CITY COUNCIL BUDGET RETREAT
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2017
CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS
211 WEST ASPEN
12:00 P.M.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2017
CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS
211 WEST ASPEN
12:00 P.M.
1.
Call to Order
Vice Mayor Whelan called the Budget Retreat of December 19, 2017, to order at 12:03 p.m.
Vice Mayor Whelan called the Budget Retreat of December 19, 2017, to order at 12:03 p.m.
2.
Roll Call
NOTE: One or more Councilmembers may be in attendance telephonically or by other technological means.
NOTE: One or more Councilmembers may be in attendance telephonically or by other technological means.
| PRESENT: MAYOR EVANS (arrived at 1:18 p.m.) VICE MAYOR WHELAN COUNCILMEMBER BAROTZ COUNCILMEMBER MCCARTHY COUNCILMEMBER ODEGAARD (arrived at 12:56 p.m.) COUNCILMEMBER OVERTON COUNCILMEMBER PUTZOVA |
ABSENT: NONE |
Others present: City Manager Josh Copley and City Attorney Sterling Solomon.
3.
City Council Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Retreat - Budget Priorities.
Mr. Copley said that Mayor Evans and Councilmember Odegaard would be joining the meeting later. He added that they will not be formally voting; they will just need four to move something forward and it would be more efficient if the reason was not given.
Sustainability Manager Nicole Woodman then began the PowerPoint presentation (Exhibit A attached to the minutes of December 12, 2017, continued):
CLIMATE CHANGE
Objectives
New Investments
Highlights and Accomplishments
Comments received from Council included:
•Thought this unit did so much over the past year. They are in good shape to move forward with the Action Plan.
•In the future she would like to see an aligning of the City organization structure with the priority of addressing climate change, meaning that they would give Sustainability a more permanent role by elevating the position and its importance by it becoming a division.
Mr. Copley noted that the organization of the City and the structure of staff is identified as a City Manager responsibility. The Council is free to communicate that to him. He would usually have his deputy city managers and executive leadership team look at that to determine the best route. He does hear the interest and asked that he be allowed to work with his team to determine the best path forward.
Water Resources Manager Erin Young then continued the presentation:
WATER CONSERVATION
Objectives
Budget - New Investments
Highlights and Accomplishments
Ms. Woodman then came forward again to continue the presentation:
ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Objectives
New Investments
Highlights and Accomplishments
Ms. Woodman said that the 2018 included $486,000 in New Investments that spanned Human Resources, Purchasing, Fire, Water Production, Economic Vitality, Water Resources management, Stormwater and Sustainability, and a few projects were highlighted.
Comments received from the Council included:
•Think the world of Maggie in Sustainability and thinks she does her job with professionalism and grace.
•Clearly there is a lot of litter and they cannot keep up with it
Mr. Copley said that in the 30 years he has lived here he has never seen it so bad. He cautioned the Council against hiring staff. He said that temporary help would be an option and in the past they have used prison labor crews, but hiring full-time staff is not the most cost-effective way to address the problem.
Comments continued:
•Has noticed the amount of trash that was on commercial properties.
•Perhaps they could do some kind of a public campaign working with the Chamber to bring it to the forefront
•Also need to focus efforts on construction sites
Discussion then turned to the Administrative Goals. Human Resources Manager Shauna Fisher came forward to continue the presentation:
PERSONNEL
Objectives
New Investments
Highlights and Accomplishments
Police Chief Kevin Treadway then reported on the personnel issues related to the Police Department. He said that staffing with the department is critical and needs immediate attention. Recent exit interviews reflect officers are now leaving because they feel unsafe, citing they do not always have backup available for calls where two officers should respond. Currently they are 23 officers down from the compliment of 64 officers and corporals that respond to calls for service. They have 6 vacancies currently including the 2 officers recently approved from the COPS grant. He has 5 in the Academy, 7 on field training, 2 on military leave, and 3 on light duty. Their patrol division is down 36%.
He said that they have swept all possible positions to address patrol. Their detectives division is down from 14 detectives to 11. They no longer staff 2 GIITEM Gang Officers, one School resource officer is vacant, the Sunnyside King Squad was re-assigned, 1 of 2 Selective Enforcement Officers that provided proactive initiatives with the serial inebriant population is vacant, and they no longer staff the Marshall's Fugitive detail.
Chief Treadway said that they used to average 40% available time for their officers. This past summer, many squads were as low as 11%. He said that there is no available time resulting in no proactive directed patrols and or self-initiated activity like traffic stops or field interviews. NAU and CCSO continue to assist when they can at unprecedented levels in providing back up and in some cases responding to calls as primary units when all of their officers are tied up.
