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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 09/14/1999 - JointI HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Joint Council Meeting of the City of Corpus Christi of September 14, 1999, which were approved by the City Council on September 21, 1999. WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, this 21st day of September, 1999. Armando Chapa City Secretary SEAL MINUTES JOINT MEETING OF THE CORPUS CHRISTI CITY COUNCIL AND CRIME CONTROL AND PREVENTION DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS September 14, 1999, 12:08 p.m. CITY COUNCIL Mayor Samuel L. Neal Jr. Mayor Pro Tem Rex A. Kinnison Javier D. Colmenero Melody Cooper* Henry Garrett Dr. Arnold Gonzales* Betty Jean Longoria John Longoria* Mark Scott City ,Staff Prese t City Manager David R. Garcia City Attorney James R. Bray Jr. City Secretary Armando Chapa Police Chief Pete Alvarez Recording Secretary Rachelle P. Ramon CRIME CONTROL DISTRICT BOARD Leon Loeb, President Larry Baker W.L. Hermis Danny Mora Jose Olivares Isaac Valencia ABSENT Jeanette Bazar (Crime Control District) Linda Bridges (Crime Control District) Mike Hummell (Crime Control District) Mayor Neal called the meeting to order in the Basement Training Room of City Hall. City Secretary Chapa called the roll and verified that a quorum was present to conduct the meeting. Mr. Loeb verified that there was a quorum of the Board of Directors of the Corpus Christi Crime Control and Prevention District. He commented on the importance of the City Council and the District Board members meeting in order to make decisions that will affect the future of the district. *Council Member John Longoria arrived at 12:12 p.m. Police Chief Alvarez then reviewed the status of the district's Year 1 initiatives. He said all except one of those projects --a memorandum of understanding between the city and the Sheriff's Office --have been completed. He said one of the most successful projects has been the pawn shop detail. Since January 1999 that unit has been responsible for the recovery of over $200,000 worth of stolen property (639 items). In addition, he said they have been able to identify property which has been stolen in other communities and brought into Corpus Christi. Mr. Baker then discussed the status of the Juvenile Curfew and Truancy Assessment Center. He said the District Board formed a subcommittee, on which Mr. Baker serves, in order to implement the formation of that center. He said they solicited the assistance of several people throughout the community who had a vested interest in the center. He said they began daytime Minutes Joint Meeting September 14, 1999 Page 2 operation of the center last week and nighttime operation last night. Ms. Paige Dinn, Chairperson of the Commission on Children and Youth, said there has been a smooth transition from the operation of the former TRIP program to the operation of the assessment center. She said the youth who are now utilizing the center have access to a counselor as they did through the TRIP program. Ms. Dinn then introduced Ms. Mariah Boone, Executive Director of the assessment center. Chief Alvarez said they have already begun looking into the district's Year 2 initiatives. He said they recently hired 15 police officers who are funded through the crime control district. He said the directed patrol and bicycle patrol will be expanded by five officers each and they will develop walking motors consisting of three officers. In addition, the traffic safety section will be expanded by two officers. *Council Member Gonzales arrived at 12:18 p.m. Council Member Betty Jean Longoria asked about the street lighting program. Chief Alvarez said phases one and two have been completed and there is money left over for phase three. He explained that three Citizen Advisory Councils have been organized and those citizens provide input about where additional lighting is needed, among other issues. Mr. Longoria asked who was responsible for hiring the staff at the juvenile assessment center. Chief Alvarez replied that the Park and Recreation Department oversees that center. Mr. Dan Whitworth, Assistant Director of Programs, said those positions are hired through the Human Resources Department. Ms. Mary Sullivan, Director of Finance, discussed several financial aspects of the crime control district. She referred to a graph illustrating sales tax revenue projections for the five-year period from FY 98-99 to FY 02-03. Each of the five bar graphs was broken down into the current estimate, the change in the growth rate, the telecommunications exemption, and the utilities exclusion. She said the original growth rate was 5.2% and while the current growth rate changes from year to year, it is between the 3% to 4% range. The growth rate in the FY 99-00 budget is 3.1%. *Council Member Cooper arrived at 12:23 p.m. Council Member Scott said he thought more conservative original projections should have been used in preparing the crime control district's budget. Mayor Neal pointed out that those projections