Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1974-12-05 Regular MinutesTUKWILA CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 5, 1974 ROLL CALL OF COUNCIL MEMBERS Park Maintenance budget Emergency Employment budget City Street budget Mayor Todd called the continued public hearing on the 1975 Budget to order at 7:00 P.M. STERLING, TRAYNOR, HARRIS. MOVED BY TRAYNOR, SECONDED BY STERLING, TO RECESS THE MEETING TO MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1974 AT 7:00 P.M. IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS TO CONTINUE DISCUSSION OF THE 1975 PROPOSED BUDGET.* City Clerk Shirlee Kinney stated the law requires that the public hearing continue only to Midnight, Saturday, December 7; the public hearing must be closed by that time. Mayor Todd stated he assumed the Council would be meeting further on this today with Steve Hall, but no one showed up. Council Members Saul and Johanson arrived at 7:04 P.M. *MOTION FAILED. Councilman Sterling reviewed the Park Maintenance budget. City Clerk Shirlee Kinney explained the conditions of the funding and the requirements of the Federal Manpower Emergency Employment Program. Councilman Traynor commented that at the salary, the City is getting quite a buy with the Recreation Specialist. Councilman Traynor reviewed the City Street budget. Arterial Streets budget Councilman Gardner reviewed the Arterial Streets budget. Contingency Fund Councilman Traynor asked if this amount of $12,809 was the maximum allowed. City Clerk Shirlee Kinney replied no, the maximum is approximately $36,000. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 5, 1974 Page 31 PUBLIC HEARING Cont. Fire Fighting Equipment fund Federal Shared Revenue Trust Fund Street G. 0. Bond Redemption Land Acquisition, Building Devel- opment fund Park Trust Fund City Hall Construction fund Water Department budget Sewer Department budget Water /Sewer Construc- tion fund 973 Councilwoman Harris reviewed the Fire Fighting Equipment fund, stating that the fund has received many contributions toward the purchase of an aid car. Councilman Saul asked if the Department could man this aid car when purchased. Fire Chief Hubert Crawley stated he has scratched the original idea of an aid car and is now looking at a multiple pur- pose emergency car and would cost about $2,000 more than the other aid car we had in mind. This multi- purpose vehicle is now more important to us if we cannot get the total manpower we requested. This unit would take only two people to man rather than a full crew of three or four on other equipment. It is better utilization of manpower. Mr. Bill Moore asked if the cost projected for the new vehicle would include equipment. Chief Crawley replied the Department has enough additional equip- ment on hand to provide in the new vehicle. Councilman Traynor reviewed this fund, stating the proposed uses include $24,000 for the free bus and $20,121 for the Bicentennial Long House building. Councilman Sterling reviewed this fund. Councilman Gardner reviewed the fund, stating the Mayor has proposed to close this fund out. Mayor Todd stated the reason he proposed to close the fund out was that it was created in 1969 by an ordinance which he felt was improperly drawn. He stated this type of a fund should be created for a specific purpose only and the money spent out of it for specifically designated uses. He suggested the Council research this fund and the ordinance further. Councilman Traynor reviewed the fund. Discussion commenced on bike trails. Mr. Bill Moore, Park Board chairman, stated he would not recommend to acquire property in the McMicken Heights area which had been discussed some time earlier and stated he had no further recommendations at this time. Councilman Traynor stated this fund would stay as is until the Council has completed its determinations on the entire Budget. Councilman Traynor reviewed the Water Department budget. Councilman Sterling reviewed the Sewer Department budget. Steve Hall, Public Works Director, stated this re- flects the additional E.P.A. funds received for grants on projects already under construction it is an increase in our amount of these grants. Mayor Todd stated this increase was applied for without the authorization of the City Council. The following funds were reviewed without comment: Bonds, Principal F Interest; Bond Reserve; W/S Refunding Revenue Bond Fund; Firemen's Pension Fund; L. I. Guarantee; Fire Station Construction; Strander Bridge E Extension; City Shop Construction; Urban Arterial Streets; Cumulative Reserve for Fire Truck. Budget Discussion Steve Hall, Public Works Director, stated he wished the Council to reconsider the salary for the Building TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 5, 1974 Page 32 PUBLIC HEARING Cont. Budget Discussion Cont. RECESS 8:25 P.M. 8:32 P.M. City Council budget Budget discussion Cont. g7 Director and he presented job description information to the Council. He stated the requirements are about the same for