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Home My WebLink About04-27-1995MINUTES OF THE ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA APRIL 27,1995 CALLED TO ORDER ATTENDANCE SANTA ANA LIBRARY 2ND FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM 26 CIVIC CENTER PLAZA 6:00 P.M. COUNCILMEMBERS Present: MIGUEL A. PULIDO, Mayor ROBERT L. RICHARDSON, Mayor Pro Tern TONY ESP1NOZA TOM LUTZ PATRICIA A. McGUIGAN LISA MILLS TED R MORENO Absent: NONE STAFF: DAVID N. REAM, City Manager EDWARD J. COOPER, City Attorney JANICE C. GUY, Clerk of the Council WORK STUDY SESSION Planning and Building Agency Executive Director Robyn Uptegraffoutlined the meeting agenda indicating staffwould conclude the Development Processing presentation with discussions on the roles of the Fire Department and the Planning and Building Agency Inspection Section in development processing. She also stated the meeting would cover the FY 95-96 Annual City Budget and Urban Rail, and noted that the May 15, 1995 Council meeting would be a study session in lieu ora business meeting. Following discussion, the Council decided to modify the agenda order by placing Urban Rail before the FY 95-96 City Budget. DEVELOPMENT PROCESSING - Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Wayne Bowman gave an overview of the Fire Department's Development Processing role and introduced Fire Prevention Bureau Field Inspector Lori Smith as the Fire staff member responsible for Development Processing Plan Checks. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 104 APRIL 27, 1995 Smith related the shift in Bureau priorities from construction projects in 1988 to business retention and attraction in 1995. She then discussed the various Bureau processes (conceptual meetings, plan checks, permits, certificates of occupancy, and maintenance inspections) and the various codes on which Bureau actions are based (Uniform Fire Code, Uniform Building Code, Health and Safety Code, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, Title 19, Title 24, and the Santa Ana Municipal Code). Bowman and Smith responded to Councilmember questions on, but not limited to, fire hydrants, water sprinklers, ingress and egress requirements, procedures for reporting and correcting code violations, special events such as festivals and carnivals, and fireworks regulations. Smith stressed that the basic idea behind Bureau requirements was to enable firefighters to do their job by ensuring consistent access to burning structures and water sources. DEVELOPMENT PROCESSING- B~tilding lttxpections Building Safety Manager Jim Lindgren explained the relationship between the Permit & Plan Check and Inspections processes, and introduced Inspections Supervisor Tony Huaracha. Using a flow chart, Huaracha presented an overview of the Building Safety Division's Inspection Section operations and noted that the section's work began where the permit process ended. He also provided Councilmembers with materials comparing Santa Ana's inspection services, fees, work scheduling, and staff qualifications with other jurisdictions. Councilmember Mills asked staff to consider using combination inspectors instead of speciality inspectors for simple improvements in single-family residences. Councilmember Moreno suggested the City provide inspectors with pagers to enhance staffs communication and dispatching capabilities. Lindgren and Huaracha responded to Councilmember questions on, but not limited to, field issuance of certain permits, reinspection fees, effective period of permits, expired permits, hazard calls, and final inspections. Uptegraff concluded the presentation on Development Processing and indicated that subsequent actions would include formation of focus groups on key issues and preparation of a report on the proceedings for Council's review and concurrence. URBAN RAIL City Manager David Ream explained impending deadlines for program funding required the Council to discuss urban rail at this time in order to submit a Santa Aha proposal to the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). Public Works Agency Executive Director Jim Ross described three alternative urban rail (fixed guideway) routes analyzed by staff: Main Street, Bristol Street, and Harbor Boulevard. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 105 APRIL 27, 1995 Councilmembers and staffdiscussed various factors related to the Santa Ana fixed guideway route including but not limited to Main Street's narrow right-of-way, impact on the Bristol widening project, extra miles of railway the Harbor Boulevard route would require, economic development potential, activity centers (e.g., Museum District, Civic Center and South Coast Plaza), ridership volume, and at-grade (ground level) vs. underground vs. elevated rail. Mayor Pulido requested staffto submit both Harbor Boulevard and Bristol Street as alternatives for OCTA's consideration. RECESS - 7:20 P.M. RECONVENED - 7:45 P.M. - All Councilmembers present. FY 95-96 ANNUAL CITY BUDGET City Manager Ream introduced Executive Assistant to the City Manager Francisco Gutierrez and Budget Officer Gina Schuchard who presented the FY 95-96 Annual City Budget. Gutierrez reported that the City's FY 95-96 Total Annual Budget was $240,526,165 and provided charts to show the budget breakdown by revenue and by expenditures. He also noted that the General Fund Budget (the City's operating budget) was $124,917,135 with 64.1% allocated to public safety programs. City Workforce Gutierrez and Schuchard presented charts showing Santa Ana had the second smallest number of city employees per capita among the 100 largest cities in the nation, and the least number of city employees per 1,000 population among the 11 largest cities in California. Gutierrez indicated the City's workforce will decrease slightly from the current 5.15 city employees per 1,000 population to 5.14 in FY 95-96 as a result of proposed personnel changes in the budget. General Fund Budget Gutierrez outlined the General Fund budget assumptions and indicated a projected deficit of $7,724,395 would be closed by a combination of expenditure reductions and revenue enhancements. Among the expenditure reductions Gutierrez cited were administrative adjustments such as lower health and benefit costs Personnel Services negotiated with the City's service providers, and personnel adjustments such as shifting labor charges for Public Works staff from the General Fund to non-General Fund accounts. Councilmember Moreno requested staff provide Council with a detailed breakdown of the budget's administrative and personnel adjustments. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 106 APRIL 27, 1995 Personnel Services Executive Director Kermit Francis discussed the City's short-term strategy of closing the deficit by reducing reserves in the Workers' Compensation and the Liability & Property Insurance accounts. Miscellaneous Fees Gutierrez provided the Council with a Miscellaneous Fees booklet of new and existing Miscellaneous Fees, noting some existing Miscellaneous Fees would increase by 1% while others would decrease in the proposed budget. Councilmember Moreno requested details on the proposed Rotational Tow Fee of $10 per call. Library Services Executive Director Rob Richards discussed a new Non-Resident Library Card Fee of $45 per card, noting the fee would allow the City to focus its limited resources on serving City residents, recoup the cost of serving non-residents, and increase the budget for new books. Councilmembers expressed the following concerns: a $45 per card fee may be excessive, Santa Ana residents may lose their reciprocal privileges with other libraries, and other library systems might retaliate by imposing similar fees. Councilmember Mills requested more information on the new Mandated Business Security Evaluation Fee of $120 and the Child Fingerprint Fee of $3. Gutierrez requested Councilmembers to forward questions regarding Miscellaneous Fees to him. Rate Adjustments Public Works Agency Executive Director Jim Ross discussed the proposed rate adjustments to the Water, Refuse Collection, and Sanitation fees for the FY 95-96 budget. Ross explained the City is able to keep water rates down because the City's water supply is largely pumped from City wells instead of imported from other water providers such as the Metropolitan Water District. Ross stressed the need to continue investing in water facilities since the cost of importing water is twice the cost of pumping local water. He noted that the $8 million Garthe Reservoir Expansion Phase II will not be funded due to the Orange County bankruptcy. In response to Councilmember Moreno's query, City Manager Ream and Gutierrez explained the City was making up for the budget shortfall caused by the bankruptcy by deferring maintenance and deleting funding for capital projects. ADJOURNiVIENT_- 9:45 P.M. ~~& cf the Council CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 107 APRIL 27, 1995