were made in 1997 by city staff utilizing historical patterns and information from the state. Ms. Sullivan said that for the five-year period, they are anticipating an approximate $3 million overall shortfall in revenues from the original estimates. She then discussed estimated expenditures for the five-year crime control district. She said over that period they anticipate spending about $600,000 less than they thought they would. Ms. Sullivan also reviewed key changes from the budget the Council approved on June 15, Minutes Joint Meeting September 14, I999 Page 3 1999 to a proposed adjusted budget which the Council will have to approve. One of the changes is to begin the third series of the police academy in January 2000 rather than August 2000. That resulting increase in the budget is partly offset by a reduction in staff at the juvenile assessment center during the first year of operation, and interest income that is now being reflected. She added that there were some errors in the schedules the Council reviewed in June but they have been corrected. Council Member Kinnison said the biggest difference in the budget is that in years 3, 4, and 5, estimated current year revenues never exceeded estimated current year expenditures. In fact, he said, the original Crime Control Board questioned whether that would violate the city's budget policy. Ms. Sullivan said that while the city needs to present a balanced budget, the budget for the crime control district is more like a project budget in which expenditures cannot exceed revenues for the total five-year period. Ms. Sullivan also discussed the projected ending fund balance. She said rather than having a little over $2.5 million as an ending fund balance by April 2003, they are estimating it to be between $700,000 and $800,000. Ms. Sullivan said one reason the original projection was so high was to establish a cushion in case the sales tax revenues were not as high as projected. The board also tried to anticipate what might happen if the program was not renewed by the voters. Dr. Gonzales said he felt the program would be approved again and he did not think too much money should be held back since there is more work to be accomplished. City Manager Garcia reiterated that the sales tax revenues will not be as high as originally projected. So in order to stay within the original budget of the $2.5 million ending fund balance, they would have had to scale back the projects. He said staff is recommending that they continue with the original commitments made to the voters, which draws down that reserve over the five-year period but also improves the district's chances for being reauthorized. Mr. Loeb said he was concerned that if they continue with the budget as it is structured, in about three years they will be faced with the decision about how they will continue to finance the programs on an ongoing basis beyond the fifth year. He said it will require either an increase in the tax rate; a 20% cut in the level of programs; or that the city anticipate picking up about $1 million a year of those expenditures in the General Fund. Responding to Mayor Neal, Ms. Sullivan said they are projecting that money will be available to complete the crime control district program. A discussion ensued. Several comments were made regarding how the Council and District Board should manage the budget for the remaining years of the crime control district. In response to Mayor Neal, City Secretary Chapa said the Council could give direction to the City Manager on this issue but there was no authority for a final decision by the Council during the joint meeting. Mr. Kinnison made a motion to give the Crime Control Board direction to redo their five-year Minutes Joint Meeting September 14, 1999 Page 4 budget forecast in accordance with the financial guidelines of the interim board, which is to create an entity in which current year revenues equal or exceed current year expenditures, with a strong emphasis on not cutting the 50 police officers and to maintain the juvenile assessment center in a manner that it will operate efficiently. Mr. Scott seconded the motion. Another discussion ensued. Mr. Chapa said the motion would need to give the City Manager direction to come back with an item on the agenda for consideration. He then polled the Council and the motion failed to pass by the following vote: Cooper, Kinnison, and Scott voting "Aye"; Neal, Colmenero, Garrett, Gonzales, B. Longoria, and J. Longoria voting "No." Mr. Garcia said staff can prepare several contingencies for the crime control district budget and bring it back to the Council in the next three to four weeks. Dr. Gonzales then made a motion to direct the City Manager to come back next week with the district's five-year plan; seconded by Mrs. Longoria. Mr. Chapa polled the Council and the motion passed as follows: Neal, Colmenero, Cooper, Garrett, Gonzales, B. Longoria, and J. Longoria voting "Aye"; Kinnison and Scott voting "No." There being no further business, Mayor Neal adjourned the joint meeting at 1:25 p.m. * * * * * * * * * * * * *