Presentation on Tucson’s Rainwater Harvesting and Greywater Ordinances by Rodney Glassman, City of Tucson Ward 2 Council Member was postponed until later in the meeting due to travel time.
Finance Director Stacey Lemos reported that the Tentative Budget would be presented to Council for consideration on June 3rd and the Final Budget would be presented on June 17th. She then reviewed the status of the proposed budget with adjusted revenues to date being $27.9 million and adjusted expenditures at $28.1 million. She then explained that the use of cash reserves for one-time expenditures in the amount of $470,000 would leave a net excess in the amount of $245,446. Ms. Lemos further reviewed the Highway Fund, Bed Tax Fund, Transit Fund and Stormwater Utility Fund adjustments.
Ms. Lemos then reviewed the medical insurance costs and reported that as the result of a premium decrease, the Town would realize approximately $182,000 in savings.
Finance Director Stacey Lemos reported that based on Ventana Medical Systems proposal to add 135,600 square feet to their facilities, the following revenue amounts have been estimated and included in the 2009/10 budget:
~ Building permits and plan review fees - $409,545
~ Construction sales tax revenue - $646,620
~ Impact fee revenue - $169,554
Deputy Chief of Police Larry Stevens reviewed follow-up questions regarding the Police Department Take Home Vehicle program. He reported that a Study Session had been scheduled for July 8th to further discuss specifics of the program.
Mayor Loomis opened the floor for public comment.
John Musolf, Oro Valley resident, commented that much of the use of take-home vehicles revolves around emergency situations. He questioned what emergencies School Resource Officers (SRO) get called out on as there are 8 SROs in the budget that have take-home vehicles. He commented that the Town needed to conduct an incisive study to determine the situations and whether they required take-home vehicles.
MOTION: A motion was made by Council Member Gillaspie and seconded by Council Member Latas to direct staff to reduce the Police take-home vehicle costs by 25% and leave it to the discretion of the Chief of Police and the Town Manager to figure out the specifics.
MOTION carried, 5-2 with Council Member Abbott and Council Member Kunisch opposed.
Council Member Kunisch stated that the Police Department does have a policy in place and it is the Chief of Police that determines who takes home a vehicle and he did not want to take away the Chief’s authority.
Council Member Abbott was opposed to the motion as she would have preferred to wait until the study was completed. She stated that she was not comfortable with setting an "arbitrary" number for reduction and she wanted to see what was realistic and doable without impacting service.
MOTION: A motion was made by Council Member Latas and seconded by Council Member Gillaspie to take $410,000 from the Contingency Reserve Fund to fund the recommended repairs and restoration at Steam Pump Ranch (total amount in budget will be $770,000 using Pima County Bond funds, the sale or lease of property to the Water Utility and the Contingency Reserves) and to ensure that the abandoned water well site remains part of the Steam Pump Ranch site as owned by the Town and with further direction to work with WalMart to redirect their donation of $250,000 from the Naranja Town Site to the Steam Pump Ranch rehabilitation.
MOTION carried, 5-2 with Vice Mayor Carter and Council Member Abbott opposed.
Mayor Loomis recessed the meeting at 9:15. The meeting resumed at 9:20 p.m.
Discussion ensued regarding legal use of seizure funds, accountability and monitoring of funds through the Town’s Munis accounting system, procurement procedures and compliance. No formal action taken on this item.
Mayor Loomis opened the floor for public comment.
John Musolf, Oro Valley resident, suggested that the Town Manager be directed that any expenditures that are made by the Chief of Police should be under some form of oversight prior to the submittal for seizure funds.
Discussion ensued regarding the use of volunteers for Coyote Run Transit as drivers, required training and liability and safety.
Mayor Loomis opened the floor for public comment.
John Musolf, Oro Valley resident, questioned uniform costs for volunteer drivers and recommended coming up with a generic uniform. He also commented that the Town did not need to spend money on a Volunteer Appreciation Program.
