Loading...
M 05-24-99JOINT TOWN OF LOS GATOS TOWN COUNCIL/PARKING AUTHORITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY May 24, 1999 Minutes TOWN COUNCIL/REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY The Town Council/Parking Authority/Redevelopment Agency of the Town of Los Gatos met in the Council Chambers of the Town Hall, 110 East Main Street, at 6:07 p.m., Monday, May 24, 1999, in regular session. ROLL CALL Present:Randy Attaway (arrived at 6:30), Linda Lubeck, Joe Pirzynski and Mayor/Chairman Jan Hutchins. Absent:Steven Blanton. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Given by all in attendance. PRELIMINARY 1999-2000 OPERATING BUDGET/HEARING PRELIMINARY OPERATING BUDGET FOR 1999-2000 (02.06) Town Manager, David Knapp, gave an overview of the budget and the budget development process of the Town. He emphasized that the Town's budget is balanced and that the Town does not run a deficit. The budget was developed following the Town's fiscal policy which requires that current year operating expenditures be funded by current year revenues. He noted that the Bay Area economy continues to be strong which supports Town's present Capital Improvement Program. The General Plan Update will continue in progress, incorporating input from community based committee and the draft plan will be out this fall for public hearings and review. This will set the zoning map and land use in Town and the goals, hopes, aspirations and character of the community. The Library Board is exploring support for facilities and is exploring the possibility of eliminating non resident fees. Santa Clara County is working on a joint project with the Town to annex county pockets into their adjacent municipal governments. Additional motorcycle police and downtown patrols have been added. Planning Department Code Enforcement is increased for this budget. Police Service shows an increase due to grants received which can only be used for law enforcement purposes. Quality service delivered efficiently and economically continues to be a Town goal. This year's budget reflects a full time engineer, a full time management information officer and a half time clerk to help with passport functions. The total increase in Town employees is 4 1/2 people. The Town has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association. FIVE YEAR PROJECTION/INCREASE OF EXPENSE OVER INCOME There is a discrepancy each year between expense and income which is the reason for weighing the current needs of the Town and constructing a viable annual budget to meet those needs. A discussion was held on the Vehicle License Tax and the impact that will have on the Town if the State starts to manipulate it. PRELIMINARY OPERATING BUDGET HEARING FOR 1998-1999/CONT. GRANT REQUESTS/HEARING Mayor/Chairman Hutchins stated that this was the time and place duly noted for public hearing to consider Allocation of Fiscal Year 1999-2000 Community Grant Funds. Human Services & Art Organizations: The following people from the audience spoke to this issue: Jack Neal, Chairman of the Community Services Committee, explained the process for evaluating and distributing the funds within the grant programs. He noted that the budget was $5,000 higher this year than last year and he spoke of a newly funded program, Next Door Shelter, which will be receiving $10,000. This organization supports women and children subjected to domestic violence supplying emergency shelter, food, clothing and transportation. Lynn Kennedy, Chair of the Arts Commission, requested increased funds to meet increased needs. She asked that Music in the Plaza be funded in another manner so that funds allocated to that program be available to other organizations which are making application. All grant go to children's and student's programs such as Art Docents, Community Concerts, Photo Guild, Chamber Music at St. Luke's, and Youth Science Institute. Asha Shlvaji, 16411 Hilow Road, representing The Place for Teens, asked for continued support. Pat Lake, 208 E. Main Street, Teen and Family Counseling Center, does counseling for teens and their families. This service works with CASA, TRIAD and the school district. Darci Palmer, 16345 Los Gatos Blvd, representing A Place for Teens, asked for continued support and spoke of plans for this year. Anne Dunham, 296 Garden Hill Drive, representing Youth Science Institute, thanked Council for continued support, and for funding of binoculars for the participants. She also noted their Capital campaign and plans for new facilities to be built at Vasona Park. Elaine Cardinale, 235 Belmont Ave, Art Docents of Los Gatos, thanked Council for their continued support over 26 years. Sara Lively, executive director for Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, spoke of the program and thanked Council for its first time grant to this organization. Paula Harris, 6616 John Drive, Cupertino, representing A Place for Teens, spoke of their tutoring program, teen forums, field trips, violence prevention counseling, and social programs. Ron Knapp, 20885 Wardell Road, Saratoga, Los Gatos Community