1975-06-24 Special CC MinutesSPECIAL MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALAMEDA
HELD TUESDAY - - - - - - - - JUNE 24, 1975
The meeting convened at 7:30 o'clock p.m. in the Council Chamber of the City Hall with
President Corica presiding.
ROLL CALL:
The roll was called and Councilmen Beckam, Diament, Hurwitz, Sherratt and President Corica, (5),
were noted present. Absent: None.
1. Receipt of the Notice and Agenda of this Special Meeting had been acknowledged by the Council-
men and was on file. The purpose of the session was for presentation by the City Manager of the
Recommended Budget for fiscal year 1975-1975, and action thereon, if so desired.
2. President Corica informed those persons in the audience that copies of the Recommended Budget
were available should they desire to have one. He also invited their comments following the City
Manager's presentation.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
3. City Manager Goss then made his presentation of the Recommended Budget for the City of Alameda
for 1975-1976. He first introduced his wife and daughter who were seated in the audience and expressed
his appreciation for their forbearance, and to the staff members involved in the preparation of
the Recommended Budget for their cooperation.
Mr. Goss stated he would present the Budget in several stages, the first being the proposed
Tentative Budget, a review of the tax program, and an updated proposal of the Capital Improvement
Program which had previously been approved in September, 1974 for the period 1974-1976 and now had
been updated for the period 1975-1977'
With the use of graphs, tabulations and recapitulations projected on the screen for the visual
information of all, he narrated the facts and figures as set forth in detail in the Tentative Budget.
He noted in particular the increased cost of insurance coverage and that personnel costs, representing
about OlW of the total budget, indicated any expansion or reduction made in the budget would of
necessity be concentrated on personnel services.
The estimated revenues and funding from several sources and the contemplated expenditures in the
overall financial operation of the City were pointed out and clarified. Mr. Goss stated the proposed
tentative budget totaled $1l,751,510, which exceeded the 1974-75 budget by $1,403,855, even after
drastic cuts had been made in budgetary requests. NO salary adjustment had been provided part-time
job classifications; the General Fund support for the maintenance of residential streets had been
eliminated except for a small reserve for emergencies; the level of funding for the Contingency
Fund had been reduced, and miscellaneous reductions had been made in Other Services, Commodities
and Capital Outlay requests of the various departments. Also, he said, additional deletions were
made by eliminating a large portion Of building maintenance activity, reducing the amount of ferti-
lizer and other horticultural supplies fcr parks and golf, the number of man-hours for part-time
personnel in Recreation were reduced, overtime was cut in the Police and Fire Departments, and most
of the funds for the on-going street name sign modernization program were eliminated.
Mr. Goss stated this was merely a tentative budget and it was anticipated the total would decrease
as it was intended to continue the hiring freeze instituted the previous month until the final
budget was adopted in September, and perhaps through the entire fiscal year if necessary to keep
the budget in balance. He said the hiring freeze meant that full-time jobs which were vacant,
Or would become vacant during the year, would not be filled, unless the positions were federally
funded, or the position was a crucial one and not filling the job would hurt City operations or would
generate additional expense such as overtime costs.
Mr. Goss offered the following recommendations as steps which should be tdkcn to improve the City's
financial position. (1) Evaluation of self-insurance for workmen's compensation and general
liability insurance; (2) joining the County medical insurance pool; (3) a determination of whether
the City could save money doing its own printing; (4) utilization of the County assessment roll
beginning in 1976-1977; (5) a review and revamping of the City's business license tax; (6) an
updating of service fees; and (7) an improvement in productivity.
Mr. Goss stated it was difficult to program any service improvements in light of current fiscal
restraints, however, it appeared it would be possible to continue the program started this fiscal
year to create a more effective planning response to local and regional planning problems' He noted
the Planning Department had been reorganized during the currentfiscal year by converting part-time
hours to full-time positions and the addition of three CETA employees. It was proposed that three
Associate Planners and clerical assistance, financed by money from the Housing and Community
Development Act and the "701" planning program, be added to the Advanced Planning Division enabling
work to continue on Housing and Land Use Elements of the General Plan, revision of the Housing
Assistance Plan for the next year's Housing and Community Development Act application, preparation
Of area plans, and implementation of the Goals Study. Funding from this source would also be used
to support most of the salary of an Administrative Assistant who would be responsible for adminis-
tering implementation of this year's application, overseeing preparation of next year's application,
and developing public information related to the HCDA program.
