HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 1981-05-13Mayor Gus Nicolopulos
Vice Mayor Roberta Cerri Teglia
Council:
Ronald G. Acosta
Mark N. Addiego
Emanuele N. Damonte
MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL
Municipal Services Building,
Community Room
May 13, 1981
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Government Code 54956 of the State
of California, that the City Council of the City of South San Francisco will hold
a Special Meeting on Wednesday, May 13, 1981, at 5:00 p.m., in the Municipal
Services Building, Community Room, 33 Arroyo Drive, South San Francisco, California.
Purpose of the meeting:
1. Discussion of Budget Goal Setting.
2. Consent to Public Hearing concerning Redevelopment Planning
and Environmental Impact Report.
~us I~lCOlOpU/os, ma~or
City of South San Francisco
Dated: May ll, 1981
AGENDA
SPECIAL MEETING
CALL TO ORDER: (Side 1TF-OO1)
1. Discussion of Budget Goal
Setting.
e
Consent to Public Hearing concern-
ing Redevelopment Planning and
Environmental Impact Report.
ACTION TAKEN
SPECIAL MEETING
5:07 p.m. Mayor Nicolopulos presiding.
Council present: Damonte, Acosta,
Teglia and Nicolopulos.
Council absent: Addiego.
Mayor Nicolopulos defined the guidelines
to be used by each Department Head in
presenting their short and long range
budget goals, i.e., community objectives,
provide solutions to the growing dis-
content within the Department, etc.
City Manager Birkelo asked that this
matter be considered before further
discussion of Item No. 1. He said
that at the last Redevelopment meeting
a Joint Hearing had been set for
6/3/81 for the approval of the final
E.I.R. He said it was necessary to
go on record that Council also consented
to the Joint Hearing.
5/13/81
Page 1
AGENDA
2. Consent to Public Hearing - Cont.
Discussion of Budget Goal
Setting.
City Manager:
ACTION TAKEN
M/S Teglia/Acosta - To set the Public
Hearing for 6/3/81 as a Joint Meeting
with the Redevelopment Agency.
Carried by unanimous voice vote.
Vice Mayor Teglia questioned whether
Mayor Nicolopulos wanted the Department
Heads to address the discontent prob-
lem within the department or the
discontent of the public in the
services provided by the department.
City Manager Birkelo stated that the
focus should be on problem areas
where improvements are needed in
each department.
City Manager Birkelo said that one
of the major goals was to improve
the budgetary process through a
five year plan in developing revenues
and expenditures starting from the
present level of services. He spoke
in detail of the advantages of
of being able to project the expend-
itures under Proposition 4 and the
need for improved programs funded
within those restrictions. He
spoke of the placing the capital
improvements into a longer time
frame and dovetail into the fiscal
plan. The third item he spoke of
was to accelerate the budget process
so that Council would have it in hand
by June 1st of each year by the use
of data processing, rather than
the system being done by hand. He
stated that with the new personnel
coming on board Staff could allocate
more time to work with the departments
on program evaluation measurement
and cost effectiveness of services
provided. He spoke in-depth of
improved training programs for
employees, improved employee health
to achieve improved medical costs
and reduce stress on the job. He
spoke of looking at City surplus
land and devising ways to fully
utilize the land for the community.
Lastly he said his objective was
to improve communications with
5/13/81
Page 2
AGENDA ACTION TAKEN
Discussion of Budget - Continued.
City Manager Birkelo:
Librarian Jannette Engel:
(lF-135)
Fire Chief Drago:
(TF-183)
Acting Director of Finance Yuen:
(TF-308)
Staff and Council and the City as
a whole to improve the communication
with the general public.
Librarian Engel presented the goals
and objectives of the South San
Francisco Library as follows:
better coordination of departments,
collection assessment, application
of automation for circulation and
cataloging, study the utilization
of the interior spaces of the
libraries, staff development and
training, promote on-going staff
involvement in the Peninsula Library
System, streamline clerical and
circulation routines, etc.
Fire Chief Drago said the goals of
his department were to develop and
implement programs needed to provide
the citizens of this City with the
best possible fire protection and
emergency medical services avail-
able at the costs the citizens were
willing to pay. He cited the
following objectives: to provide a
fire frequency performance level
acceptable to the citizens, to
provide a life safety level, to
confine initiated fires to an
acceptable modular level, to
suppress initiated fires with the
least amount of property damage
and interruption of occupancy
possible. He cited programs
necessary to meet ~he goals and
objectives directed towards
effective management, fire pre-
vention, fire suppresssion, fire
data analysis, emergency/medical
services and support divisions.