the Building Director as for the Planning Director. Salary figures from the City of Renton and the City of Bellevue and King County were reviewed. He requested parity between the Planning and Building Director. Regarding the position of custodian, Steve Hall stated the A.W.C. average is $685 plus 10% is $753. He stated this custodian does maintenance work as well as janitorial work and not to provide a raise is an injustice. He suggested the Council consider a salary in the range of $740 to $750 per month. He asked the Council for their opinion on this situation where the full -time custodian will be earning less per hour than his part -time assistant. Fire Chief Hubert Crawley stated he would also like to meet again with the Council regarding the three non -union personnel in his Department. He stated there may be as much as 20% difference between the 1974 averages in the A.W.C. book and 1975 reality. Further meetings of the Council were discussed. The Council decided that no further input would be accepted beyond the public hearing in order to be able to finalize all budget figures before final adoption is due. MOVED BY TRAYNOR, SECONDED BY HARRIS, TO RECESS. CARRIED. Mayor Todd called the meeting back to order with all Council Members present as previously noted. Councilman Traynor reviewed the City Council's bud- get. Councilman Sterling explained the breakdown of $21,281 in the Professional Services account: $2,481 for the cost of a job description and salary step plan for City employees; $13,800 to replace monies in the City Attorney's budget and $5,000 for a consultant for the City Council. City Clerk Shirlee Kinney stated it was noted by the Council there were to be no increases in wages for this budget whatsoever. With regard to the City Clerk's position, she stated she distributed to each Council Member the job description she is now working by and requested the Council to read it to become more familiar with work she is doing and the type of responsibilities she has. She stated the Council has used the Association of Washington Cities book this year in making a lot of comparisons and you are holding down the City Clerk's wage this year because of the average in this book. She stated the Council has taken out the factor that the City of Renton City Clerk is now making $1,412 per month and the book indicates a range from $1,045 $1,257; she stated the averages here are not accurate and are not up to date and they should not be compared in her opinion. She stated the City Clerk's job in this City has a lot of financial responsibility by law and this is why she had obtained a couple of job descriptions of finance directors from other cities and she requested the Council to look also to the salaries of the finance directors. She stated in the cities where there is no city clerk or where the clerk and treasurer are combined, the finance direc- tor is responsible. She requested the Council to compare the financial responsibilities as included TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 5, 1974 Page 33 PUBLIC HEARING Cont. Budget discussion Cont. q75 in the finance directors' positions with that of her own job description. There are areas that are not acknowledged in the A.W.C. book for city clerk which include administrative responsibilities as assigned by the Mayor at times and personnel respon- sibilities for the City (advertising for positions, meeting Affirmative Action guidelines, etc.) and also data processing program. Shirlee Kinney stated that there are many things that perhaps the Council did not realize that the City Clerk is responsible for in the City of Tukwila that cannot be or should not be compared to the A.W.C. book. She stated she felt it is not fair that last year the City Council in trying to establish parity between the City Clerk and City Treasurer has now left the City Clerk at $1,090 and increased the City Treasurer to $1,200. She stated she has also supplied a breakdown where in the last 5 to 6 years the case has been historic- ally that the City Clerk has been paid more than the City Treasurer and you can see where it was determin- ed it would be adjusted to parity last year and what is proposed for 1975. She stated she felt this was unjust. She stated she attached to that break- down a note which indicates she has put in a lot of hours in working for this City; as a matter of fact, from January, 1974 through the end of November she has put in 294 1/4 hours of overtime which is not compensated for monetarily as is part of the respon- sibilities of all department heads. She stated she does not grouse about it but gives this time willing- ly. If you convert these hours into dollars, however, it totals $2,801.26 for overtime. Shirlee Kinney stated she would like the Council to seriously consi- der the position it took last year and the responsi- bilities of the job in making its determinations. Shirlee Kinney then went to the position of Executive Secretary /Deputy City Clerk. She stated the position of