CC - Item 4B - Minutes of April 24, 2012 MINUTES OF THE ROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING
APRIL 24,2012
6:00 PM
The Special Meeting of the Rosemead City Council was called to order by Mayor Armenta at 6:00 p.m. in
the Rosemead City Council Chamber located at 8838 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California.
PRESENT: Mayor Armenta, Mayor Pro Tern Low, Council Members Alarcon zlak,Ly
STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Allred, City Attorney Richman, Assisa,t City Manager Hawkesworth,
Community Development Director Ramirez, Director of Parks and Recreatioontgomery-Scott, Public
Works Director Marcarello, and City Clerk Molleda.
1. PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE ,
t
There were none.
2. MATTERS FROM CITY MANAGER&BTAFF
A. 2012-13 Budget Developmen o._.shop
Recommendation: That the City Council pro ide c• me `t l-nd •irection regarding,development of
the 2012-2013 Fiscal Yea s,B,dget. ` ��
City Manager Allred adv'sed,the Cityl p aincil City that the City started out with a significant deficit of$3.6 million
and staff has been workin ue, hard to reduce that defic Council will see the progress as staff goes
through its presentation. " . . .
p Assistant .:t anager aewo r sented the staff report and PowerPoint indicating the reduction of
the defi,' as related to act ber of on time cost savings the City was able to take advantage of in the
curren earn regards to theiff's Depa,;ment contract. The State also took away all of the City's
Vehicle Licene Fees to balancte States budget last year. The City has seen increases in insurance
costs and the , ysold some Pro osition A money this year, which is not an on-going revenue stream. He
advised that comr�gknto the budget year, the City had about$1 million shortfall. Unfortunately, the State
Legislature eliminates del opment and the Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund which was
approximately$2 million ofannual ongoing revenue that the Community Development Commission and the
City used to fund programs. In addition, the federal government took$607,000 away from the City for
CDBG and HOME Fund programs. .
Mr. Hawkesworth advised the City Council that the General Fund Budget is usually about$16 million plus
the CDBG and Redevelopment Agency funds bringing it to approximately$20 million. However, with the
state eliminating CDBG and Redevelopment, revenues took a much larger cut than 10%.
Rosemead City Council and the Successor Agency to the .
Rosemead Community Development Commission Joint Meeting
Minutes of April 24, 2012'
Page 1 of ITEM NO. 4.B
Mr. Hawkesworth told Council about the steps taken to solve the deficit noting the City Manager eliminated
all of the vacant positions, which were the part-time Community Development Director, part-time City
Engineer, part-time Code Officer, Senior Planner,Administrative Intern in the City Manager's office and a
part-time Animal Control Technician. All of these positions are currently vacant, will be eliminated in the
current budget and will not be funded. Staff also proposed the elimination of the Redevelopment programs
since the City no longer has redevelopment funds coming in. He advised the City Council of the programs
staff is proposing to eliminate, as well as a number of public works consulting contracts related to
redevelopment projects. The elimination of these,programs and vacant positions saved the City about
$340,000.
advised the Council that when staff prepared the Request for Proposals o anitation services an upfront
payment of$1.6 million was included, with the idea that$800,000 would be `sedhis fiscal year and next
fiscal year to help balance the budget until the actual franchise fee begins in the el er part of 2013. The
City Council also authorized staff to offer a retirement incente progr.--am in which five siltime staff
members took advantage of, eliminating those positions. The increased work will be absorbed by the
existing staff providing a net savings of over$400,000.. 4 `;
Mr. Hawkesworth informed Council the City's Chief of Police a d*•f reviewed Public Safety and
eliminated the contract for one of the provisional officers leaving on o,robation officer dedicated to
Rosemead. Also, staff reduced the number of CSO shifts. As a resul t'e City only has two overlapping
shifts per day rather than three. He explained t e sty.is.still providing the evetof service, it merely
targeted the level of service toward the peak hours to bras ist in the fie d where it is needed most. The
Public Safety Center has been closed on Saturday to w -in tr ;.however, Code Enforcement Officers
are still working on Saturdays providing code enforce ,ent, animal con'01, and related services.
