduce the funding for this group. Councilman Spinelli noted the Chamber is becoming more proactive and this is possibly in conflict with the city, and he was uncomfortable by some of the action. Councilwoman Janney noted that we need a strong business community to support the quality of life in this area. She strongly supported continued funding for the Chamber. Mayor Harrison read a letter from Chamber prior president Jerry Winges outlining the position of the Chamber of Commerce and reviewed the contract for services that we have had with that group. He supported the Chamber. Vice Mayor O'Mahony indicated she had a very strong personal feeling on a previous survey regarding BART taken by the Chamber of Commerce, but she could not see withholding funding from the group. It was the consensus of the council that funding would be as recommended in the budget. The city manager noted there had been a change in status of the shuttle grant program since the budget has been prepared. Our current plans call for using existing grant surplus funds for the remainder of the surlmer while we apply for additional funds for next year. Budget chair O'Mahony felt that we needed to review the contributions of some of the business associations towards this project and whether the Broadway BID was getting their $5,000 worth. Councilwoman Knight asked about the current status of the business associations on Burlingame Avenue and Broadway. Chamber of Commerce representative Georgette Naylor commented they are under the Chamber's activities. Council concluded its review of the budget and the city manager noted we will go to public hearing and adoption on July 1. 2. Rrvmw PRopospo CovrsNerroN or PIRK eNn REcReerroN DgpeRrlrlnNrs Council next reviewed the proposed combination of the park and recreation departments. The manager gave a brief introduction. He noted that because of the retirement of the park director, we have studied various alternatives and proposed the organization of a single 50J department under a park and recreation director plus a recreation and a park superintendent. There are also numerous other changes in job responsibilities and classifications as recommended. Council supported for the proposed combination and indicated it should move forward. Mayor Harrison next commented on a letter we had received from the park and recreation commission concerning additional funding for a teen coordinator. Mayor Harrison questioned the timing of this additional budget request due to employee negotiations. Vice Mayor O'Mahony agreed and questioned the percent of Burlingame residents which attend Burlingame high school. The recreation director commented he understands this to be about 40%. Councilwoman Knight agreed with Mayor Harrison and Vice Mayor O'Mahony. She had a lengthy discussion with the recreation director and superintendent concerning teen activities. She supported the Burlingame Together group and felt we needed to look at the market to define the programming that might be necessary in this area. Councilman Spinelli concurred. CouNcrr- ColrunNrs There were none. Fnou rus FlooR Park and Recreation Commissioner Don Roberts discussed the commission's recorlmendation for additional staffing for teen activities. He felt it was very important for the city to address the needs of teens. He stated that to do this we needed to provide staffing in that area. Commissioner Ed Larios agreed with Commissioner Roberts, stating that we needed to act now or possibly have to wait two years. He felt the $15,000 for a part-time coordinator could evolve into a model program. Based on questions from council, recreation director Williams gave a brief review of the status of teen programs in other cities. It was the consensus of the council that no action be taken at this time, and we should see what happens with the efforts of the Burlingame Together group. AorouRNIraBNr The meeting adjourned at 8:52 pm. v Judith A. Malfatti City Clerk I