administrative secretary covers most accurately what this position does according to the A.W.C. book. One average is stated at $723.39 and another average is $812 for the City of Bothel this year and we are talking about 1975. $812 is requested for next year for this position and the Council has stated it is trying to equalize the clerical positions within the City but we have another Executive Secretary in the Public Works Department right now at $824 per month. The Council may have caused some injustices by keep- ing the clerical people in the Clerk's office down and bringing others up, but if you bring this Execu- tive Secretary up to $812 then you have narrowed the gap and it would be more equitable and more fair. She stated these two ladies have very nearly the same skills and they should at least be in the same ballpark. She again stated the gap should be narrow- ed between the two secretaries, especially when you have brought a bottom line clerk up to $750 which is only $2 less per month than one Executive Secretary. On the subject of Accounting Officer, Shirlee Kinney stated the Council has chosen to leave this person at $769 but this person most definitely fits the category of interim accountant in the A.W.C. book, and even has some responsibilities into the senior accountant category. She stated the proposed salary request of $812 falls in between the two categories and is a fair request. She stated she wished the Council would remember that these are 1974 figures and many cities have been receiving increases since the first of 1974, therefore the averages you are working with are not correct at this time. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 5, 1974 Page 34 PUBLIC HEARING Cont. Budget discussion Cont. Regarding the position of Computer Operator, the City Clerk stated the computer operator in the A.W.C. manual averages $777 as a composite average of all computer operators of the cities listed for 1974 and the Council has indicated it will freeze the salary at $752 for 1975. She stated she felt that increase was fair and just and adequate for the position. Shirlee Kinney stated all increases for her personnel reflect a $75 increase over 1974 as proposed by ad- ministration. She stated she has now amended those salary figures using the tool the Council has stated it is using the A.W.C. book and requested the Council to consider these adjustments in line with what the Council has stated it has used throughout all of your deliberations on wages. Regarding office supplies account, this Department has requested $1,100 per year for the past three years and has managed to keep within that amount. Considering what inflation has done to costs, Shirlee Kinney stated she felt she had been doing a good job of managing this account. Now in 1975 the Council proposed to cut this back to $900. It appears that the Council is penalizing a person for being frugal with their budget monies and for not spending all that is budgeted in a year. The action the Council has taken promotes the idea that a department head should spend all that is available in order to be able to justify the same amount each year. Regarding the machinery and equipment account, all other depart- ments have been allowed most of their requested funds but here you have proposed zero. Shirlee Kinney stated there is a definite need for a calculator in the accounting office since the one we are using now is borrowed from an office supplies company. She stated at this time she would amend her request for two tape recorders to one. If some other department would like to use the Uher reel -to -reel tape recorder, they are welcome to use it, but first it must be repaired and a microphone must be purchased. We have about one year's supply of cassettes on hand and we use the cassette recorder provided to us by the Police Department to tape the Council's meetings. City Clerk Shirlee Kinney requested the Council to reconsider these items as they are necessary to the operation of her office. Councilman Saul stated he could see in the overall study of the budget how some things would raise some questions. The Executive Secretary is making $752 now and we have raised the Accounting Clerk to $750. The Accounting Clerk does not have too many skills yet and beginning with a $250 increase in the last year and a quarter seems really excessive; she will be making the same amount of money as the secretary who has eight years of experience. On the surface, it appears to be unfair. Councilman Saul stated he assumed there must have been some justification for parity between the City Clerk and City Treasurer last year and it seems they should be equal again this year. It seems the Council has caused some hardships in the City by trying to bring some people up and holding others down throughout this budget. Fire Chief Hubert Crawley stated his secretary was also held to $702 monthly and she has the exact skills the Executive Secretary has and has performed the same duties with more responsibilities at $140 less than a clerk in the Police Department. He TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 5, 1974 Page 35 PUBLIC HEARING Cont. Budget discussion Cont. 9'77 stated he has sat through six budget sessions in this City and he has never seen a budget affect the employ- ees as this one has since the meetings started. It has caused a lot of friction around here the last week or so, and the whole attitude of the City employ- ees has changed. Councilman Saul asked about the skills of Chief Crawley's secretary. Chief Crawley replied she types, takes shorthand, uses the dicta phone, keeps the complete filing system for the Fire Department, she does the radio dispatching and sever- al other duties in the office. She missed the $50 cost of living last year and is that much more behind the other employees in wages for 1975. Councilman Traynor stated the salaries that have not increased or that have increased very little are for employees who are not under contract with a union. It appears that those who are covered under contract have had more substantial increases and this tells him that if he were one of these non -union people, he would be the very next to unionize. It would seem that as far as clerical positions go, the ideal place would be a clerk's position in the Police Department. City Clerk Shirlee Kinney stated at the present salary request for the executive secretary, she would also request the Council to consider the $15 premium pay for this person as deputy city clerk. This person is able to step into the respon- sibilities of the City Clerk when the City Clerk is not present in the office at any time. Chief Crawley stated he would suggest that the Council fund the Contingency Fund to the maximum allowed because there is no slack in this budget and some departments will be operating in the red this same time next year. Councilwoman Harris stated if expenses for operating and maintenance are going to increase perhaps it would be better to cut back on capital outlay in order to keep what we have going. The budget is not being cut from what it was last year and the percentage increase this year over last year is quite sizable. The economic forecast for our Country is just nothing but gloom and doom and the municipalities are going to be hit hard. There is 100 off the top of property taxes for the schools, the sales tax revenue is always in jeopardy there are powerful lobbyists working for a redistribution of the sales tax in Olympia on a per capita basis. Once you get used to spending, its hard to cut back. We have got to start economizing don't use as many pencils, don't use as many rubber bands, don't duplicate as much. We get used to spending on a high operating allocation and its hard to back off. Mrs. Nancy Moore suggested the Council cut back on its professional services in order to economize. Councilwoman Harris replied that professional ser- vices are very important and can save the City money. Mayor Todd stated the City Council has been deliber- ating over this budget since October 2 or 3, rear- ranging the priorities that in their minds seem to be most important. It's true that they have cut and cut and cut, but the end of all this cutting is that the taxpayers are still going to be paying the taxes and the money is still going to be spent for some- thing. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 5, 1974 Page 36 PUBLIC HEARING Cont. Budget discussion Cont. Mayor Todd defended the City Clerk's remarks and stated he was present last year when the Council discussed parity at great length between the office of City Clerk and the office of City Treasurer. The Council agreed the two should be paid equally until this year when for some reason or another there seems to be some agreement among the Council generally that the City Treasurer is worth $1,200 per month and the City Clerk is worth $1,090 per month. Mayor Todd appealed to the Council to reconsider their position on the budget request for the Police officers. He stated the health and welfare of the people in this City is more important in this case than to take money from that budget and do whatever they plan to do with it, which we have not yet been told. This public hearing is closing without the public knowing what is intended to be the use of the funds the Council has cut out of these various departments. Mayor Todd also appealed to the City Council to consider the Fire Department personnel request because it is more important to him as a citizen to protect his house and family from fire than it is to buy a piece of land for some purpose yet unknown. And please consider the fact that if the Council intends to buy land with this money, they have the cart before the horse because in his opinion they have no comprehensive plan justifying the assessment of taxes for this purpose. Mayor Todd continued with a story about supplies. He stated in every household there is a professional of one type or another, and in his household he con- siders his wife the professional