Concert Association, thanked Council for its continued support over the years. Deborah Kranefuss, 1199 Arroyo Seco Drive, Campbell, Director of Live Oak Senior Nutrition & Service Center, spoke of the number of activities and services offered to the elderly by this program, and noted the outreach and information services which have been operating in Los Gatos for twenty five years. She has worked with other Los Gatos service organizations to pool services for seniors. April Flint, 1028 Linden Street, speaking for A Place for Teens, noted the need for supervised after school activities that the Outhouse provides. Gladie Rabitz, 18315 Daves Ave, representing A Place for Teens, explained the need for an unrestricted grant of at least $8,300 from the Town, (the amount granted last year) to continue with their ongoing programs as before. No one else from the audience addressed this issue. PRELIMINARY OPERATING BUDGET HEARING FOR 1998-1999/CONT. Departmental Expenditures: Council reviewed the Proposed Operating Budget section by section and made the following comments concerning the format and clarity of the budget: ●Page 4: Two people will be assigned to Redevelopment exclusively under that agency's revenue stream and expense allocation. ●Page 5: Notes the deletion of a Plan Check Engineer to be replaced by an Administrative Analyst for budgeting and financial support. ●Page 6: Noted that 31% of the budget is from Sales and Use Tax that is dependent on the country's economy and that the Town is secure in adding 4 1/2 employees at this time pointing out that the employee level is still not at the 1990 level. The Town's business base has diversified over time, and the revenue should remain more stable as a result. ●Page 6: Purchase Orders, POs, continue to be a problem at end of fiscal year. On an individual basis each PO will be evaluated as to its ability to carry over its fund balance to the next year. The State Controller does not recognize encumbrances as expenses. ●Page 19: Reserves are now projected at $18,388,750, far over the $6,000,000 in 1990. At that time reserves were being used to fund operations. ●Page 25: Add a page to the budget that identifies all employees under their individual job classifications. ●Page 24: It was requested that the allocation for benefits assigned to the Council's budget be used for other expenses. Three councilmembers are not using the benefits and that money could be reallocated to community benefits. ●The Treasurer's Office makes use of the Finance Department's staff for processing and filing reports and monthly statements. This accounts for the .25 FTE. ●The Clerk's materials budget has increased with the additional of publications budget. This budget had been in the General Fund originally, then placed in the Clerk's Office in 1989, then placed in the Attorney's Office in 1992, then shifted to each department's account over the next five years, and now due to some tracking problems has been returned to the Clerk's Office. ●The Clerk's materials budget has increased due to passports. This reflects $22,000 in post office costs which are collected from the client. Finance charges the Clerk's Office 17.3% to process these checks and send the total to the post office. Actually the materials will drop to $6,000 because the Clerk's Office can put all the passports in one envelope and Finance will just have to charge 17.3% on one envelope a day. Clients will be happier at the reduced rate of postage. ●Request to Manager's Office to submit Performance Indicators which address all Town Administration for review, such as an indicator that tells how long it takes to complete a project and notify the constituent by letter. ●Performance indicator which tracts the timely submittal of employee evaluations. ●Performance indicator which measures how many days an item remains in accounts payable. ●Performance indicator which measures the average time to issue a PO. ●Page 55: Please remove the last sentence in the second to last paragraph. ●Page 67: Discussion regarding Motorcycle Officers took place. Their duty as traffic patrol officers was explained, and the subject of their training for safety concerns was considered. PRELIMINARY OPERATING BUDGET HEARING FOR 1998-1999/CONT. Departmental Expenditures Continued: ●Traffic in our community is one of the most significant law enforcement issues. Public safety and quality of life revolve around it. Traffic is time and date specific and motorcycles will cover schools, high impact commuter intersections, and downtown weekend conjestion. ●Page 93: Shows an analyst position to facilitate budgeting and estimating in the department. An analyst will also be added to Redevelopment. ●Page 105: Community Services and grant program was addressed by Mrs. Lubeck who noted that there are savings to be found in the Council's budget and she would like to see it allocated by giving $1,570 to Music in the Plaza and by giving $5,000 to A Place for Teens and requiring an accounting of the Teen Center in a more specific and simple manner. ●Randy Attaway recommended that Council fund $1,570 