15-B
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
ATTENTION: Ryan Smoot, City Manager
FROM: Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to approve the Minutes of April 21, 2025, Special Meeting of the City Council.
DATE: May 12, 2025
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
None
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) Approve the April 21, 2025, Special Meeting Minutes; or
2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
None
ATTACHMENT
Minutes of the April 21, 2025, Special Meeting… ........................ ………………………… 2
MINUTES
CITY OF BELLFLOWER
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BELLFLOWER CITY COUNCIL
MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2025, 2:00 P.M.
BELLFLOWER CITY HALL – COUNCIL CHAMBERS
1 CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Dunton called the Special Meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Bellflower City Hall, 16600 Civic Center Drive, Bellflower.
2 ROLL CALL
The following Members of the City Council responded present to roll call:
Mayor Ray Dunton
Mayor Pro Tem Sonny R. Santa Ines
Council Member Dan Koops
Council Member Wendi Morse
Council Member Victor A. Sanchez
Staff Participants:
Ryan Smoot, City Manager
Karl H. Berger, City Attorney
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
Len Gorecki, Assistant City Manager/Director of Public Works Tae Rhee, Director of Finance
Anna Garan, Finance Manager
Brian McNerney, Director of Public Safety
Jim DellaLonga, Director of Economic Development
Elizabeth Oba, Director of Planning and Building Services Wangsu Lee, Assistant to the City Manager
Dakota Wallace, Management Assistant
3 PUBLIC COMMENTS
For the record, there was no one in attendance wishing to provide public comments.
Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4-A April 21, 2025 Page 2 of 9
4 BUDGET STUDY SESSION
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session concerning 2025-2027 Proposed Budget.
The study session will review budget proposals from each City department for Fiscal Years 2025-2027. Individual Department Directors will provide an overview of their departments and present major department changes and projects incorporating overarching goals from the Strategic Plan adopted by the Council earlier this year. Council Members may provide general input and direction regarding the draft budget. A separate meeting will be held to consider adopting a final budget.
City Manager Smoot introduced the item.
For the record, Finance Manager Garan 1) provided a PowerPoint presentation of an overview of Management’s Recommended 2025-2027 Budget Adjustments; and 2) along with City Manager Smoot, responded to Council Members’ questions.
For the record, relative to Slide 4 of the PowerPoint presentation (General Fund Budget), 1) Finance Manager Garan clarified that the proposed General Fund Surplus Policy is to allow for the allocation of the actual General Fund surplus, if the actual surplus is in excess of two million dollars, to the General Fund Property Acquisition Reserve and General Fund Capital Projects Fund; and 2) City Manager Smoot a) reiterated that with the proposed policy, anything in excess of two million dollars would be split between the General Fund Property Acquisition Reserve and the General Fund Capital Projects Fund; however, if the actual surplus is not in excess of two million dollars, the funds will remain in the unassigned General Fund reserve; b) confirmed that the balance of the General Fund Property Acquisition Reserve has been fully expended, highlighting that the proposed policy would ensure that sufficient funds are allocated for future investments; and c) clarified that if the proposed policy is adopted, staff will be able to transfer the surplus funds without City Council approval.
For the record, the discussion followed each Department’s budget as listed on the PowerPoint presentation provided by Finance Manager Garan.
City Manager’s Office
Assistant to the City Manager Lee 1) provided a report of the City Manager’s, City Attorney’s Office, and New Hope Temporary Shelter’s proposed budgets; and 2) responded to Council Members’ questions along with City Manager Smoot, City Attorney Berger and Finance Manager Garan.
For the record, 1) without objection, Council Member Sanchez requested that “Goal #4: Improve Quality of Life & Visual Appeal in the City” be added to the strategic plan goals and objectives listed on Slide 22 of the PowerPoint presentation (City Manager’s Office Strategic Plan Goals & Objectives), expressing the opinion that Goal #4 should be actively considered and achieved by the City Manager’s Office; and 2) City Manager Smoot confirmed that although not shown on the slide, all strategic plan goals are considered and achieved by the City Manager’s Office.
Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4-A April 21, 2025 Page 3 of 9
4 BUDGET STUDY SESSION – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session concerning 2025-2027 Proposed Budget – Continued
For the record, and without objection, Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines requested and received confirmation from City Manager Smoot that the new Human Resources & Risk Manager 1) will prioritize risk management; 2) will review the City’s current insurance coverage to determine if the City is sufficiently covered or has excess coverage that may not be needed; and 3) is aware of these City Council priorities.
City Attorney’s Office
Relative to Slide 24 of the PowerPoint presentation (Major Department Changes – City Attorney’s Office) and at the request of Mayor Dunton and Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines, City Attorney Berger 1) clarified that seventy-five hours are billed as a retainer; however, as the services and needs of the City have changed, billable hours have increased, noting that the City Attorney’s Office was nine hundred twenty-one hours over the retainer in 2024; 2) stated that an increase of rates has not been requested, further explaining that the current retainer is below market rate when comparing to other municipal attorneys; 3) explained that some attorney fees are recovered by the City, such as time for public nuisance cases, liens, and cannabis permit renewals because the time is billed directly to the property owner or permittee; and 4) confirmed that his firm has been compensated for the hours worked.
New Hope Temporary Shelter Services
Following brief discussion, relative to Slide 25 of the PowerPoint presentation (New Hope Temporary Shelter Services) and in response to questions and comments provided by Council Member Sanchez, City Manager Smoot confirmed that the City is working with Los Angeles County and other local solutions to provide funding for temporary shelter services.
At the request of Council Member Koops, 1) Assistant to the City Manager Lee clarified that Operating and Maintenance Costs listed for the shelter includes a $400,000 placeholder for Measure A funding because the County has indicated that the City is not able to supplant or replace the funding that we currently utilize to operate the shelter, meaning that effectively the City would have to expand the homelessness services and reallocate an additional $400,000 for other homelessness services, so we have included that into that line item as the worst case scenario; 2) City Manager Smoot stated that he did not see specific “anti-supplantation” language is anywhere in Measure A, nor believed that it was the intent of Measure A, and the City has disputed that with the County; however, have opted to include the funding there as worst case scenario as it has been difficult to reach an agreement with the County; and 3) Finance Manager Garan confirmed that the placeholder funds could be separated out in the budget from the usual operating and maintenance cost.
For the record, following brief discussion, it was the consensus of the City Council to include a separate line item on page 164 of the Budget (New Hope Temporary Shelter Services) to differentiate the actual operating and maintenance costs compared to the projected operating and maintenance costs.
Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4-A April 21, 2025 Page 4 of 9
4 BUDGET STUDY SESSION – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session concerning 2025-2027 Proposed Budget – Continued
At the request of Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines relative to the PLHA Grant funding, 1) Assistant to the City Manager Lee confirmed that the City is entitled to permanent housing allocation funds, the estimates are released for five-year increments, and although it is nearly impossible to project the fund allocation , the City will continue to apply for it; and 2) Finance Manager Garan confirmed that all $963,000 of funding was used this year towards personnel costs for Mercy House.
Following discussion, City Manager Smoot 1) explained that based on the daily reports provided by the New Hope Shelter, approximately thirty-four to thirty-six individuals occupy the Shelter daily and the per bed cost paid by the City is approximately $145 per day; and 2) confirmed that he would look into the possibility of the City “selling beds” to surrounding cities as it may be a potential revenue source.
For the record, Council Member Koops expressed concern with the City “selling beds” to surrounding cities as the community was promised that the New Hope Shelter would be available to the Bellflower community only.
City Clerk’s Office
City Clerk Ochiqui 1) provided a report of the City Clerk’s proposed budget; and 2) along with City Manager Smoot, responded to Council Members’ questions.