They constructed an 18-page white paper last year providing a great deal of research, charts and graphs on the increased work load of their officers in the last decade. Increases in calls for service, and increases in demands that take their officers off the road for longer periods of time are detailed in this paper.
He said that all benchmarks available were reviewed, whether it was ICMA, comparisons with other agencies in the state, or mid size agencies in the nation reflect the Flagstaff Police Officer is far more taxed than any other officer they compared to anywhere. Their officers average 10-12 calls for service a shift, and write 4-6 written reports per day.
Chief Treadway said that they asked for six officers on the COPS grant and were awarded two. He still needs, bare minimum, all six which would put them at 2007 staffing levels. It is self-evident the growth that has occurred in the community in the last decade. Their white paper details this, the impacts of new businesses like Wal-Mart east, Cal Ranch, REI and most importantly, the impacts of student growth and student housing, tourism and population increases and what this has done to their call demand. They have more coming. Each budget period this goes unaddressed puts relief to their officers out almost two years.
Due in large part to the City's growth and lack fo resources on the police department, the community is experiencing an 18% increase in violent crime in 2017. They have had six homicides. One more before the end of the year and they would tie a record. Traffic collisions have steadily increased over the past five years.
He said that they have had some success with recruitment. They lost 17 officers in 2016, and have lost 17 officers since January 1, 2017, but they have hired 15 of those positions vacated. In the end, it takes an officer two weeks to leave the City, but nine months to replace and the applicant pool has dwindled for all law enforcement agencies. They have tripled their recruitment efforts this last year and are more successful than they have been.
He said that with more student housing, a Veterans facility, and increased commerce coming, they need to start right now to prepare them to address this. They will be asking Council to consider four officers in addition to the 2 COPS grant on the February 6 meeting. Additionally, during this budget period they need to seriously consider merit increases.
Chief Treadway said that there are two very distinct issues--retention and recruitment. What is most critical in terms of addressing retention is 1) the ability to achieve market based pay plan. No analysis was done last year, and that achievement is only successful if they maintain the market. He said that Human Resources is conducting that; they must stay competitive. 2) Merit based pay system. This is an objective of the City Manager. He has lost officers to agencies paying less because they have a merit in place. Also, while the City hires officers at a higher rate than the Sheriff's Office, within one year they are making the same because they have a merit in place.
Chief Treadway said that he concentrates on morale as the leader of the division. He said that Flagstaff provides some of the best training in the state and that goes a long way and they have some of the best equipment. Those types of things are very important. He said that he has written a white paper on this issue and would be glad to share it with the Council.
Comments from Council included:
•What she has heard on the Police and Fire side is that the density creates higher impacts for safety.
•As they discuss where the money is coming from she hoped the Council will have a conversation about impact fees and how they could align them better with the needs of the community.
Mayor Evans arrived at this time.
After further discussion on the Police Department issues, Chief Treadway stated and he and Deputy Chief Musselman will be coming to Council on February 6 to discuss the four officers they requested and what they might do. He said that even with the six they had requested, they are back to where they were ten years ago but violent crime is up 19%. They are not keeping up with growth.
A request was made, going back to Environmental, that they consider some robust staff support for dark skies.
At this time Mayor Evans took over control of the meeting. It was requested that Public Safety Concerns be added to the list.
Sustainability Manager Nicole Woodman then began the PowerPoint presentation (Exhibit A attached to the minutes of December 12, 2017, continued):
CLIMATE CHANGE
Objectives
New Investments
Highlights and Accomplishments
Comments received from Council included:
•Thought this unit did so much over the past year. They are in good shape to move forward with the Action Plan.
•In the future she would like to see an aligning of the City organization structure with the priority of addressing climate change, meaning that they would give Sustainability a more permanent role by elevating the position and its importance by it becoming a division.
Mr. Copley noted that the organization of the City and the structure of staff is identified as a City Manager responsibility. The Council is free to communicate that to him. He would usually have his deputy city managers and executive leadership team look at that to determine the best route. He does hear the interest and asked that he be allowed to work with his team to determine the best path forward.
Water Resources Manager Erin Young then continued the presentation:
WATER CONSERVATION
Objectives
Budget - New Investments
Highlights and Accomplishments
Ms. Woodman then came forward again to continue the presentation:
ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Objectives
New Investments
Highlights and Accomplishments
Ms. Woodman said that the 2018 included $486,000 in New Investments that spanned Human Resources, Purchasing, Fire, Water Production, Economic Vitality, Water Resources management, Stormwater and Sustainability, and a few projects were highlighted.