The Assistant City Manage. advised City Council that the City was fortunate to receive some revenue
increases based on existing These fees do not takeinto account any fee increases that Council has
to take action on. He discussed;prose'rrtaxes are projected to go up by about$5,500. Sales tax and
sales tax-in-li u,w iichfis the sales ax the City rece ves from property tax, is projected to go up by
$227,000 I City ssVet icle Licens- Fees will go up by about$100,000 based on cost of living and
popula io: numbers. The Bus'ness Licens ees will increase by$35,000 as a result of the new business
license e- tructure that was emented last year.
He reminded co" nc I that Rosene#ad High School and San Gabriel High School are using the Aquatic
Center for athletics d they have contributed some funds toward the maintenance of,the facility. Those
funds, combined with evennue the City receives from rental of the facility, is projected to be about
$30,000 next year. Heaso mentioned that building permits are going up and staff is cautiously optimistic
that the City will receive funds from building permits.
Mr. Hawkesworth summarized stating the City started with a proposed deficit of$3.6 million, and with the
deductions implemented and the revenue increases, the deficit is reduced to $1.25 million.
Mr. Hawkesworth advised Council of the reductions Staff is proposing in their departments to reduce the
remaining deficit.
Rosemead City Council and the Successor Agency to the
Rosemead Community Development Commission Joint Meeting
Minutes of April 24, 2012
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General City Proposals
Mr. Hawkesworth explained that staff developed an amoeba organization plan which requires all fulltime
staff to work special events and other designated events that are important in the community, allowing them
to use flex time during the week so the City doesn't incur any overtime costs. The projected savings is
approximately$40,000.
Staff has talked to the school districts who seem to be open to transferring the crossing guards program to
the Districts. The Districts would assume the responsibility of employment a dtaepagement of the
program. The City would transfer all of the equipment and help to provideAni al training, in addition to
allocating $25,000 to each school district to help fund the crossing guards. T is would save the City
$45,000.
Staff is proposing to publish the historic sketch book in electro `re orm in lieu of pn tingsince printing is
very expensive especially in light of the low volume. This would save the City$7,000:, n ddition staff is
proposing the elimination of printing the City calendar. et--,
Staff has also been able to allocate several of the City's vehic es- a i•men and technology costs to some
of the City's special revenue funds saving the General Fund about$3&,000. He also informed the Council
that staff is actively negotiating with the employees and he thinks the,City will save about$100,000 through
various benefit changes. �q
Public Works Proposals
Mr. Hawkesworth advised s " sireoommending engineering services related to traffic surveys and studies
be reviewed in-house to dleermine whether it is necessary to contract the services to the traffic engineer.
This would be a significant saV ngs. ( addition, staff will only call Traffic Commission meetings if there are
items for the agenda. VW*,
iltetagirw
` >
In responsefta COuficir ember Lyr s questions, Mr Hawkesworth and Mr.Allred explained that the in-
house Assistant Civil Engn‘eiwould assist in reviewing some of these issues so.the City won't have to pay
the cantt1t*. raffic Engineer:
Next, Mr. Haw esworth advised'that staff is proposing to reduce the frequency of custodial services for low
profile City facilit a such as park:restrooms, which would save the City about$22,000. Staff can check the
facilities to see if the Ieed to be cleaned.
Mayor Armenta expressed'concerns about this because most of the complaints are regarding the restroom
facilities needing to be cleaned. She suggested keeping a log of when they are cleaned to protect staff and
the City. Mr. Marcarello advised staff would also check on the facilities to make sure the contractor is doing
what it is supposed to.
Assistant City Manager Hawkesworth informed Council that staff intends to make sure costs are allocated
to special revenue funds, where appropriate, especially relative to vehicle\maintenance. Following an
analysis, staff realized a fair amount of these costs can be allocated to special revenue. In addition, staff is
Rosemead City Council and the Successor Agency to the
Rosemead Community Development Commission Joint Meeting
Minutes ofApril24, 2012
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proposing to sell the City's Proposition A fund balance to the City of Industry which is expected to generate
approximately$500,000 in General Fund revenues.