for Music in the Plaza and $5,000 for A Place for Teens. This is a one time action and Council would have to see a full five year plan from the Teen Center before Council committed to an ongoing funding program. Linda Lubeck agreed. Joe Pirzynski and Jan Hutchins both disagreed with the suggestion. ●Town supports the Music in the Plaza with many staff hours, and the program is already fully funded with donations. At this time there is no need for a further monetary donation from the Town. ●When Steve Blanton is present the funding for the Teen Center can be discussed again. *Motorcycle officers had three councilmembers support. Mr. Attaway answered no for the record noting the liability issues involved with this program. *Mrs. Lubeck requested that a report on the changes affecting Senior Programs and their funding be submitted to Council. She would like to be able to lobby County Supervisors with accurate information and be given action paths to follow to affect some changes. Council consensus to close the public hearing. POLITICAL SIGNS IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY/WAIVER OF FEES (02.10) Mayor Hutchins stated that this was the time and place duly noted to reconsider request to waive Town fees for removing political signs in the public right of way. Appellant: Donna Courtright. The following people from the audience spoke to this issue: Donna Courtright, 16381 E. La Chiquita, asked that her fine be waived. She noted that Town Policy had not been followed with proper documentation. Photos were not taken, signs could not be located, there was no certified letter sent, invoice for opponent could not be located who had signs in exact locations. Mandy Nelson, 100 Amanda Lane, requested information on the method of sign removal and notification to the candidate. Tim Nelson, 100 Amanda Lane, asked for more specific information on record keeping regarding sign removal. Elaine Hocher, P.O. Box 3, Saratoga, spoke regarding the number of signs that were enumerated for charges compared to the number of signs reflected on Town record when she called for information. Bob Beckland, lives in San Jose, spoke of checking for signs which were out of compliance, and noting in his case that he had received agreement from property owners for placement. Tracy Himanica, 20 Loma Alta, asked for due diligence in regards to this decision. No one else from the audience addressed this issue. POLITICAL SIGNS IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY/CONT. Staff and Council Comments: Mr. Bowman noted the procedures taken by the Town in removing the signs and notifying the candidate of their removal and of the fine imposed. Mayor Hutchins spoke of keeping policies and procedures the same for everyone, to be treated equally and fairly, and noted that this was a question of protecting public resources. Mr. Pirzynski noted the confusion of the issue; spoke of the enthusiasm of an election and the problem with an overabundance of signs in one particular location; he reinforced his support of staff and its acting with integrity and faith; procedures may need redefining and he noted a willingness to reconsider the fine and reduce it; he does continue to believe that candidates should be aware of all regulations associated with running an election. Attorney Korb the issue is a matter of due process and the Town should not remove a sign unless it is a health and safety concern, otherwise the Town must provide reasonable notice. The Council is now the trier of evidentiary fact and if Council believes notice was insufficient then Mrs. Courtright's argument is valid. Mr. Attaway believes all candidates should be aware of all rules governing the election and notes that the Town did give the minimum required notice. He believes that Town did not follow every step of its own procedural policy and would therefore waive the fine in this case. He asked that Council review this policy and prepare a better way of noticing the candidates in the future. Mrs. Lubeck believes that the candidate should take total responsibility for obtaining jurisdictional political sign requirements and distributing this information to campaign workers. This particular Town prides itself on upholding its sign ordinance throughout Town. She believes staff gave adequate notice and would support only a partial waiver of fees. Mayor Hutchins noted that there had not been any lack of due process in this issue and in listening to other councilmembers comments, he suggests a 50% reduction of the fine. Mr. Pirzynski in a gesture of good will and accommodation on Council's part supports the 50% reduction. Motion by Mr. Hutchins, seconded by Mrs. Lubeck, to deny the request from Mrs. Courtright to waive the Town fees for removal of political signs in the public right of way and reduce the penalty to six hundred and seventy five dollars ($675.) Carried by a vote of 4 ayes. Mr. Blanton absent. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hutchins adjourned this evening's meeting at 9:05 p.m. ATTEST: Roberta Fries, Deputy Town Clerk Secretary to the Redevelopment Agency