Comments received from the Council included:
•Think the world of Maggie in Sustainability and thinks she does her job with professionalism and grace.
•Clearly there is a lot of litter and they cannot keep up with it
Mr. Copley said that in the 30 years he has lived here he has never seen it so bad. He cautioned the Council against hiring staff. He said that temporary help would be an option and in the past they have used prison labor crews, but hiring full-time staff is not the most cost-effective way to address the problem.
Comments continued:
•Has noticed the amount of trash that was on commercial properties.
•Perhaps they could do some kind of a public campaign working with the Chamber to bring it to the forefront
•Also need to focus efforts on construction sites
Discussion then turned to the Administrative Goals. Human Resources Manager Shauna Fisher came forward to continue the presentation:
PERSONNEL
Objectives
New Investments
Highlights and Accomplishments
Police Chief Kevin Treadway then reported on the personnel issues related to the Police Department. He said that staffing with the department is critical and needs immediate attention. Recent exit interviews reflect officers are now leaving because they feel unsafe, citing they do not always have backup available for calls where two officers should respond. Currently they are 23 officers down from the compliment of 64 officers and corporals that respond to calls for service. They have 6 vacancies currently including the 2 officers recently approved from the COPS grant. He has 5 in the Academy, 7 on field training, 2 on military leave, and 3 on light duty. Their patrol division is down 36%.
He said that they have swept all possible positions to address patrol. Their detectives division is down from 14 detectives to 11. They no longer staff 2 GIITEM Gang Officers, one School resource officer is vacant, the Sunnyside King Squad was re-assigned, 1 of 2 Selective Enforcement Officers that provided proactive initiatives with the serial inebriant population is vacant, and they no longer staff the Marshall's Fugitive detail.
Chief Treadway said that they used to average 40% available time for their officers. This past summer, many squads were as low as 11%. He said that there is no available time resulting in no proactive directed patrols and or self-initiated activity like traffic stops or field interviews. NAU and CCSO continue to assist when they can at unprecedented levels in providing back up and in some cases responding to calls as primary units when all of their officers are tied up.
They constructed an 18-page white paper last year providing a great deal of research, charts and graphs on the increased work load of their officers in the last decade. Increases in calls for service, and increases in demands that take their officers off the road for longer periods of time are detailed in this paper.
He said that all benchmarks available were reviewed, whether it was ICMA, comparisons with other agencies in the state, or mid size agencies in the nation reflect the Flagstaff Police Officer is far more taxed than any other officer they compared to anywhere. Their officers average 10-12 calls for service a shift, and write 4-6 written reports per day.
Chief Treadway said that they asked for six officers on the COPS grant and were awarded two. He still needs, bare minimum, all six which would put them at 2007 staffing levels. It is self-evident the growth that has occurred in the community in the last decade. Their white paper details this, the impacts of new businesses like Wal-Mart east, Cal Ranch, REI and most importantly, the impacts of student growth and student housing, tourism and population increases and what this has done to their call demand. They have more coming. Each budget period this goes unaddressed puts relief to their officers out almost two years.
Due in large part to the City's growth and lack fo resources on the police department, the community is experiencing an 18% increase in violent crime in 2017. They have had six homicides. One more before the end of the year and they would tie a record. Traffic collisions have steadily increased over the past five years.
He said that they have had some success with recruitment. They lost 17 officers in 2016, and have lost 17 officers since January 1, 2017, but they have hired 15 of those positions vacated. In the end, it takes an officer two weeks to leave the City, but nine months to replace and the applicant pool has dwindled for all law enforcement agencies. They have tripled their recruitment efforts this last year and are more successful than they have been.
He said that with more student housing, a Veterans facility, and increased commerce coming, they need to start right now to prepare them to address this. They will be asking Council to consider four officers in addition to the 2 COPS grant on the February 6 meeting. Additionally, during this budget period they need to seriously consider merit increases.
Chief Treadway said that there are two very distinct issues--retention and recruitment. What is most critical in terms of addressing retention is 1) the ability to achieve market based pay plan. No analysis was done last year, and that achievement is only successful if they maintain the market. He said that Human Resources is conducting that; they must stay competitive. 2) Merit based pay system. This is an objective of the City Manager. He has lost officers to agencies paying less because they have a merit in place. Also, while the City hires officers at a higher rate than the Sheriff's Office, within one year they are making the same because they have a merit in place.
