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Minutes - 01/21/1997 Workshop " '!I COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES January 21, 1997 TAPE READING 0001 DATE. COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, CITY OF WOODBURN, COUNTY OF MARION, STATE OF OREGON, JANUARY 21, 1997. 0003 CONVENED. The Council met in a workshop session at 7:10 p.m. with Mayor Kirksey presiding. The purpose of the workshop was to receive input from the Library Board and the Recreation and Park Board on program priorities for fiscal year 1997-98. ROLL CALL. Mayor Councilor Councilor Councilor Councilor Councilor Councilor Kirksey Chadwick Figley Hagenauer Jennings Pugh Sifuentez Present Absent Present Present Present Present Present Staff Present: City Administrator Childs, Park Director Holly, Library Director Sprauer, Finance Director Gillespie, Public Works Director, Community Development Director Goeckritz, City Recorder Tennant Library Board member present: Phyllis Bauer Park Board members present: Frank Anderson, Barbara Rappleyea Budget Committee members present: Barbara Lucas, Bruce Thomas, Flurry Stone, Tom West, David Vancil 0044 Mayor Kirksey welcomed the participants to this workshop and called for introductions of all individuals present at this meeting. 0092 OVERVIEW AND UPDATE OF MEASURE 47 ISSUES. Administrator Childs stated that the purpose of this meeting is threefold: (1) to share general philosophies; (2) receive input from the Boards and the general public; and (3) develop policy direction for staff in preparing the 1997-98 budget document. Following this meeting, the staff will evaluate the results of this meeting, prepare their respective budgets; if applicable, discuss budget proposal with their Board members; make any necessary budget modifications; submit budget to City Administrator for review and further modifications make take place; Administrator presents budget document to the Budget Committee for review; public hearing is held before the City Council; and the Council ultimately adopts the budget. The Budget Committee meetings have not been set as of this date, however, it is anticipated that the first meeting will be held around Page 1 - Council Workshop Meeting Minutes, January 21, 1997 " '_~d'~__~"",,,,",,,,,_,_~,,,,,__ ~ . COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES January 21, 1997 TAPE READING the middle of ApriL Hopefully, the legislature will be able to address some of the legislative issues involving Ballot Measure 47 in addition to giving cities a better idea as to whether or not any financial assistance will be forwarded to the cities for public safety or educational programs. The estimated loss in property tax revenue for City programs is $700,000 and this loss of revenue will have a definite impact on our budget. One issue that the Ballot Measure called for was the prioritization of public safety and education in receiving property tax dollars. Administrator Childs stated that, in our budget, public safety will take some cuts, however, we still need to prioritize this function within our budget. Personnel costs are the major expenditures within our funds that utilize property tax dollars as a portion of their annual revenues. Administrator Childs stated that he, along with several staff members, had attended a meeting presented by the Local Government Task Force earlier this month. At this meeting, the following (1) the Measure 5 distinction should be preserved with this new measure and we should not be in competition with the schools; (2) the 3 % property tax increase can be overridden by a vote of the people; (3) the annual 3 % increase could easily be offset by depreciation of business property; (4) prioritization of public safety will be by tax code, therefore, cooperative measures with other taxing districts within are code are necessary (similar to the Tax Coordination process originally established under Ballot Measure 5 but on a smaller scale); and (5) Governor Kitzhaber's plan does not necessarily mesh with the Republican Party's outlook and it is unknown as to what the final result will be. COMMENTS FROM BOARD REPRESENTATIVES. 0669 Frank Anderson stated that both Recreation & Parks and the Library play a major role in our quality of life. The Recreation & Park Board feels that preventative programs are essential to maintaining He stated that 8 years ago, the youth soccer and basketball programs involved around 75 youths whereas those same programs now serve over 700 youths. In addition to these programs organized by the City's Recreation Department, there are other youth programs such as World soccer league and AAU basketbalL These programs make impressions not only on the elementary age youths but also on the middle age youths who are also in need of a program The Board is now working on a Comprehensive Plan and they are looking at new ideas which will improve overall parks program and maintain goals for the future. 0847 Phyllis Bauer expressed her opinion that the library operation should rank high for funding along with schools since the Library is an educational institutional for both students and adults. Within our library, circulation continues to increase and the library is very busy during the hours in which it is open to the public. The library is a location in which the patrons can keep updated on information utilizing new technology. Page 2 - Council Workshop Meeting Minutes, January 21, 1997 r.---'- . 111 . <<, 'I' COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES January 21, 1997 TAPE READING PUBLIC INPUT - MEASURE 47 FUNDING CONCERNS. Barbara Lucas questioned why funds designated for Centennial Park could not be spent on our existing parks to keep them maintained. Director Holly stated that it has been a long-time dream to develop Centennial Park and many financial commitments have been made by private donors and local organizations towards this project. The Board feels that there is an obligation on the part of the City to at least complete Phase I even though it will still be a financial challenge to fulfill this commitment. It was also noted that the new school is being built adjacent to Centennial Park and having another major park will provide some relief to Settlemier & Legion parks which are already heavily used by the community. 1100 Councilor Figley suggested that current programs be reviewed and, if possible, the City, School District, and/or County either share or takeover programs to prevent duplication of services whether it be in the Library, Parks, Public Safety, Building, Planning, etCH Working together may mean a financial savings to not only the City but other tax supported organizations within our area. David Vancil suggested that programs be prioritized and cutbacked or eliminated rather than reducing all of the existing programs on a prorata basis. Councilor Jennings stated that the City of Salem is proposing to no longer maintain their neighborhood parks and he suggested that the Board consider taking good care of our two major parks and letting the neighborhoods take care of their own park area. 1290 Flurry Stone suggested that the City look at fundamental changes in how we operate to see if our operations can be done differently and yet preserve the as many of the programs or services we currently provide to the community. Director Holly stated that the City has had an excellent working relationship with the School District. Additionally, the comprehensive study being conducted by our consultant will provide the City with more information on how the public views the programs being offered and this information will be available prior to the budget hearings. 