SOUTH GATE CITY COUNCIL
SOUTH GATE HOUSING AUTHORITY
SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH GATE
SPECIAL JOINT BUDGET MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2023
CALL TO ORDER Maria del Pilar Avalos, Mayor/Chairperson called the Special Joint Budget Session Meeting of the South Gate City Council to order at 5:40 p.m.
ROLL CALL Yodit Glaze, City Clerk
PRESENT Vice Mayor/Vice Chairperson Gil Hurtado, Council/Authority/Agency Member Joshua Barron, Council/Authority/Agency Member Maria Davila, and Council/Authority/Agency Member Al Rios; City Treasurer Jose De La Paz, City Manager/Executive Director Chris Jeffers LATE Mayor/Chairperson Maria del Pilar Avalos
EXCUSED City Attorney/Authority Counsel Raul F. Salinas BUDGETADMIN The City Council, South Gate Housing Authority and the Successor Agency to the Community Development Commission of the City of South Gate considered:
a. Hearing the various presentations on the Proposed Fiscal Year 2023-24 Municipal Budget and 5-Year Capital Improvement Program for the various entities;
b. Approving a Resolution adopting the Municipal Budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24 with the changes stipulated in Exhibit A and B for a total of $156,497,819 for all funds along with any additions or deletions the Legislative Bodies may enact;
c. Approving the budget modifications for Fiscal Year 2022-23 as described in Attachment C; and
d. Approving a Resolution adopting the annual Gann Appropriations Limit for Fiscal Year 2023-24.
Kris Ryan, Director of Finance, states that this is one of two scheduled meetings presenting a total budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. He continued to thank all finance staff who had participated and worked on
SPECIAL JOINT BUDGET CITY COUNCIL, HOUSING AUTHORITY & SUCCESSOR AGENCY MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 20, 2023
the dra:[ted budget along with department heads who complied their own department presentations. Lastly, he noted that the proposed budget could be found on the City's website.
BUDGET OVERVIEW The proposed budget for 2023-2024 is an overview of the City's financial plan for fundings of different departments along with the openings in positions for those departments. The City Council allowed staff to make presentations on their departmental accomplishments, goals for FY 2023- 2024 and proposed new programs and/or special budget requests.
The proposed budget will highlight the salary and benefit increases per the MOUs. The new additions in the different departments. Along with the different funding programs for maintaining and improving the City's infrastructure. Funding for the city's updated the city's cost allocation plans.
Mr. Ryan demonstrated the city's top revenues, which include Sales Tax and Property Tax.
A brief overview of the general fund expenditure was presented for each department.
Changes to the general fund are due to the recent increase in insurance fund allocation, COLA salary increases, supplies and services, and, lastly, the park improvements.
A brief notion of the staffing changes was also presented for each department.
The five-year financial forecast demonstrated the revenues and expenditures for the past three years and the proposed projections for the upcorning years.
Mr. Ryan also presented the general fund reserves. The general fund was broken into five categories: unassigned reserves, committed reserves, non- spendable reserves, restricted reserves, and assigned reserves.
Mr. Ryan noted staff and Council's recornrnendations in how to fill the fund deficit gap. Some examples presented consisted of Sewer Rate Adjustments, initiating a street lighting assessment study, conducting an internal service fund study, updating a cost allocation plan (CAP), considering a comprehensive fee study, and prioritizing-based budgeting.
SPECIAL JOINT BUDGET CITY COUNCIL, HOUSING AUTHORITY & SUCCESSOR AGENCY MEETING MINUTES OF JtJNE 20, 2023
BUDGET OVERVIEW
CONT'D There are five internal service funds. These include the insurance fund, fleet management (vehicle maintenance) fund, information system fund, capital asset and equipment replacement, and building maintenance and infrastructure fund.
Mr. Ryan noted that all industries' insurance premiums have increased in prior years, which are reflected in this fiscal year's budget.