MOTION: A motion was made by Council Member Gillaspie and seconded by Council Member Abbott to direct staff to implement the Transit Services Volunteer Program and that the Town Manger be authorized to fill existing driver vacancies resulting from the hiring freeze with employees hired as temps until such time as the volunteers can assume said duties in whole or part. (Per amended motion).
AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION:
MOTION: A motion was made by Council Member Latas and seconded by Council Member Garner to amend the motion to remove the hiring of the temp workers since it would take as long to get them up to speed as it would be to recruit and train the volunteers.
MOTION carried, 5-2 with Council Member Abbott and Council Member Gillaspie opposed.
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Discussion ensued regarding Community Funding amounts (Town Manager’s Recommended Budget included $403,504 for agencies and the Community Funding Subcommittee recommendation was $236,717) and the use of Police Department Seizure Funds for Project Graduation in the amount of $10,000.
Mayor Loomis opened the floor for public comment.
Melanie Larson, Oro Valley resident, representing the Northern Pima County Chamber of Commerce, commented that many people are concerned that the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau (MTCVB), Tucson Regional Economics Opportunity, Inc. (TREO) and C-Path may not be funded. She stated that it was important to the Town’s growth and she recommended future funding.
Bill Adler, Oro Valley resident, stated that many services that are required by the Town are under funded. He expressed his opposition to donating taxpayer money to outside agencies when other items are under funded. He stated that if the Town is looking at layoffs and/or furloughs, the Town should not be funding outside agencies.
Lynn Erickson, Oro Valley resident, General Manager of the Hilton El Conquistador Resort, thanked the Council for their consideration of the proposed community funding to date. He stated that it would be a missed opportunity to not fund C-Path when the Town has made a commitment to bring bio-tech, high tech businesses to the Town.
MOTION: A motion was made by Vice Mayor Carter and seconded by Council Member Kunisch to add $25,000 back into the Community Funding recommendation for C-Path and to raise the Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities (TREO) up to a minimum of $40,000.
MOTION carried, 4-3 with Council Member Garner, Council Member Gillaspie, and Council Member Latas opposed.
Council Members Garner, Gillaspie and Latas were opposed due to the impact to the Town, possible layoff of employees, non-responsiveness from TREO and uncertainty regarding what the funding was actually used for.
MOTION: A motion was made by Mayor Loomis and seconded by Council Member Kunisch to fund the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau (MTCVB) at the $72,000 level from the Bed Tax.
AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION:
MOTION: A motion was made by Council Member Gillaspie and seconded by Council Member Latas to amend the motion to include the remainder of the line items as proposed by the Community Funding Subcommittee.
MOTION carried, 4-3 with Mayor Loomis, Council Member Abbott, and Council Member Kunisch opposed.
MOTION carried, 6-1 with Mayor Loomis opposed.
Discussion ensued regarding service levels, realizing improved efficiencies, maximizing purchasing power and cost savings, fiscal impact, reporting structure and transfer of positions and clearance levels for I.T. personnel.
Richard Tracy, Oro Valley resident, commented that when he moved to Oro Valley, it was a "community of excellence" and he felt that the Town was moving towards a "community of average" because of the cuts being proposed.
John Musolf, Oro Valley resident, commented that "transfer" does not necessarily mean a physical move; transfers could be responsibility and/or accounting. He further commented that with the proposed transfer of the Police Public Information Officer and the Safety and Risk Manager, their use of take home cars went away. He recommended that the take home vehicle for the Police I.T. employee also be removed from the budget.
MOTION: A motion was made by and seconded by to
MOTION failed, 2-5 with Vice Mayor Carter, Council Member Abbott, Council Member Garner, Council Member Gillaspie, and Council Member Latas opposed.
MOTION: A motion was made by Council Member Kunisch and seconded by Council Member Gillaspie to approve the Police Department Information Technology transfer plan.