Chief Treadway said that he concentrates on morale as the leader of the division. He said that Flagstaff provides some of the best training in the state and that goes a long way and they have some of the best equipment. Those types of things are very important. He said that he has written a white paper on this issue and would be glad to share it with the Council.
Comments from Council included:
•What she has heard on the Police and Fire side is that the density creates higher impacts for safety.
•As they discuss where the money is coming from she hoped the Council will have a conversation about impact fees and how they could align them better with the needs of the community.
Mayor Evans arrived at this time.
After further discussion on the Police Department issues, Chief Treadway stated and he and Deputy Chief Musselman will be coming to Council on February 6 to discuss the four officers they requested and what they might do. He said that even with the six they had requested, they are back to where they were ten years ago but violent crime is up 19%. They are not keeping up with growth.
A request was made, going back to Environmental, that they consider some robust staff support for dark skies.
At this time Mayor Evans took over control of the meeting. It was requested that Public Safety Concerns be added to the list.
Brief discussion was held on the housing assistance program. Chief Treadway said that they currently have eight officers taking advantage of the program. Ms. Fisher noted that they have updated the program to make it available to all City employees.
Mr. Copley said that, in terms of message, they explore how to talk about public safety in the context of the changing nature of the community with the density and calls for fire and police.
Staff was asked to be sure that the working plan includes the issue of maternity and paternity leave.
Fire Chief Mark Gaillard said that the Fire Department has the same issues as Police, with the exception of attrition. He said that the City Manager and Deputy City Managers have been helpful in coming out for shift meetings.
He said that it was previously mentioned that Flagstaff sits in the middle of the largest forest in the world. The risk is when they take down an old one-story building and put in high density, whether it is a hotel or student housing. Within the Goal matrix they have laid out a sizable gap in staffing and response.
He said that they have an incredibly busy Fire Department. He said that they have not let go of any of the traditional services such as fire inspections, code enforcement, etc. However, if they are up all night going to ambulance and emergency calls, it is difficult to deal with being proactive.
Staff was asked to provide some statistics that tell the story, such as how many employees they have had in the last five years, calls for service and how it has changed over time, what percentage of the general fund is spent on Police and Fire and how that has changed over the years. They were also asked to include a map of calls showing geographically where the calls are coming from.
Comments from Council included:
•What was being done with the funds left over from the officers not received with the grant?
•Is there a policy that requires some of the larger developments, such as the Hub and Fremont Station, to provide their own security or public safety on staff 24/7?
Mr. Copley said that when they need a rezone or Conditional Use Permit there is more of an opportunity to ask for those types of things, but it is in the best interest of the HOH to have some types of security and management on scene.
Communications Manager Jessica Drum continued the presentation:
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Objectives
New Investments
Highlights and Accomplishments
Comments from Council included:
•Who was funding the Clean Team? Ms. Hansen responded that the City contributes $45,000 and the County is matching. She would be glad to get an update.
•How many people watch the Council meetings? Ms. Drum said that she did not have that number but would get it for Council.
•Has heard feedback that when they take business on the road there is no access for viewing. IT Director Ladd Vagen said that in this coming budget they will be proposing a mobile streaming service.
•Wanted to thank Ralph at the CVB for their work on the Winter Recreation Map and for being so responsive.
•Still interested in closed captioning the meeting streaming. Mr. Vagen said that they will be addressing that in February as well.
•They have been doing a great job in this area.
•The Neighborhood Services web page is not enough for a city their size.
•A lot of questions seem to be related to neighborhood services and they do not have a position or department. Mr. Copley noted that with the City they have had some preliminary discussions with the Planning Director and others about what the future looks like in this regard. Similar to the sustainability discussion, staff will discuss it and bring back some options if they have budget implications.
•Functionality of the website is not always intuitive for the public.
•There are a lot of links that are not current.
A break was taken from 2:19 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Mr. Copley then came forward to continue the presentation:
TOWN AND GOWN
Objectives
New Investments
Highlights and Accomplishments
Comments from Council included:
•It was mentioned in the other section that they need to address the impact of growth at NAU and that should be part of the agenda with President Cheng on 1/23/18.
•Happy with the progress made in improving communication with the President and Administration.
•25% of NAU is impacted by the Rio de Flag.
Mayor Evans noted that this morning she talked with Mayor Rothchild in Tucson, and they had a discussion about the different needs in the three cities that have universities.
Code Compliance Manager Reggie Eccleston continued the presentation:
CODE COMPLIANCE
Objectives
New Investments
Highlights and Accomplishments
Mr. Eccleston said that they have three full-time staff members.
Comments from Council included:
•Feel they need to do more to address graffiti.