1453 Preston Tack stated that he was in favor of Measure 47 since property assessment has continued to rise to a level in which Ballot Measure 5 no longer had any meaning. He sympathized with the Council and Committees for the task they now need to addressed and he suggested that a graphical display of how growth has taken place in the various areas of the last few years in order to determine what areas might need correction. Jane Kanz stated that the Park facilities benefit our local citizens and tourists and suggested that they be kept in the best standing as possible. 1533 Councilor Figley requested that the Advisory Boards offer concrete proposals to the Department Heads before the budget is presented to the Budget Committee. It is Page 3 - Council Workshop Meeting Minutes, January 21, 1997 ,.- _. ~ . .-'h COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES January 21, 1997 TAPE READING necessary for the Budget Committee and Council to know the priority of programs and costs associated with those programs. She suggested that additional meetings be held with staff who do not have an Advisory Board in order to better understand their individual programs so that discussions during the budget hearings will be more constructive. Councilor Jennings also requested that information be provided on programs as it relates to such issues as cost savings if reduced or eliminated, program benefits, and modifications to programs in order to preserve the programs. Councilor Pugh reiterated the need to prioritize programs which will ultimately be used by the Council in setting policies. Mayor Kirksey expressed her opinion that the City should preserve as many of the Youth programs as possible versus senior programs excluding RSVP and Dial-a-Ride. 1767 Frank Anderson stated that the Boards and Council need to be creative and need to be careful in determining which programs are reduced or eliminated so that voters are not antagonized. The Park Board will endeavor to bring back not only a priority list of programs but also ways in which to better cooperate with the School District and ways to achieve alternative funding. 1878 Administrator Childs stated that he would be giving some direction to each Department Head as to how much property tax revenue they should budget for in 1997-98. He will be presenting a balanced budget to the Budget Committee in April and the Committee will then have an opportunity to make changes to the proposed budget. Further discussion was held regarding the need to maintain and create partnerships with the school district, governmental agencies, and, if applicable, private enterprise. Personnel costs need to be thoroughly evaluated in regards to the number of full-time equivalent positions regardless of the department. Alternative funding options were briefly discussed such as increasing fees. It was noted that increasing fees to offset loss of property tax support cannot be done under the new law without a vote of the people and it requires voter approval of at least 50% of the total eligible voters. Other areas of discussion included creation of a city-wide motor pool for repairs and consolidation of all equipment used by field personnel for the purpose of sharing currently owned equipment. Contracting out services for facilities maintenance was also suggested as a means of reducing budgetary expenses. Another suggestion was to improve the computer system to allow for city-wide networking, E-mail, Internet, etc., which tends to reduce the number of personnel in the clerical field since managers now do more of their own work on their computers. Finance Director Gillespie stated that the Data Processing Strategic Plan should be completed by the end of February. This report should give us a better understanding of what tools are needed to have the work done in an efficient manner knowing that there will be less personnel to accomplish the work. Page 4 - Council Workshop Meeting Minutes, January 21, 1997 "T....-. "._~,-,~----,"",,"'''-'''-----","~ COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES January 21, 1997 TAPE READING 2881 Library Director Sprauer reminded the group that cutting hours does not always have a direct correlation to the number of personnel needed to operate the Library since the number of patrons continues to increase and even with a reduced number of hours we will probably see the same number of patrons only within a shorter period of time. Tape 2 It was suggested that the City look at other sources of revenues such as grants or donations from local organizations to help offset costs for capital equipment or projects. Volunteers will also continue to play an important part in providing staff assistance within the Library and Parks. Administrator Childs questioned if the group was interested in having a tour of the city facilities and operations prior to budget deliberations to better understand why the City is a labor intensive operation. Barbara Lucas read her letter into the record suggesting that funding for the archaeological dig be funded through other organizations, the planning fees be increased so that developers pay for services they receive, and Traffic Impact Fees (TIF) be increased to 100% of the allowable amount. Preston Tack also suggested that the City look at the feasibility of privatization of some of the services and/or programs offered by the City. Brief discussion was held on the status of the basement expansion project. Administrator Childs stated that there is a technical problem with the elevator not being ADA accessible and this project has been placed on hold until the elevator issue is clarified and more accurate costs for this project are available. 0636 In regards to increasing planning fees, Mayor Kirksey suggested that consideration be given to placing a measure on the May 1997 balloL The filing deadline with the County Elections office is March 20th. The Council requested that more detailed information be provided on this subject such as the current planning fee structure, comparables to other local jurisdictions, time spent on development proposals, and who all would be affected by this fee. 1096 The meeting concluded at 9:15 p.m.. ATTEST \~~ \~ Mary Te ant, Recorder City of Woodburn, Oregon APPROVED'l~'r~A~~A--7 NANCY 'A. KI . EY, MAYOR / Page 5 - Council Workshop Meeting Minutes, January 21, 1997 .. .