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Discussion ensued regarding consolidating maintenance of Town vehicles under the Public Works Department, use of Oro Valley businesses, and preparing a Request for Proposals (RFP) or Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for services.
MOTION: A motion was made by Vice Mayor Carter and seconded by Council Member Garner to approve the fleet maintenance operations as presented.
MOTION carried, 7-0.
MOTION: A motion was made by Council Member Garner and seconded by Council Member Kunisch to approve the transfer of the Safety and Risk Manager to Human Resources Department.
MOTION carried, 6-0.
(Council Member Kunisch stepped out of the room).
Discussion ensued regarding providing centralized information and media coordination, a reduction in duplication of efforts, back up for staff to relieve 24-hour on call demand, review of need for take home vehicle for current Police Department Public Information Officer (PIO) and possible reclassification of position if additional duties/responsibilities were assigned.
Mayor Loomis opened the floor for public comment.
Richard Tracy, Oro Valley resident, commented that there are call-out needs for the Police Public Information Officer (PIO) and he felt that the position was "media driven".
MOTION: A motion was made by and seconded by to
MOTION carried, 7-0.
MOTION: A motion was made by Mayor Loomis and seconded by Council Member Kunisch to approve the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) with the General Fund amount of $110,000 to fund the Virtual Data Center.
MOTION carried, 7-0.
MOTION: A motion was made by Council Member Gillaspie and seconded by Council Member Latas to accept the Compensation and Benefits Reclassification Plan if the reduction in force is applied in full or in part and that it be applied only to positions that may be affected and to include the Police Department Public Information Officer position as part of the consideration.
MOTION carried, 4-3 with Mayor Loomis, Vice Mayor Carter, and Council Member Kunisch opposed.
Vice Mayor Carter commented that he didn't feel that all of the reclassifications should apply so he could not support the motion.
Mayor Loomis recessed the meeting at 12:05 a.m. The meeting resumed at 12:12 a.m.
Finance Director Stacey Lemos reviewed possible salary reduction scenarios. She then reported that with adjustments made to the budget line items, there is currently a surplus of $450,998 in the General Fund, $108,475 in the Highway Fund and in the Bed Tax fund there is a surplus of $63,439.
Mayor Loomis opened the floor for public comment.
Jacob Maish, non-Town resident, Oro Valley Police Department dispatcher, expressed concerns with the proposed changes. He commented that proposals such as a 1% decrease in wages, an increase in health care and possible furloughs would greatly affect the employees. He asked the Town Council to be cautious and responsible when making these considerations. He also noted that employees need to feel that they are valued and appreciated.
Chris Palic, non-Town resident, President of the Oro Valley Police Officers Association (OVPOA), commented that some issues being discussed are under the current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Police officers. He also stated that there are some upsetting items such as giving money away for community funding or for property but still considering taking away from employees. He asked that the Council keep the employees and their current pay/benefits and not give money away. He stated that he hoped that everyone could work proactively together and in good faith.
MOTION: A motion was made by Council Member Latas and seconded by Council Member Garner to adjourn at 12:20 a.m. and to move the remaining agenda items to the next available meeting (May 27th).
MOTION carried, 7-0.
(REMAINING AGENDA ITEMS WILL BE CONSIDERED AT THE MAY 27, 2009 SPECIAL/STUDY SESSION)
| 4J-4. |
Reduced employer contributions to health insurance |
| 4J-5. |
Early Retirement Program |
| 4K. |
Discussion and possible action to implement the Town Manager’s Recommended Reduction in Force Plan as modified by Council direction through May 4, 2009 |
| 4L. |
Discussion and possible action to continue or modify the Town’s hiring freeze policy as adopted in November 2008 |
| 4M. |
Discussion and possible action regarding the Town’s reorganization plan for Development Services |
| 4N. |
Discussion and possible action regarding Town Revenue Enhancement Options and Alternatives |