HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 05/18/1999 - WorkshopI HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the
Council Workshop of the City of Corpus Christi of May 18, 1999, which were approved by the City
Council on May 25, 1999.
WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, this 25th day of May, 1999.
Armando Chapa
City Secretary
SEAL
MINUTES
CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS
City Council Workshop
May 18, 1999
12:10 p.m.
PRESENT
Mayor Samuel L. Neal Jr.
Mayor Pro Tem Henry Garrett
Council Members:
Javier D. Colmenero
Melody Cooper
Dr. Arnold Gonzales
Rex A. Kinnison
Betty Jean Longoria
John Longoria*
Mark Scott
City Staff:
City Manager David R. Garcia
City Attorney James R. Bray Jr.
City Secretary Armando Chapa
Mayor Neal called the workshop to order in the City Hall Basement Training Room.
City Secretary Chapa called the roll and verified that the necessary quorum of the Council
and the required charter officers were present to conduct the workshop.
City Manager Garcia said staff wished to discuss two items with the Council: an overview
of the FY 99-00 budget process and a discussion about Council priorities which were developed
during the Council's retreat on May 4-5, 1999.
Mr. Garcia first discussed the budget process. He referred to a handout which illustrates the
process, which is different from previous budget cycles. He explained that the process first involves
the development of a base operating budget, consisting of departmental operating expenditures and
projected revenues. Mr. Garcia noted that the City Charter requires him to submit the budget to the
Council at least 60 days prior to the beginning of the fiscal year.
Mr. Garcia said the base budget essentially involves the amount of money it would take for
departments to maintain the same level of services as last year, recognizing that there will be some
small increases for general inflation, labor contracts, etc. The first two adjustments the City Manager
will propose are for new personnel costs --a modest cost -of -living increase and the reinstitution of
the merit pay program, which will involve the performance evaluation of all city employees.
The City Manager said the first formal action to be taken by the Council will be the adoption
of the financial policies scheduled for the May 25th meeting. The base budget will be submitted to
the Council on June 1st and they will spend that month reviewing it. According to the diagram of
the budget process, after the Council considers the base budget and personnel costs, then there will
be discussion about residual funds available for supplemental programs. He noted that a substantial
Minutes
City Council Workshop
May 18, 1999
Page 2
number of program enhancements are being submitted by the departments, which will be considered
by the Council in July. He said they will also be able to consider options for raising supplemental
revenues if they choose, which will affect the amount of money available for supplemental programs.
Final Council adoption of the budget is scheduled for July 27, 1999.
*Council Member John Longoria arrived at 12:27 p.m.
Mr. Garcia then responded to Council members' questions concerning the budget process.
The Council also briefly commented on various budget issues, including projected and supplemental
revenues, merit pay program, and the financial policies. The City Manager pointed out that following
the recent presentations to the bond rating agencies, the agencies did not change the city's bond
rating itself but they did change the city's outlook from negative to stable.
The City Manager then referred to the binder containing the action plans for the 24 City
Council priority issues, which were discussed one by one. He noted that those priorities constitute
the city's work program for the next two years. In addition, a mid-term assessment of the action plan
will be conducted in May 2000 during the Council's next retreat.
Mr. Garcia said the first six priorities involve improving the delivery of basic services as
follows: trash, brush and debris; street and road maintenance; park maintenance; animal control;
quality water; and lighting. With regard to trash and debris, Mr. Andy Leal, Director of Solid Waste
Services, explained that staff is in the process of reorganizing the Solid Waste department to
concentrate their efforts on separate services, such as trash collection and brush collection. That plan
will be brought to the Council in June and incorporated into the new budget.
Mr. Ogilvie Gericke, Acting Assistant City Manager for Public Works and Utilities, said that
with regard to preventative maintenance of streets, staff annually assesses and prioritizes streets
based on ratings the streets are given. During the budget process staff develops annual maintenance
needs and requests funding for them; maintenance is then implemented depending on the amount
of allocated funding. He said reactive maintenance is carried on throughout the year.
Regarding park maintenance, Mr. Garcia referred to a chart in the workbook comparing the
number of park acres maintained to the number of park operation employees. In FY 1988 there were
1,503 acres maintained by 147 employees, and in FY 1998 there were 1,727 acres maintained by 127
employees. The next priority discussed was animal control. Mr. Garcia said there is a need for a new
animal shelter (estimated to cost $2 million), which will go a long way in solving the problems of
the Animal Control Department. The other element is improving the department's fleet and staff to
pick up stray animals. Dr. Nina Sisley, Director of Public Health, responded to Council members'
questions about the animal shelter; a brief discussion ensued.
Mr. Garcia discussed the priority of water quality, saying that major enhancements to the
water system are planned in the areas of supply, production, and distribution. He said those
Minutes
City Council Workshop
May 18, 1999
Page 3
improvements, in addition to the Lake Texana water, will improve both the city's water quantity and
quality. Mr. Ed Garafia, Water Superintendent, said water quality has also been improved by
increased monitoring. Mayor Neal asked staff to bring the Council the water plan as they proceed.