He spoke in great detail on
the need for education programs
at all levels of Fire Department
personnel.
Acting Director of Finance Yuen
presented a four year plan for
the Finance Department as follows:
1981-82 - to remove fixed assets
qualification on the audited fin-
ancial statements and to fully
automate the accounts payable and
5/13/81
Page 3
AGENDA ACTION TAKEN
Discussion of Budget - Continued.
Acting Director of Finance Yuen -
Continued.
RECESS:
(TF-380)
RECALL TO ORDER:
Assistant to the City Manager
Wilson - City Garage:
- Building Maintenance:
- Personnel:
the cash disbursements module upon
completion of a feasibility study,
1982-83 - To fully automate the
budget system and to complete the
reconciliation of deposits subsidiary
to deposits to the general account,
1983-84 - To complete the Finance
Department's procedures manual,
1984-85 - To finalize a record
retention system.
Mayor Nicolopulos declared a recess
at 6:20 p.m.
Mayor Nicolopulos recalled the
meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.,
all Council present.
Assistant to the City Manager Wilson
said the City Garage was looking to
expanding the area of mechanical
repairs to include bodywork and
reducing or eliminating the insurance
deductible. He spoke of the new
practice of the City in buying used
vehicles rather than going out to bid
and turning the vehicles around after
a year's service. He said there
would be a need for an expansion of
facilities to accommodate the
vehicles being worked upon due to
the rainy season. He spoke of the
utilization of propane as fuel and
the economic savings in using this
as fuel. He spoke of the need for
a mini-computer from the Radio Shack
as being beneficial in record
retention of the vehicles with a
tickler system for turn around in
keeping with the replacement program.
Assistant to the City Manager Wilson
stated that one of the goals of this
division was development of personnel
and that a new Superintendant had
been hired to pursue training,
scheduling, preventative maintenance,
storage of supplies, etc.
Assistant to the City Manager Wilson
said in this division one goal had
been satisfied, that of hiring a
Personnel Director. He said that
5/13/81
Page 4
AGENDA ACTION TAKEN
Discussion of Budget - Continued.
Assistant to the City Manager -
Personnel - Continued.
Director of Public Services Yee -
Building Division: (TF-481)
Director of Public Services Yee -
Engineering Division:
a mini-computer could be utilized
to maintain all personnel records
which would improve the efficiency
of the office. The computer could
also be used for training programs
for various employees which would
provide a means for greater commun-
ication for the rank and file
personnel by explanation of the
employee~ benefits. He said that
the department was looking at an
Affirmative Action Plan that had
been completed but not yet adopted.
After it had been adopted by Council
the plan was to train people as to
the law of the land. He stated that
the medical standards were out of
date and that revisions would be
made to personnel ordinances in
existence to clarify some of the
problems. He stated that one of
the most important things to be
looked at are testing and then
employee morale, low interest loans
for housing to attract employees,
the City purchasing buildings to
house employee's families.
Director of Public Services Yee
spoke of the money need for on-going
expensive projects and the search for
outside funds for financing to pro-
vide leverage for the City. He
spoke of the need in the Building
Division for microfilming, how the
Building Division can best serve the
public by opening the office on
Saturday, setting procedures for
permit applications, educational
programs for the employees.
Director of Public Services Yee
stated that the production put out
by the Engineering Division was
tremendous and an asset to the City.
He spoke of the need for a set of
base maps that cover the whole
City, with overlays which cover all
the sewer lines to aid the Police
and Fire Departments. He spoke
in-depth of having all of the fire
hydrants situated on the map overlays
which would aid the City greatly
during an emergency.
5/13/81
Page 5
AGENDA ACTION TAKEN
Discussion of Budget - Continued.
Director of Public Services Yee -
Public Works:
Police Chief Datzman: (TF-575)
Acting Director of Parks &
Recreation Duplessis: (TF-673)
RECESS:
RECALL TO ORDER:
Director of Public Services Yee
spoke of the cost saving factors
in sharing heavy equipment between
cities. He stated that there would
be a $100,000 savings in the PG&E
bill by utilizing new methods, a
lower budget for the Sanitation
Division, etc.