At the request of Mayro Pro Tem Santa Ines, City Clerk Ochiqui clarified that Public Records Act requests received for building records are typically made by property owners and buyers conducting their due diligence prior to completing real estate transactions.
In response to questions and comments by Mayor Dunton, 1) City Clerk Ochiqui clarified that the City continues to maintain both hardcopy and electronic records; and 2) City Manager Smoot confirmed that many digitized records are readily available to the public through the City’s records archive on the website, noting that perhaps the increase in the number of records requests received each year may be even greater if the records archive were not readily available; however, noted that not all records are available on the website, as some are excluded from disclosure or otherwise protected.
Finance Department
Finance Manager Garan 1) provided a report of the Finance Department’s proposed budget; and 2) along with City Manager Smoot, responded to Council Members’ questions.
Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4-A April 21, 2025 Page 5 of 9
4 BUDGET STUDY SESSION – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session concerning 2025-2027 Proposed Budget – Continued
At the request of Council Member Sanchez and Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines, Finance Manager Garan 1) explained that the implementation of the new financial software will take approximately twenty to twenty-four months, noting that both the current system and new system will run concurrently; 2) stated that the implementation of the new software is approximately $500,000, and $100,000 each year thereafter for maintenance, which is allocated in the proposed budget; 3) clarified that the new system will only migrate the summary data, not the details, as it is easier to quality check only the summary data; and 4) explained that with the new system, invoices will be processed online and employees will be able to complete their timecards and access previous timecards online.
In response to Mayor Dunton, City Manager Smoot 1) confirmed that staff would reach out to California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (CJPIA) to determine whether the City needs earthquake insurance when the City is self-insured through CJPIA; and 2) stated that the new Risk Manager will be tasked with reviewing insurance coverages for the City as an insured and the insurance we require fr om vendors and contractors.
In response to questions and comments provided by Council Member Sanchez, Finance Manager Garan confirmed that she would look into the City’s banking institution’s current Earnings Credit Rate (“ECR”), noting that the City does not rely on the operating accounts to generate investment earnings, but rather use other investment vehicles specifically for investment purposes to optimize interest earnings.
Recess: For the record and without objection, Mayor Dunton recessed the meeting at 3:44 p.m. for a brief break.
Reconvene: For the record, Mayor Dunton reconvened the meeting at 3:50 p.m., with all Council Members present.
Public Safety Department
Director of Public Safety McNerney 1) provided a report of the Public Safety Department’s proposed budget; and 2) along with City Manager Smoot and City Attorney Berger, responded to Council Members’ questions.
In response to questions and comments provided by Mayor Dunton, relative to Slide 36 of the PowerPoint presentation (Public Safety Department Major Contract Services Deployment), Director McNerney 1) clarified the “40-Hour Units” and “56- Hour Units” are per shift, not per Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputy (“Deputy”), further explaining that the City’s current agreement with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) requires that one 40-Hour Unit Non-Relief and one 56-Hour Unit Non-Relief be filled at all times; and 2) explained that there are a total of twenty-one Deputies on shift in the City throughout the day and night, noting that per the agreement, only one patrol unit with two Deputies is provided for either the day or night shift.
Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4-A April 21, 2025 Page 6 of 9
4 BUDGET STUDY SESSION – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session concerning 2025-2027 Proposed Budget – Continued
Following brief discussion, 1) Director McNerney a) stated he is hopeful the Motor Deputy position will be filled in the near future; b) clarified that LASD does not charge the City for overtime of the Deputies; however, if the City requests for a Deputy to work overtime, the City must bear the overtime costs; and c) explained the “no-call” traffic car was removed from the proposed budget as the LASD is unable to fill the position; however, if they are able to fill it in the future, staff will request a budget amendment to include the position, further clarifying that the position was not removed from the agreement with the LASD, it was only from the proposed budget; and 2) City Manager Smoot explained that the agreement with the LASD is structured on a per minute basis and the City has requested that the LASD bill their minutes per service category to ensure the minutes required per the agreement are being met sufficiently.