The following few slides under the enterprise funds are intended for business operations. The City's largest :fund is the Water Fund. User fees fund all three that fall into this category. The next fund under this program is the sewage funds. This fund does not cover the expenditures. Lastly, the City has a Refuse fund. This 'fund was previously used to collect fees from solid waste services. However, now it will be used for related waste management.
Special Revenue for street and transportation 'funds. These fiinds must be spent on street-related construction and maintenance projects.
The ARPA Stimulus bill awards the American Rescue Plan Act to the City. The city council has approved all appropriations.
Mr. Ryan also presented adjustments to the proposed budget. He divided it into different 'funding (General Fund, Park Enhancement Fund, Emergency Housing Voucher Fund, Gas Tax Fund, Road Repair & Accountability Act, and Water Fund).
He also noted the modifications to the existing budget.
COMMENTS FROM
THE A[iDlENCE Mario Dominguez requested that funding should be provided for the camera system. He also asked for more clarification on the Utility rate and the City's current debt. Lastly, he wanted to inquire about who and how blue buses, "The Gate," are funded.
COMMENTS FROM
OFFIC[ALS In response to Mr. Dominguez, Mr. Kris addressed the concerns about funding for the cameras system and mentioned that the council is still approving it. In terms of the utility rate, he reassures Mr. Dominguez that all cities have a similar rate, and to assess the dimensions of the rate, the City would have to review Prop 218. Lastly, he addresses the concerns regarding City's debt. Mr. Ryan noted that currently, the city has little debt. The fund deficit we will see in the upcoming years will increase unless addressed.
SPECIAL JOINT BUDGET CITY COUNCIL, HOUSING AUTHORITY & SUCCESSOR AGENCY MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 20, 2023
COMMENTS FROM
OFFJCIALS CONT'D Steve Costley, Acting Director of Park & Recreation, elaborated more on the funding for the blue buses Mr. Dominguez referred to. He mentioned that Metro local return propositions :tunding pays for dial-a-ride and "The Gate" buses.
Council Member Barron requested clarification on the HDL projections that were presented. He noted that the ADU is an increasing factor for property values. He wanted to know if HDL knew of the increase in ADU properties in the City.
Mr. Ryan explained that the city looks at the various funding sources and the jobs these positions assign. When there are special revenue funds, we identify :[unds that are eligible to charge for salaries and benefits.
Council Member Barron then asked why the special funds were covering some of the salaries and benefits of the departments.
Mr. Ryan explains that the city reviews different funding sources and job positions. Over time as it is identified that some of these positions are in transit and transportation or street-related projects, those funds can be utilized to pay for some of the salaries and benefits.
Mr. Barron asked if any of these special :[unds have caps on what can be used.
Mr. Ryan stated each 'fund has criteria on what you can use it for and the administrative cost it can be used for. An example of how inflation increased for capital improvement projects.
He also made it a point to note that the cost changes significantly from when the project was fun,ded to when it is implemented.
Vice Mayor Hurtado thanked Mr. Ryan for the thorough presentation. He noted that the importance having transparency in our city's budget and funding.
Council Member Rios thanked Mr. Ryan for the presentation and asked if the general funding included the grants.
Mr. Ryan clarified that the grants fall under special revenue funding, and the specifics of the department grants will be explained.
Council Member Davila thanked Mr. Ryan for a thorough presentation and wanted to know if there was :tunding for the Court House and if there was still a plan to rehabilitate it.
SPECIAL JOINT BUDGET CITY COUNCIL, HOUSING AUTHORITY & SUCCESSOR AGENCY MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 20, 2023
COMMENTS FROM
OFFICIALS CONT'D Jose De La Paz, City Treasurer noted that the Court House 'funding is a part of the CIP fund. The Court House fund was incorporated a few years ago and will continue into the next fiscal year.
Ms. Davila asked what the current balance for the ARPA Funds was.