cook. Last week- end, we expected company for dinner and she told him to peel the 15 potatoes she had placed on the kitchen counter. He decided 10 potatoes were enough and put the 5 extra back into the sack. He chopped up the 10 potatoes into small pieces, put them in the pot to cook and she didn't realize he had pulled a sneaker on her. But midway around the dinner table, we ran out of the bowl of potatoes. She was right and he was wrong. He stated in this case, the professionals in the City's different departments historically from experience know what they need in the way of supplies and so on. He stated he felt the Council is going to find that midyear 1975 after they have committed all the monies to other uses, they are going to find themselves in a very embar- rassing position because we will not have enough money to operate the departments with. With regard to the City Attorney, Mayor Todd respect- fully requested the City Council to reconsider its position in proposing to cut the City Attorney's retainer to $100 per month and proposing to spend about $20,000 for legal services. Mayor Todd stated he thought the Council should ser- iously reconsider the proposed salary for Willie Edwards, custodian, and stated he felt the Council was looking at some problems if they do not. Mayor Todd stated he appreciated the Council's eff- orts in readjusting this budget and stated he has already clarified his position earlier on determin- ing one particular fund as an illegal fund, a posi- tion for which he has since been criticized. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 5, 1974 Page 37 PUBLIC HEARING Cont. Budget discussion ”9 To clarify the position he has taken on the Mayor's budget, he referred to a statement made by Council- man Sterling that we all knew what our salaries were when we filed for our elective offices. Is this to mean that people who file for political office should be paid what was promised to be paid when they filed for office? Councilman Sterling hesitated to answer the question. Mayor Todd stated there are several elected positions in the City of Tukwila the Mayor, the Council and the City Treasurer. The Council's position with one elected official has not necessarily been the same as it has been with others. The City Treasurer was paid in 1970 $605 per month, in 1971 the position was paid $708, in 1972 $731, in 1973 $947, in 1974 $1,090 and it is proposed to pay the City Treasurer $1,200 monthly next year. Also, Councilman Sterling has stated there have been no personalities enter into the Council's deliberations regarding the Mayor's request to become full -time with an adequate salary. Mayor Todd stated he did not understand how that could be possible since 23 days after he submitted the preliminary budget proposals to the Council, there appeared an article in several newspapers. Mayor Todd then read an article dated Wednesday, October 23, 1974 from the Record Chronicle in which the headline reads "5 ask resignation of Tukwila mayor" and the last paragraph reads "The letter also claims the mayor refused to fire current city attorney, Wayne Parker, and hire another." This article was requested by Mayor Todd to become part of the record of the public hearing and is on file in the City Clerk's office. Mayor Todd again res- pectfully requested the Council reconsider his re- quest that the man or woman running for this office next term has to know whether it is full -time or part -time. He stated it seems to him that now is the time and now is the opportunity for this City Council to reach an agreement. He stated he is sure the Council is making a mistake if it feels that anyone can be responsible for this City on a part time basis. In the area of tax revenue, Mayor Todd stated he admired the Council for being able to state they have cut or decided to cut $288,000 out of a $3.9 million budget a week before the final ordinance is passed. This remark might confuse the public how- ever into believing that the City is proposing to spend $3.9 million when in fact he stated it is pro- posed to spend $2.5 million out of the budget which is in his opinion the minimum to spend to maintain equilibrium in a progressive fashion for the benefit of all the people on the hill as well as the people in the valley who pay taxes. If the City Council was able to trim $288,000 out of this budget, and our ad valorem tax revenue is anticipated to be $782,000 next year, then the City Council should immediately consider passing an ordinance to return to the taxpayers one -third of their ad valorem taxes. And at which time the Council in their del- iberations can agree that we need a city hall or any other type of capital improvements, that they should then go to the taxpayers after having demon- strated good judgment, good management and good faith and ask the taxpayers for a voted G.O. bond issue. The future is uncertain, it has always been uncertain and will always be uncertain. The real demonstration that this Council can make as a result TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 5, 1974 Page 38 PUBLIC HEARING cont. Budget discussion Cont. U.S.T.M.E. proposals leo of these budget deliberations is (1) they have trimmed the budget and (2) they have put the money back into the hands of the taxpayers. Mayor Todd, speaking as a taxpayer, stated he would rather con- trol his money being a better manager in knowing what he needs than to have the City take it from him and put it in a savings account at 54% interest for an unknown purpose at this time. Councilwoman Harris recommended proposals of the committee to the City Council regarding benefits for U.S.T.M.E. employees as follows: one day each month vacation for 12 days per year,maximum two years accrual; one day each month sick leave for 12 days per year, maximum 90 days accrual; 100% life insur- ance premium paid by employer; 25% payment of unused sick leave upon termination of employee and the total accumulated amount is set by ordinance at this time. Mayor Todd suggested that existing ordinances covering these items be amended prior to the bene- fits to employees being allowed. In this way, we can then legally disburse any funds necessary. Mr. Burton Lutes asked if the Council has come to any conclusion of the problem in the Parks and Re- creation Department regarding Richard Hunt's salary. Councilman Traynor replied the Council will again consider this when they meet as a committee of the whole to discuss final budget allocations. Mr. Lutes stated some of the City Council Members during the last election ran on the stand of a better Parks and Recreation Department. Now that we have recrea- tion programs underway and have hired a man to look after it, the Council has cut his wages back. He stated Richard Hunt has done his job exceptionally well, he handles the kids well and sees to the senior citizens too. He stated he would like to see the salary set back to where it was and possibly a raise too for his efforts. Mr. Lutes stated he thought it would take a long time to find another man as capable to handle the job. He stated he knew that 12 hours of work per day is typical for Mr. Hunt right now. Councilwoman Harris stated the Recreation Supervisor salary has not been cut from last year; the Council has proposed that it remain the same as the last six months of 1974. With this recommendation there will be an increase over the entire year. Council- man Traynor stated there had been some misunderstand- ing over the salary which was actually $904 for the last six months of 1974 and which is proposed to be $904 for 1975. Mr. Ed Bauch stated that next year could be perilous times for all U. S. citizens. The newspapers have reported that the State Highway Commission is unsure of monies out of the gas tax, the State Legislature in all probability will be dipping into the sales tax revenue for cities and its very possible that people are going to quit spending money because they are going to quit getting it. Mr. Bauch propos- ed to the Council that they give to all City employ- ees a 10% raise effective July 1, 1975. He stated he did not feel that waiting one year would be too much of a hardship. Based on the revenue at that time, the figures could be adjusted. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 5, 1974 Page 39 PUBLIC HEARING Cont. Budget discussion Cont. MISCELLANEOUS AND FURTHER AUDIENCE COMMENTS Fair Labor Standards Act new require- ments Council of the Whole meeting Saturday ADJOURNMENT 9:50 P.M. 9 8/ Mr. Bill Moore stated he felt the salaries should be appropriate to the duties and should be increased on that basis. Steve Hall, Public Works Director, stated that all employees including those under union contracts received a $50 per month raise last July. The union employees have already received their 1975 increases and are being paid the increased amounts at this time. As a non -union employee, if he had to wait to receive any increase until next July, he would come unglued. CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING MOVED BY TRAYNOR, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT THE PUBLIC 9:35 P.M. HEARING BE CLOSED. CARRIED. Chief Crawley stated the Council will be requested to pass several ordinances at the next meeting re- garding setting a tour of duty for the various departments in order that a 40 -hour work week be set as the minimum work week before overtime pay is allowed. This will be required by ordinance by December 31, 1974. Discussion continued. Councilman Traynor announced a meeting of the Council of the Whole at 9:00 A.M. Saturday, December 7, 1974 at City Hall to discuss final budget figures. City Clerk Shirlee Kinney requested to be present at all final budget deliberation meetings in order to be able to prepare a current final budget. MOVED BY TRAYNOR, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT THE DECEMBER 2, 1974 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING ADJOURN. CARRIED. Frank Todd, Mayor Attest: Shirlee A. Kinney, City 'lerk