In addition, he said, it was proposed to establish a position of Traffic Engineer in the Engineering
Division to consolidate the traffic engineering duties now performed by several members of that
DiViSi0o. The establishment of this position would be financed by eliminating the "work study"
prOgram. Other modest service improvements provided in the proposed budget included a service
contract for emergency after-hours services with local veterinarians; provision of a recreation
program at Makassar which would be transferred to Northside Park upon its completion; the
structural evaluation study of the Main Library, and installation of a fire alarm system in the
Main Library basement' He noted the City had benefitted by the creation of 55 positions financed
by the Federal Government under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act and it was expected
service improvements permitted under this program would continue at least through 1976-76.
In explanation of the Community Promotion account, Mr. Goss stated the Chamber of Commerce had
proposed a contract increase from $28,200 to ¢32,690, however it was his recommendation the
contract be reduced to $26,550. He said this would reflect a deletion of $300 for "mandatory
expenditures", a slight increase for the activities of the Alameda JayCees, as well as the
economic development effort of the Chamber, and a deletion of $3`5OO which had been allocated
during the past two years for the Times-Star Progress Edition. In addition to the Chamber
contract, the Community Promotion budget included $6,000 for a general promotional publication
now being developed by City and Chamber staff, to be funded from additional revenue obtained
from the Transient Occupancy Tax adopted with Chamber support during the past year. Also, funds
totalling 51,300 were recommended for support of the activities of the Bicentennial COmmitt29,
Mr. Goss noted the provisions of the Charter prevented the adoption of the Budget until after
September 1, and it was anticipated that prior to then figures would be available on the amount
Of the final assessment roll, the size of the carryover surplus from the General Fund, the
precise impact the hiring freeze would have on expenditures, and the amount of revenue which could
be expected by increasing fees for services.
Mr. Goss explained, item by item, and with the use of screen projections, the updated version
of the Capital Improvement Program, 1975-77, which had been submitted to the Council in writing.
He pointed out the sources of the City to fund the capital improvements and recommended that the
1975-77 Capital Program be adopted, as well as a revenue source such as some version of the
property transfer tax, to enable the City to complete capital improvements on a regular and
systematic basis.
President Corica commended Mr. Goss on his excellent presentation. Following a ten minute
recess, a question and answer period was held with Mr. Goss clarifying points raised by the
Councilmen. At its conclusion, the City Manager was directed to explore his recommendations
of steps which should be taken to improve the City's financial position.
President Corica remarked that the Mayor's Citizen Finance Committee had also been charged with
exploring alternate methods of capital improvement financing which would not require an increase
in the property tax rate.
President Corica reported the estimated revenue from the Golf Course operations for 1974-75
had been $375,000, however it now appeared this would approximate $410,000 although the exact
figure would be unknown until the end of June.
On question, Mr. Brit Johnson, President of the Alameda Chamber of Commerce, explained the
functions of the staff, members of the Board of Directors, and committee members in performing
a wide variety of jobs in their representation of the City. He noted their General Manager,
Mr. Harry Potter, would be compiling a brochure setting out the step by step procedure which
a new business man must take when coming into the City, and suggested the Chamber prepare a
report and suggestions on progressive programs undertaken by other cities to attract commerce.
Mn Peter Laub, 2800 Bayview Drive, agreed the Chamber should aggressively pursue additional
business enterprise and suggested their program be evaluated in one year.
At the conclusion of discussion, Councilman Hurwitz moved acceptance of the Tentative Budget,
including the Capital Improvement Program, as presented, for the fiscal year 1975-1976, The
motion was seconded by Councilman Beckam and carried unanimously on roll call vote.
RESOLUTIONS:
4. The following resolution was introduced by Councilman Hurwitz, who moved its adoption:
"Resolution No. 8376
Approving and Adopting the Tentative Budget of the City of Alameda
for the Fiscal Year 1975-1970."
The motion to adopt said resolution was seconded by Councilman Beckam and on roll call carried
by the following vote. Ayes: Five. Noes: None. Absent: None.
ADJOURNMENT:
5. There being no further business to come before the meeting" the Council adjourned in
respect to the memory of the Assistant Fire Chief ALAN HENINGER.
Respectfully submitted,
City Clerk