Police Chief Datzman stated that
his department was well-trained,
motivated and dedicated and wan~
to exert a positive impact on the
public-safety needs of the community.
Fie cited the following goals for the
department: Maintain a high patrol
profile; maintain strong investi-
gative functions, maintain an emphasis
on narcotics and vice-enforcement
activities; continue to provide a
strong liaison with the schools;
continue to provide strong Police
Reserve Program; focus on recruit-
ment and retention functions;
strengthen community planning
capabilities.
Acting Director of Parks & Recreation
Duplessis said that the department's
goals were to provide the best in
park and recreation activities for
the community and to provide the
best of services. He spoke of a
five year plan for program mainten-
ance, such as having a ranger in the
parks department which would cut
down on vandalism, putting low
maintenance plants on City property,
educational and training programs,
etc. He said that the one of the
ideas was to develop a broader
tennis area with a lunch bar con-
structed, etc.
Mayor Nicolopulos declared a recess
at 7:35 p.m.
Mayor Nicolopulos recalled the
meeting to order at 7:50 p.m.,
all Council present.
5/13/81
Page 6
AGENDA ACTION TAKEN .180
Discussion of Budget - Continued.
Director of Community Development
Dell'Angela.
City Clerk Battaya: (TF-899)
Director of Community Development
Dell,Angela stated that there was
a large complaint from the public
and the contractors that his
department was a bureaucracy and
took too long to handle matters.
He spoke of getting into the
policy goals of the General Plan
at the end of the year and felt it
would alleviate some of the problems.
He stated that many of the problems
could be handled on an administrative
level such as routine permit applic-
ations and eliminate the need for
Planning Commission Hearings. He
said that one of his goals was to
streamline the permit process for
use permits, instill confidence
in mid-management for decision
making. He said also that he would
like to educate the public to
understand the role Community
Development played in the City.
He said he also saw the need in
the future for computers and word
processing machines to be utilized
in the department to efficiently
handle the flow of paper. He
spoke of a housing program, City
sponsored, using tax increments;
the possibility of the Gateway
Development being expanded to
the north and south; passing the
property standards Ordinance to
upgrade some of the commercial
shopping areas through beautification.
City Clerk Battaya distributed
material on word processing from
the City Clerks Association, City
of Santa Barbara, City of Concord
with word processing evaluations
by the firm of Datapro on various
types of machines. She spoke of
the Task Force composed of members
of the City Attorney, Community
Development, City Clerk and
Public Service Departments and
their on-site inspection of Zerox,
NBI and Dictaphone word processing
centers. She stated that she was
writing specifications for a bid
in the event that Council author-
ized the expenditure· She said
5/13/81
Page 7
AGENDA
Discussion of Budget - Continued.
City Clerk Battaya.
Acting City Attorney Rogers:
(TF-945)
ACTION TAKEN
! 8:!.
that the machine would be placed
in her office with two hours a day
alloted for other departments to
utilize on a time sharing basis
and that she would train each of
the secretaries of the departments
planning to use the machine. She
stated that in the event the City
was to have a Special Election,
Council should be aware that the
City of Pacifica recently paid
$1.75 per registered voter for
their Special Election. South
San Francisco has 20,933 voters,
a Special Election would then cost
the City in the neighborhood of
$35,000. She stated another long
term objective was to implement
a record retention system, perhaps
by using the Police Department's
microfilming equipment or a micro-
fiche be purchased to safe-guard,
in the event of fire, the City's
records.
Acting City Attorney Rogers des-
cribed his relationship with the
City as that of Attorney/Client
and that his mandate was to help
the City Council, City Manager and
Staff. He spoke at great length
of the need for help in processing
the work flow and output. He
stated that there were only one-
and-a-half attorneys in the office,
however at some point in the future
Staff might be increased. He
spoke of the Task Force's investi-
gation of word processing and had
decided there was justification for
a word processing on a time share
basis in the City Clerk's Office.
He stated that the word processor
would eliminate the need for an
additional secretary, however there
would still be the need for a para-
legal person to assist the attorneys.
He stated the following goals for
his office: shift the image of
credibility to that of an adversary
role; creating better coordination
in turn around time for the research
involved in a legal opinion request;
creating a punch list for projects
5/13/81
Page 8
AGENDA ACTION TAKEN
Discussion of Budget - Continued.