Parks and Recreation Proposals
Mr. Hawkesworth reviewed Parks and Recreation's proposed budget for 2012-2013. He advised staff is
reducing the reliance on part-time staffing for facilities, programs and events using the amoeba
organizational structure for many of the programs. This includes getting most of the recreation coordinators
and supervisors out in the field, actually working in the programs, rather than;jtt` supervising.
City Manager Allred added this proposal will reduce the number of pa -t. employees City-wide and
particularly in the Parks and Recreation Department.. He indicated that since 0 9,the City has reduced
the fulltime workforce by about 20%. With regard to Parks and R creation pa rk-t a employees, the
reduction of the number of employees will be far greater than 20%
Parks and Recreation Director Montgomery-Scott confirmed for Mayor AArmenta that pa -time employees
are actually phasing themselves out and the City is not filling ose positrons.
Mr. Hawkesworth explained staff was proposing to shift the after school program to a drop-in based
program from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm for all of the`facilities and parks acid reduce the program to three sites.
The program will be staffed based on the number of'cildren so there is .nadequate ratio of staff to
students. By doing this, the City wil save approximately$96,0, OQ . Mr. Montgomery-Scott confirmed there is
no fee associated with the after school program, the Cityabsorbs.the a tire cost. He also confirmed the
hours can be shifted from 2:0'.,pm,to 4:00 pm on Wed esdays to meet the needs of the children.
Mr. Hawkesworth noted staff is proposing to eliminate pad part-time staff on senior excursions. He
explained there are a numa-r,of senior who volunteer at e Senior Center and staff will utilize them to
volunteer as the group leaden theses ours d they get to go for free. Mayor Armenta asked what the
liability of the Cit. ill be should` ormething happennd4and there is no Rosemead staff on the excursion.
City Attorney Richman responded tha 4 hpart.cipants sign waivers before they attend these events. The
waiver ii:be clear that there is o representative from City staff and that they understand they are
assuming all rills and liability. ' $'at will punt the City in the same position as having a staff person present
and may actualgreduce the liabily. Further discussion on the logistics of using a volunteer group leader
continued.
Mr. Hawkesworth adviseA be City Council that the El Monte Union High School District is also facing
severe budget cuts and they drastically reduced the number of adult school classes they offer. The District
is removing all adult school classes from offsite facilities which will include those held at the Rosemead
Community Center. The City will save money because the staff members won't be setting up and tearing
down the classrooms throughout the day and staff is looking at replacing some of the classrooms with the
City's contract class programs.
Mr. Hawkesworth informed Council staff will consolidate the senior lunch program to one.location at the
Garvey Center. He stressed there would be no reduction in the number of meals available. He reminded
Rosemead City Council and the Successor Agency to the
Rosemead Community Development Commission Joint Meeting
Minutes of April 24, 2012
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the City Council that this was previously discussed at a council meeting and this is attributable to the loss of
CDBG funds.
Mr. Hawkesworth informed Council the number of weekend event rentals for senior clubs will be reduced
from three to one per year.
He advised Council that due to decline in enrollment in the pre-school program and the City's poor cost
recovery, staff proposes to reduce the pre-school program to two sites, the Garvey Center and the
Rosemead Community Center and begin offering program options so that rather han operating a five day a
week morning class and a five day a week afternoon class staff would offer>a three day a week or two day
a week class to give the parents additional options. Staff is also proposingtto increase the fees to recover
all costs. He noted the City has four pre-school teachers and they would all'remain in the classroom so
none of the preschool teachers would be laid off or shifted out of teaciing. �
Finally, Mr. Hawkesworth proposed not scheduling, or eliminating, certain special event He suggested
the 5K/10K fun walk, the Christmas performance, and ra oling be eliminated. Staff suggests the City
continue holding Breakfast with Santa, the tree lighting ceremony, and4sone of the holiday/ents. The
elimination of some of these events will save the City approxmatel:y.$23,500. Staff is also proposing to
adjust fees to cover costs of various items, which will be on the regular Council agenda. He advised that
Consolidated Disposal has already committed tordonate$4,000 to the Concerts in the Park. He advised
the total cost for Concerts in the Park is $20,000:an d staff is working toward having Consolidated Disposal
sponsor all of the concerts. He advised the City currently spends $16,000ear on the Lunar New Year
event. He advised staff is preparing to issue a Request for Proposal identifying an event provider which
would significantly reduce the subsidy. Staff is maintaining $5,000 i tf e budget since there may be some
nominal costs to the community,but staff believes there are some event providers who will be able to do
this with little or no cost to the City.