Mr. David Seiler, Traffic Engineer, discussed street lighting, including a proposal to amend
the current street lighting policy for residential and through streets. He also addressed the Crime
Control District lighting improvements.
Mr. Garcia then referred to the process involved in expanding the Bayfront Plaza Convention
Center. He said legislation is expected to be passed in the Texas Legislature this month, followed
next month by the Council authorizing a two -cent increase in the hotel/motel tax to take effect
September 1, 1999. The Council would also direct staff to begin planning for the expansion and
renovation of the convention center. In addition, the City Manager said he plans to form two
committees: a planning committee consisting of staff members and an external committee, which
will include representatives from business and the hospitality industry. He said this will be a very
complicated process since it will involve remodeling the convention center without shutting it down.
Mr. Garcia suggested that before the Council takes any action that they carefully examine
suggestions by the Greater Corpus Christi Business Alliance to use some of the funds from the hotel
tax for programs rather than improvements. He said the tax will only generate about $15 million
while about $25 million is really needed to build a competitive convention facility.
The City Manager next referred to the capital improvement bond issue for major facilities
needs. He said staff will not have a definite program until after Nueces County holds their bond
election in June. He noted that the city's annual capital improvement program will be presented
during the budget process. Mr. Garcia noted that the Council is having a joint meeting next week
with the Board of the Crime Control and Prevention District, and successful implementation of the
district's objectives is one of the Council's priorities.
Mr. Garcia also discussed the Council's goal regarding community oriented policing. Police
Chief Pete Alvarez said the department has developed a five-year plan to implement the
recommendations of the International Association of Chiefs of Police study, which they will present
to the Council. Mayor Neal suggested they make that presentation during the June 8th meeting.
The City Manager said staff struggled to develop an action plan for the priority of economic
development. He noted that no one city employee is assigned to the task of economic development
and he feels the city should develop that plan in conjunction with the Alliance.
With regard to the establishment of a stormwater drainage utility, Mr. Garcia said the plan
is to establish a drainage utility rate base in August 1999; evaluate the rate structure and billing
options in September; and have the Council review the rate structure, billing options and the impact
on water rates in October. After the Council holds public hearings on the issue, the goal is for the
Minutes
City Council Workshop
May 18, 1999
Page 4
Council to adopt an ordinance establishing a drainage utility in January 2000. Ms. Valerie Gray,
Stormwater Superintendent, also commented on right-of-way mowing and street sweeping.
Mr. Garcia then discussed completion of the airport improvements. He said the Federal
Aviation Administration has moved the funding for the new air traffic control tower to 2002, which
is still a two-year delay from the completion of the terminal construction. A discussion ensued.
Mr. Gericke referred to the priority of assessing street needs, saying that an inventory and
visual inspection of each city street is conducted on an 18 -month to 24 -month frequency. With
regard to the Northside Plan, Mr. Garcia said they are meeting with the refineries to review the draft
of the plan (an executive summary of that plan was included in the Council members' notebooks).
The City Manager said staff has been working on an additional golf course. Mr. Tony
Cisneros, Director of Park and Recreation, said staff members are reviewing a possible site, which
consists of 300 acres south of the Elliott Landfill.
Mr. Garcia said the youth crime initiatives involve developing a five-year comprehensive
strategy to reduce juvenile crime through Youth Opportunities United, and ongoing efforts are being
made through the Weed and Seed program and Community Youth Development grants in the 78415
ZIP code. The next priority of environmental compliance involves obtaining approval from the City
Council in the FY99-00 budget to identify needs and fill employment positions to address the city's
compliance requirements. Referring to the CDBG program, Mr. Garcia said one of the plans is to
provide a status report to the Council on a fiscal quarterly basis.
With regard to privatization, the City Manager said staff is in the process of examining the
concept of contracting out the city's information technology system. In addition, staff is in the
reengineering process with the city's gas, water, and wastewater utilities. In response to Council
members' questions, Mr. Garcia described the reengineering process, whereby city employees
become as efficient as possible in order to compete with the private sector. Council Member
Gonzales said he was interested in the idea of privatizing the wastewater utility alone rather than all
the utilities. Mayor Neal pointed out that operational savings in the utilities have a minimal impact
on the General Fund. A discussion ensued. The Mayor said the Council needs additional information
and Mr. Garcia said staff will provide a full presentation on this issue.
Mr. Garcia then quickly reviewed the last four priorities: improving the citizen response
system; creating a "development center"; involving residential communities in the development of
parks; and the bayfront development plan.
There being no further business to come before the Council, Mayor Neal declared the
workshop adjourned at 2:00 p.m. on May 18, 1999.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *