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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