Acting City Attorney Rogers:
Mayor Nicolopulos:
to handle DCC&Rs, maps; the
revision of Ordinances that are
out of date, etc.
Opened the discussion to Council
for comments.
Councilman Acosta stated that he
had returned from a League of
California Cities meeting with a
message of gloom - cut back City
costs due to the projected decrease
in revenues. He spoke of increased
productivity and motivation amongst
the employees to counter the lack
of revenues. He expressed concern
that Staff made recommendations to
Council and if the decision made
was contrary to the recommendation
then in the eyes of the people
Council became an adversary. He
suggested that Staff give informa-
tion to Council, without a recom-
mendation, and let Council make
its own decision.
Vice Mayor Teglia did not agree with
Councilman Acosta because she felt
that Staff's recommendation was
helpful. She expressed concern
that training had only been discussed
for mid-management employees, yet
the other employees that interface
with the public had not been
addressed.
Mayor Nicolopulos stated that Council
would have a meeting within one
month to thoroughly discuss their
concerns.
Councilman Damonte said that the
evaluation process and the matter
of supervision had not come out
strong enough in the discussion.
He said this matter had come up in
the Parks & Recreation Department
and certain classifications had been
established to correct the problem,
however a report had not been pre-
sented on its effectiveness. He
5/13/81
Page 9
AGENDA ACTION TAKEN 183
Discussion of Budget - Continued.
Councilman Damonte.
The following subject was discussed
without objection by the Acting City
Attorney even though the discussion
not being on the agenda of this
Special Meeting is a possible
violation of the Brown Act.
Airport Variance Hearing in San
Bruno meeting 5/20/81.
(TF-1341)
stated that Council was also a
department and some goals should
be established such as: a code
of conduct; that the Council pro-
ject an image of acting as a body
rather than as individuals.
City Manager Birkelo stated he
had to prepare the agenda for the
next regular meeting and need to
know how the Airport Variance
Hearing in San Bruno conflict of
meeting date would affect the
attendance.
Acting City Attorney Rogers asked
that citizen support be requested
to take part in the hearings and
that Council give full support
at the Hearing.
Mayor Nicolopulos asked for Council
input on the next regular Council
meetings attendance.
Councilman Acosta stated that if
Council was to attend the Hearing
for the purpose of testimony, then
Council should go to the Hearing.
However, if Council is not going
for the purpose of testimony then
the City's business is paramount.
Acting City Attorney Rogers said
that testimony would be given on
an individual basis and again
encouraged citizen input. He said
other Councils had been asked to
provide Resolutions of support
that would be presented that night.
1) Let the City Attorney handle
the hearing process; 2) Send two
Councilmembers to the Hearing; 3)
Adjourn the meeting to another date.
Vice Mayor Teglia commended Acting
City Attorney Rogers in his handling
of the first part of the Hearing
and described in detail that the
second part of the Hearing would
be public testimony which John
Noonan, Esq. was helping to find
people to testify.
5/13/81
Page 10
AGENDA ACTION TAKEN
Airport Variance Hearing - Cont.
ADJOURNMENT (TF-1484)
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
Vice Mayor Teglia stated that now
was the time to stand up and be
counted and suggested attending the
Hearing and adjourning the regular
Council meeting to the next night.
Acting City Attorney Rogers said
that the meeting of 5/20/81 could
be opened and then adjourned to
the following night with press
releases given to the press in
advance of the action. He said
the other option was for one
member of Council to appear at the
regular meeting and cancel the
meeting through the lack of a
quorum.
Mayor Nicolopulos spoke of the
logistics and said that the press
release should read that the City
Council of South San Francisco
would be appearing as individuals
and speaking on their behalf at
the San Bruno Hearing.
M/S Damonte/Acosta - That the
meeting be adjourned.
Carried by unanimous voice vote.
Time of adjournment 9:30 p.m.
APPROVED:
Barbara A. Battaya, Cii~'Clerk
City of South San Francisco
icolopulos, M~'~7o r
City of South San Francisco
The entries of this Council meeting show the action taken by the City Council
to dispose of the item. Oral presentations, arguments, and comments are
recorded on tape. The tape and documents related to the items are on file in
the office of the City Clerk and available for inspection, review and copying.
5/13/81
Page 11