For the record, and without objection, Council Member Sanchez requested staff look into 1) installation of traffic cameras positioned at major arterial streets that have the capability of issuing tickets to assist with traffic calming as a “Plan B” to the Motor Deputy that the City would like to have, but is currently unavailable due to staffing issues within the LASD; 2) budget for a Motor Deputy and a “No Call” traffic car so that the City can show that it is actively pursuing these services; 3) including Goal #2 (Increase Public Outreach, Education and Connection) in the Public Safety Department budget presentation to increase Public Safety involvement within the community through the Neighborhood Watch Program and/or the LASD Volunteers on Patrol (“VOPs”) Program; 4) creating parking districts in certain areas of the City to alleviate crime and public nuisance; and 5) seeing if the newly formed Public Safety Joint Powers Authority (“JPA”) could provide animal control services in the future as there are concerns with services currently provided by Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (“SEAACA”).
In response to comments and questions from Council Member Sanchez, 1) Director McNerney a) stated that staff researched the ticketing cameras, including five pilot cities, and noted that it would not be available to other cities until the year 2030; b) clarified that the Motor Deputy was removed from the budget because the LASD is unable to provide it at this time and the City is better off taking the savings until a Motor Deputy and “No Call” car are available and once available, a budget amendment will be brought back to City Council to reincorporate the funding as it is still in the City’s agreement with LASD; and c) clarified that Goal #2 (Increase Public Outreach, Education and Connection) was not listed in the Public Safety Department budget presentation since no budget allocation was needed to achieve that goal, but it is an active part of Public Safety services; 2) City Manager Smoot confirmed that the motor deputy is still on the “575 form,” it just was not budgeted last year, but will be budgeted in Year 1 in the event the service is available; 3) Mayor Dunton expressed that he is in favor of having the money accessible for other things in the General Fund as the money had been allocated for those services for so long without any progress; and 4) Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines agreed that although Director McNerney is hopeful to acquire Motor Deputy services, there is currently no hope.
Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4-A April 21, 2025 Page 7 of 9
4 BUDGET STUDY SESSION – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session concerning 2025-2027 Proposed Budget – Continued
At the request of Council Member Sanchez, and following general discussion related to public nuisance concerns of a property located in the Artesia Corridor, City Attorney Berger stated that the matter would be scheduled for a future agenda as initiation of litigation to the extent that they are able to.
Following discussion, 1) Director McNerney and City Manager Smoot confirmed that more information relative to technology for public safety, such as “ShotSpotter” and graffiti tracker software/app, will be brought to the City Council for consideration at a future date; and 2) Director McNerney confirmed that license plate readers have been purchased by the City and will be installed at major traffic intersections, and additional units and “ALPR cameras” could be purchased through ShotSpotter’s parent company “Sound Thinking,” noting that this technology compared to the cost of an additional Deputy would be less than half the cost and would be a supplemental option to increase public safety services, reiterating the lack of resources from LASD.
At the request of Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines, relative to page 184 of the Budget (Budget Analysis), Director McNerney confirmed that he would look into the reason for the monetary difference between the “Special Assignment Sergeant” and “Traffic Law Cars – 56-HR Relief and 40-HR Relief.”
Economic Development Department
Director of Economic Development DellaLonga 1) stated that the PowerPoint presentation was reorganized but content had not changed; 2) provided a report of the Economic Development Department’s proposed budget; 3) noted that a study session would be scheduled with the City Council to discuss the future of economic development going forward; and 4) along with City Manager Smoot, responded to Council Members’ questions.
At the request of Mayor Dunton, Director DellaLonga 1) explained that the goal of the proposed Department reorganization is to increase the department’s capacity and delineate duties and responsibilities to provide clear expectations for staff; and 2) stated that the proposed Senior Project Manager of Business Development position would be responsible for overseeing the Business Assistance Programs (“BAPS”) and communicating with current and potential businesses to generate more economic development in the City, noting that the overall goal of the Department is to create new business opportunities, while also retaining what currently exists.
