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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/25/2016 B A K E R S F I E L D Committee Members Staff: Chris Huot Councilmember, Willie Rivera, Chair Assistant City Manager Councilmember, Ken Weir Councilmember, Chris Parlier SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMITTEE Monday, January 25, 2016 12:00 p.m. City Hall North – Conference Room A 1600 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301 The meeting was called to order at 12:00 p.m. 1. ROLL CALL Committee members: Councilmember, Willie Rivera, Chair Councilmember, Chris Parlier Councilmember, Ken Weir, arrived at 12:07 p.m. City Staff: Alan Tandy, City Manager Chris Huot and Steven Teglia, Assistant City Managers Christopher Gerry, Administrative Analyst – City Manager’s Office Virginia Gennaro, City Attorney Joshua Rudnick, Deputy City Attorney Dennis West, Bakersfield Police Department Lieutenant Tammy Davis, Bakersfield Police Department – Animal Control Supervisor Lacey VonDohlen, Bakersfield Police Department – Animal Control Clerk Nelson Smith, Finance Director Sandra Jimenez, Assistant Finance Director Randy McKeegan, Finance Supervisor Doug McIsaac, Community Development Director Jacqui Kitchen, Planning Director Paul Johnson, Planning Principal Planner Additional Attendees: Julie Johnson, City of Bakersfield Animal Control Center Vicky Thrasher, Critters Without Litters Larry Keller, Critters Without Litters Susan Bennett, Kern Humane Society Liz Keogh, Bakersfield City Animal Control Volunteer Susan Madigan, Kern County Animal Control Commission 2. ADOPT AUGUST 17, 2015 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT The Report was adopted as submitted. /s/ Chris Huot Budget and Finance Committee Meeting Agenda Summary Report January 25, 2016 Page 2 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS None 4. DEFERRED BUSINESS A. Discussion Regarding the Local Vendor Policy Assistant City Manager Huot referenced a memorandum that had been provided in the packet, summarizing the current local vendor preference policy. Committee Chair Rivera expressed his desire to keep tax dollar local as much as possible and made a motion to brand the current policy resolution the Bakersfield First Program, change the local vendor preference bid percentage from three percent (3%) to five percent (5%) and increase the dollar cap amount from $9,000 to $15,000 per bid award. Committee member Parlier stated that due to the current economic times, such a change to the percentage would help keep more tax dollars local and would support local job creation. He requested that a survey of other cities be provided for comparison purposes. City Attorney Gennaro stated that if the motion was approved, it would need to be presented to the full City Council for approval. Committee member Weir stated he supported the branding of the policy but was not in favor of increasing the bid percentage and dollar cap amount. He stated such changes would initially cost the City money and would not be prudent given the current state of the City’s budget. He felt that the current incentive was fair and stated no complaints have been made by local vendors since the changes were made and adopted in 2012. The motion was approved by Committee Chair Rivera and Committee member Parlier and was opposed by Committee member Weir. Committee member Weir requested staff prepare a minority report for the full Council. 5. NEW BUSINESS A. Discussion Regarding Additional Funding for Spay/Neuter Program Assistant City Manager Teglia provided a verbal summarization of the spay/neuter program. The program has been very successful with an 85% utilization rate. City Manager Tandy stated funding is available in Council Contingency and that no authorized spending has occurred in the current fiscal year. Susan Bennett with Kern Humane Society stated that the more vouchers available for individuals to use, the lower the number of animals entering the animal shelter. Vicky Thrasher with Critters Without Litters stated that since opening in October of 2012, a total of 27,955 spay/neuter operations have been performed at her facility, of which 30% use vouchers. Discontinuing the voucher program would cause the animal population to rise. Budget and Finance Committee Meeting Agenda Summary Report January 25, 2016 Page 3     Larry Keller with Critters Without Litters stated that euthanasia was down 30% since the voucher program was established in 2014. The vouchers have made it affordable for individuals to spay/neuter their animals. Community member Susan Madigan stated the voucher program has significantly reduced the number of animals entering the animal shelters. Community member Liz Keogh provided the Committee with a handout containing data on the vouchers issued by the Friends Foundation and provided a verbal analysis of the information. She stated City residents are receiving vouchers and using them. Committee member Parlier asked how much funding is needed to continue the spay/neuter program and what would be the negative effects of not funding it. Assistant City Manager Teglia stated any amount of funding contributed to the program is beneficial. The City is in the process of reviewing data it has complied over the last two years of the program and will create potential target areas in which to emphasis the available programs including microchips, vaccination clinics, and spay/neuter vouchers. City Manager Tandy stated that there