Mr. Ryan stated that the current balance for that fund is 486,000 out of the 34 million. He stated that the city must have a plan implemented in order to use the fund. The city appropriated the :fund and must get the program instated by the end of 2024 year and must spend it by the year 2026.
Ms. Davila also wanted to inquire about more information on the status of the West Santa Ana Branch, the 750. She states that this is the city's second year in putting aside funding for.
Mr. Ryan explained that there is a 'fund of 1.5 million this year and is scheduled to put in 175,000 next year.
Mr. De La Paz wanted clarification on the FTEs for the administrative servtces.
Mr. Ryan explained that they are adding one :[ull-time position instead of a part-time position.
Mr. De La Paz wanted to propose that an additional full-time position should be considered due to the outstanding number of delinquent business licenses. Recommendation to the council to the estimated downfall priority-based budget to reduce the shortfall to balance the budget before adopting it.
BREAK
COMMENTS FROM
OFFICIALS CONT'D Jon Hamilton, Director of the Human Resources Department. Currently, organized into seven full-time positions. Two divisions: Risk Management and Personnel. The budget is projected to be 8 million and is mainly distributed to Risk Management for insurance entities. Mr. Hamilton broke down the coverages and impacts on the City's insurance cost.
Mayor Avalos asked what would be considered an incident covered under the insurance for Terrorist incidents.
Mr. Hamilton noted that incidents such as 9/11 would fall under that coverage that is held in the insurance.
SPECIAL JOINT BUDGET CITY COUNCIL, HOUSING AUTHORITY & SUCCESSOR AGENCY MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 20, 2023
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
DEPARTMENT Wendy O'Kelly, Deputy Director of Finance presented the budget presentation. Administrative Services Department is composed of 25 full- time employees and 1.42 part-time equivalents. This department is divided into Finance, Purchasing, Utility Billing, and Computer Information Systems. The proposed budget for the department is 5 million.
CITY COUNCIL, CITY ATTORNEY
CITY MANAGER BUDGETS Chris Jeffers, City Manager presented the budget for the City Council, City Attorney and City Manager's Office. He began by complementing the City Council for the centennial celebration and for the accomplishments throughout the year. He first presented City Attorney's Office. He noted the many firms that provide legal assistance for the city.
Legal services are approximately one million dollars for possible litigation. City Manager's Office is divided into two operations front office: assigning with clerical services. The back office, community engagement operations on getting information out, managing city website and social media, and staffing of Tweedy Mile Recruitment assistance. The proposed budget for City Manager's Office is $900,000 for office supplies, printing, events and meetings.
POLICE DEP ARTMENT Darren Arakawa, Chief of Police presented the budget for the department.
The organization is composed of 142 full-time employees. The budget is broken into subsections such as the administrative division, patrol division, traffic bureau, detective bureau, jail division, dispatch division and records division.
The proposed budget is three million for the Administrative Division, three million for the Traffic Bureau, five million for the Detective Bureau, one million for Jail Maintenance, one million for Dispatch Center, one million for Records Bureau, $208,000 for Crime Prevention Unit, two million for Police Information Technology and fi:tteen million for Patrol Division.
COMMENTS FROM
THE A[iDIENCE Mario Dominguez thanked the Chief for an excellent presentation. He requested that our officers be trained for mass shootings and asked for clarification on parking enforcement. He also wanted to speak to Human Resources regarding police officers' worker's compensation. Lastly, he insisted that the camera system must be the top priority.
Chief Arakawa addressed Mr. Dominguez's concerns. He states that officers are actively training for active shooters, pursuit training (driving tactics), officers are also handling street takeovers. He also noted that there are six parking enforcement officers. Officers do the enforcement, and a third party collects the payment.
SPECIAL JOINT BUDGET CITY COUNCIL, HOUSING AUTHORITY & SUCCESSOR AGENCY MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 20, 2023
Mr. Hamilton explains that the officer's insurance will be able to cover any form of injury.