For the record, and without objection, Mayor Santa Ines requested that the Economic Development Department and the Planning and Building Services Department conduct a review of the General Plan with a focus on certain corridors.
Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4-A April 21, 2025 Page 8 of 9
4 BUDGET STUDY SESSION – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session concerning 2025-2027 Proposed Budget – Continued
Following brief discussion, 1) Mayor Dunton stated that he was in favor of conducting a workshop in the future to assist the Economic Development Department with understanding the City Council’s priorities and goals; 2) at the request of Council Member Sanchez regarding when the study session would be scheduled, City Manager Smoot stated that it would be scheduled shortly after the budget year to implement changes and carry forward; and 3) Council Member Koops a) expressed frustration with projects that have been stagnant for long periods of time, such as the “Gold property,” Belle Fleur Centre, K-Mart, and the vacant property behind the Sizzler on Artesia Boulevard, expressing the opinion that there are always projects in the works but most do not come to fruition; and b) stated that he would like to see the Economic Development Department engage with property owners to assist with the fruition of developments.
In response to questions and comments provided by Council Member Koops, City Manager Smoot stated that staff assist property owners with developing and maintaining their properties; however, there are challenges with property owner compliance that inhibits successful development and/or maintenance, but perhaps the City could do to a better job of incentivizing compliance and deterring non-compliance.
For the record, Council Member Sanchez expressed the opinion that the City should continue to strengthen economic development within the City, bring in new businesses, and explore the next ballot measures , such as a vacant property tax or the ¼ cent tax that is newly available.
Planning and Building Services Department
Director of Planning and Building Services Oba 1) stated that a correction was made to Slide 52 of the PowerPoint presentation (Planning Department Existing Structure) to read “7 Contract Building & Safety Staff;” 2) provided a report of the Planning and Building Services Department’s proposed budget ; and 3) along with City Manager Smoot and Finance Manager Garan, responded to Council Members’ questions.
In response to questions and comments provided by Council Member Sanchez and Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines relative to Slide 55 of the PowerPoint presentation (Planning Department Proposed Structure), Director Oba 1) confirmed the proposed structure is equivalent to surrounding cities and will be sufficient; and 2) stated that the separation of the Planning Division and Advance Planning Division will benefit the Department as specific projects will be separated depending on the scope of work, further clarifying that the Senior Planner of the Advance Planning Division will report directly to the Planning Manager.
Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4-A April 21, 2025 Page 9 of 9
4 BUDGET STUDY SESSION – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session concerning 2025-2027 Proposed Budget – Continued
At the request of Council Member Sanchez relative to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), Director Oba confirmed that they account for about five percent of permits, which is a high number considering the volume of permits processed, and equate to most of the construction permits.
At the request of Council Member Koops, relative to Slide 57 of the PowerPoint Presentation (Major Department Changes Planning), 1) Finance Manager Garan confirmed that the increase in salaries, wages, benefits and taxes in the amount of $187,775 accounts for the seven full-time and two part-time employees currently in the Planning Division, noting that this includes an assumed Cost-of-Living Adjustment (“COLA”) increase and CalPERS adjustment; and 2) City Manager Smoot highlighted that Slide 9 of the PowerPoint Presentation (Budget Summary – By Expenditure Type) demonstrates that 23% of the City’s expenditures for the next two years is for salaries, benefits and taxes.
For the record, there was no formal action taken on this item.
5 ADJOURNMENT
It was moved by Council Member Koops, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines, and carried without objection, to adjourn the meeting. Mayor Dunton adjourned the meeting at 6:02 p.m.
Ray Dunton, Mayor
City of Bellflower
ATTEST:
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
Approved: May 12, 2025