is positive financial return on the program as it reduces animal intake and euthanasia, therefore reducing operating costs. Committee member Weir asked what the value of Kern County vouchers is and if it would be more effective to lower the voucher value. Assistant City Manager Teglia stated the County supported various organizations whom are in partnership with the spay/neuter voucher program when they allocated funding for it. Ms. Keogh stated County residents pay $20 and the County pays for the remaining balance of the total cost of the operation. The City’s voucher has a $40 value, while the value of the vouchers for the Kern Animal Human Society is $20, and the Friends Foundation voucher is $30. Friends Foundation will not issue a voucher to residents to use in conjunction with a City voucher. Mr. Teglia also stated that he would not recommend reducing the voucher value due to the current success of the program. Committee member Weir made a motion to utilize $20,000 from Council Contingency to fund the spay/neuter voucher program through the end of the year. The motion was unanimously approved. Committee Chair Rivera inquired if the item would be on the February 10th agenda for approval by the full City Council. Assistant City Manager Teglia confirmed it would be. B. Discussion Regarding Economic Opportunity Action Plan Community Development Director McIsaac provided a verbal summarization of the Bakersfield Economic Opportunity Area (EOA) Plan. He referenced the EOA Plan outline that had been included in the packet. He stated that there are two areas, the Downtown and Airport areas, to target initial efforts and four additional areas under consideration. Staff would provide an annual update of the plan accomplishments during the budgetary process. Budget and Finance Committee Meeting Agenda Summary Report January 25, 2016 Page 4 Committee member Weir asked if there are other municipalities throughout the State who have implemented such a program and what the estimated ramp-up period, if any, would be. Community Development Director McIsaac stated that the EOA Plan had been structured to a similar program the County currently runs for areas near Meadows Field, Oildale, Tehachapi, and Mojave. Planning Director Kitchen stated there are several municipalities in other states conducting a similar plan but not many in California. Community Development Director McIsaac stated that an exact ramp-up period was unknown but that the increments in the first few years will be relatively low and would take time to build into a greater number. City Manager Tandy stated that when the southeast project area was created through the Redevelopment Agency, it took approximately three years to ramp-up and grew to collect approximately $4 million dollars after eight years. If the County of Kern and the School District would participate in the EOA plan and contribute their tax portion, it would increase the amount of dollars significantly. Committee Chair Rivera and member Weir encouraged staff discuss the EOA plan with the County of Kern and the School District for their participation. Committee member Weir inquired if a large project utilized all the available funding what would happen to other projects arising at a later time. City Manager Tandy stated no action would be taken on the project with no funding available. Depending on the project, staff could research available infrastructure grants or other grants which could be used. Community Development Director McIsaac added that implementation of the EOA plan could allow the city to complete for larger State infrastructure grants as well. Committee member Weir asked if the plan would be strictly available for nonresidential projects. Planning Director Kitchen stated only industrial and commercial projects would be applicable, as they would have the most opportunity for growth and an increase in increments. Committee member Parlier commended staff of the Community Development Department for creating the EOA plan. Committee Chair Rivera requested the following changes be included in the EOA plan: the inclusion of the area near State Highway 58 and Mount Vernon Avenue as one of the initial target areas and that the following verbiage be included in the EOA plan: any actions taken with the tax increment funds be presented to the full City Council for approval. Budget and Finance Committee Meeting Agenda Summary Report January 25, 2016 Page 5     A draft of the EOA plan including said changes is to be presented to the full City Council at the March City Council meeting. Information regarding the size of the area near State Highway 58 and Mount Vernon Avenue and its property tax revenue, and the possibility of utilizing tax increments collected from one area to fund a project in a different area if the situation were to arise is also to be presented. C. Discussion and Committee Recommendation Regarding Annual Audit Reports ending FY 2015 Finance Director Smith provided a summarization of the audit reports included in the packet, noting there were no findings and recommendations for the year. Committee Chair Rivera made a motion to have the annual audit reports presented to the full City Council for acceptance. The motion was unanimously approved. D. Discussion and Committee Recommendation regarding Adoption of the 2016 Committee Meeting Schedule The Committee meeting scheduled was adopted as submitted. 6. COMMITTEE COMMENTS None 7. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 1:34 p.m