COMMENTS FROM
COUNCIL Mr. Hurtado referred back to Mr. Hamilton's presentation and asked if there were any concerns that one of the fourteen other cities on the list, if they continue to have a lot of issues, will play a role with our city rates in tnsurance.
Mr. Hamilton explains that, yes, it could. However, consultants will come in and evaluate each City's risk management data, and based on those findings, the insurance will determine how it will impact other cities.
Mr. Hurtado also inquired for more information on what steps the business license department were taking to target delinquent business owners.
Mr. Ryan explains how the part-time business license officer works 19 hours a week. During those hours, he conducts business inspections and addresses delinquent licenses. The department is working tirelessly to manage the numbers with the resources provided to them.
Mr. Hurtado inquired for more information on utility bills, such as the water bill. There have been instances in the past in which individuals neglected to pay the bill and moved from the city. He wanted to know how the department handling such cases.
Mr. Ryan states that he currently does not statistics on such incidents. He also noted that at the start of covid, the City stopped continuing the late fees and turning off the property owner's water. The department has noted and instated programs to assist low-income families with such utility bills.
Mr. Hurtado asked Chief Arakawa if he could clarify the importance of animal control.
Chief Arakawa states that he completely understands the love of animals - the euthanization rate is one of the lowest. Euthanization is the last resort when an animal is injured to the point it cannot be helped.
Mr. Hurtado asked the Police Chief to elaborate more on the importance of the police explorers' program. He also asked if any policies were implemented to keep an employee with the organization for some time.
The Chief explained that police explorers are a great addition to the organization and will later be more impactfiil when they later enter the field. And there are currently not any policies to do so.
SPECIAL JOINT BUDGET CITY COUNCIL, HOUSING AUTHORITY & SUCCESSOR AGENCY MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 20, 2023
COMMENTS FROM
COUNCIL CONT'D Council Member Rios complimented the police department for noting their training and Kris Ryan's continuous participation.
Council Member Barron wanted clarification on the salary budget for the council to ensure transparency for the public. And regarding the business license officer position, Mr. Barron suggested that the department consider adding full-time and part-time positions.
Mr. Ryan, adding another position will address the need for a business license sector. However, the department is trying to be as resourceful with what has been given.
Mr. Barron wanted clarification on why there was a need for higher- ranked officer positions and why it was crucial to have such positions opening in the department.
Chief explained that he is eliminating a few hourly positions to open the full-time position presented in the budget. The demand for jobs (court officer, records specialist, and public records technician) is increasing, which is why the need is essential.
Mr. Barron wanted to know if pothole fixes and street maintenance fall under the risk management's budget.
Mr. Ryan noted that the budget with public works has proposed funding for tree, pothole, and street maintenance
Mr. Barron wanted to know if the South Gate Police App was a part of the budget for this year.
Chief explained that the app was not included in this year's budget. The investment for the app occurred in last year's budget.
Jose De La Paz, City Treasurer was glad to see investment in technology and asked if Mr. Ryan could add more clarification to increase the budget for the administrative services department.
Mr. Ryan explained that a part of the IT Master Plan explains the slight increase in budget. Currently, there are only three IT employees, and a part of the master plan is adding more employees to that department.
Mr. De La Paz requested that the finance department incorporate a debit card machine similar to the water department.
Mayor Avalos thanked all presenters for the presentation.
SPECIAL JOINT BUDGET CITY COUNCIL, HOUSING AUTHORITY & SUCCESSOR AGENCY MEETING MINUTES OF JtJNE 20, 2023
RECESS Council/Authority/Agency Member Rios recessed the meeting at 9:25 p.m. to June 21s' and seconded by Council/Authority/Agency Member Davila.
PASSED and APPROVED this 28ol day of November 2023.
ATTEST:
Maria del Pilar Avalos, Mayor/Chairperson Yodit City Clerk