Mr. Hawkesworth advised the thetOty,CobtaiLlhANyith everything discussed this evening if the budget is
approved, the remaining deficit will be less than $100 000. So it is reduced from $1.2 million to less than
$100,000 He-noted that<staff will continue to evaluate the programs and opportunities to completely
eliminateththe operating deficit and staff wilt continue to monitor State legislation and the November ballot
measures for potential negative effects on the�City's budget.
City Managerer A l e advised Council that staff was pretty close to balancing the Budget. There will not be a
surplus, if the budgettgets balanced. He cautioned the City Council that the budget does not include legal
fees for litigation so those.would>have to come from the General Fund reserves during the course of the
year. :41?
Mr. Hawkesworth presented the list of Capital Improvement Projects. He said staff will be lobbying the
Oversight Board to allow the City to use the$7 million in Redevelopment Bond Proceeds. Those projects
would be above and beyond the projects in the budget. He advised the majority of the CIP projects for
Fiscal Year 2012-2013 are funded through grants and special revenues.
Mayor Pro Tern Low thanked staff for working so hard to balance the Budget noting the tough time
everyone is going through. She suggested reducing the City Council's salary. She felt that Council has
Rosemead City Council and the Successor Agency to the
Rosemead Community Development Commission Joint Meeting
Minutes of April 24, 2012
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asked all of the employees who work for the City to reduce their budgets and she felt Council should take a
stand and reduce the Council's salary by 10%.
Mayor Pro Tem Low also asked if there was any way to save some money in travel expenses as part of the
Budget crisis.
City Manager Allred stated the actual Budget document will include details on travel that Council may want
to address. Staff has already made some reductions in that area.
Thereafter followed a lengthy discussion regarding what other cities were doing with°their travel budgets
9Y 9
and each Council member individually being cautious. No direction was e
Council Member Ly also thanked staff for this project noting it was very;difficult. .e also asked the cost to
run an election. Mr. Hawkesworth advised that approximately;$60 X00.0 is budget as regular election.
Council Member Ly suggested the City look at running an a0-mail ballot election to sa e' oney. Mayor
Armenta disagreed because the people love to go to the polls to vote, specially the natu Ii ed citizens
that never had that opportunity in their home country to go to�ih- loll a dtactually place the allot in the
box.
Council Member Clark commended staff for t eir card work and also or;eeeping the reserve at$15 million.
She addressed Mayor Pro Tem Low's statemer a o .reducing Councill's salary stating the State has
already reduced Council's salary by eliminating reeve opi en which is a 1.`4% reduction., She also agreed
with the Assistant City Manager about the travel budget .
Thereafter followed a discussion`among Council regaVng reducing Councils salary and consolidating the
City's elections with the Co .nty in an!' ort to save money.
� Agit. 1,
3. ADJOURNMENT
There bei o o fu e °e s`:ess to come before the City Council Mayor Armenta adjourned the meeting at
7:10 p he next regular y Council meting is scheduled to take place on April 24, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.
d
$a
Carol Cowley, Interim City Clerk
iy
APPROVED:
Sandra Armenta, Mayor
Rosemead City Council and the Successor Agency to the
Rosemead Community Development Commission Joint Meeting
Minutes of April 24, 2012
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