•Appreciate the Graffiti Busters, but do not believe the graffiti ordinance is strong enough.
•Need to consider having a location in town open to graffiti. Mr. Eccleston said that they have been working with County Adult Probation and they are trying to find locations and artists.
Mr. Copley said that the van they have was donated a long time ago. It may be that the City has matured to a point where they need to be more dedicated. He said that he thinks they will see a theme throughout this upcoming budget.
Mr. Copley said that staff would get the list out to Council before the next meeting.
Mr. Copley said that, in terms of message, they explore how to talk about public safety in the context of the changing nature of the community with the density and calls for fire and police.
Staff was asked to be sure that the working plan includes the issue of maternity and paternity leave.
Fire Chief Mark Gaillard said that the Fire Department has the same issues as Police, with the exception of attrition. He said that the City Manager and Deputy City Managers have been helpful in coming out for shift meetings.
He said that it was previously mentioned that Flagstaff sits in the middle of the largest forest in the world. The risk is when they take down an old one-story building and put in high density, whether it is a hotel or student housing. Within the Goal matrix they have laid out a sizable gap in staffing and response.
He said that they have an incredibly busy Fire Department. He said that they have not let go of any of the traditional services such as fire inspections, code enforcement, etc. However, if they are up all night going to ambulance and emergency calls, it is difficult to deal with being proactive.
Staff was asked to provide some statistics that tell the story, such as how many employees they have had in the last five years, calls for service and how it has changed over time, what percentage of the general fund is spent on Police and Fire and how that has changed over the years. They were also asked to include a map of calls showing geographically where the calls are coming from.
Comments from Council included:
•What was being done with the funds left over from the officers not received with the grant?
•Is there a policy that requires some of the larger developments, such as the Hub and Fremont Station, to provide their own security or public safety on staff 24/7?
Mr. Copley said that when they need a rezone or Conditional Use Permit there is more of an opportunity to ask for those types of things, but it is in the best interest of the HOH to have some types of security and management on scene.
Communications Manager Jessica Drum continued the presentation:
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Objectives
New Investments
Highlights and Accomplishments
Comments from Council included:
•Who was funding the Clean Team? Ms. Hansen responded that the City contributes $45,000 and the County is matching. She would be glad to get an update.
•How many people watch the Council meetings? Ms. Drum said that she did not have that number but would get it for Council.
•Has heard feedback that when they take business on the road there is no access for viewing. IT Director Ladd Vagen said that in this coming budget they will be proposing a mobile streaming service.
•Wanted to thank Ralph at the CVB for their work on the Winter Recreation Map and for being so responsive.
•Still interested in closed captioning the meeting streaming. Mr. Vagen said that they will be addressing that in February as well.
•They have been doing a great job in this area.
•The Neighborhood Services web page is not enough for a city their size.
•A lot of questions seem to be related to neighborhood services and they do not have a position or department. Mr. Copley noted that with the City they have had some preliminary discussions with the Planning Director and others about what the future looks like in this regard. Similar to the sustainability discussion, staff will discuss it and bring back some options if they have budget implications.
•Functionality of the website is not always intuitive for the public.
•There are a lot of links that are not current.
A break was taken from 2:19 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Mr. Copley then came forward to continue the presentation:
TOWN AND GOWN
Objectives
New Investments
Highlights and Accomplishments
Comments from Council included:
•It was mentioned in the other section that they need to address the impact of growth at NAU and that should be part of the agenda with President Cheng on 1/23/18.
•Happy with the progress made in improving communication with the President and Administration.
•25% of NAU is impacted by the Rio de Flag.
Mayor Evans noted that this morning she talked with Mayor Rothchild in Tucson, and they had a discussion about the different needs in the three cities that have universities.
Code Compliance Manager Reggie Eccleston continued the presentation:
CODE COMPLIANCE
Objectives
New Investments
Highlights and Accomplishments
Mr. Eccleston said that they have three full-time staff members.
Comments from Council included:
•Feel they need to do more to address graffiti.
•Appreciate the Graffiti Busters, but do not believe the graffiti ordinance is strong enough.
•Need to consider having a location in town open to graffiti. Mr. Eccleston said that they have been working with County Adult Probation and they are trying to find locations and artists.
Mr. Copley said that the van they have was donated a long time ago. It may be that the City has matured to a point where they need to be more dedicated. He said that he thinks they will see a theme throughout this upcoming budget.
Mr. Copley said that staff would get the list out to Council before the next meeting.
4.
Adjournment
The Budget Retreat of the Flagstaff City Council held December 19, 2017, adjourned at 3:00 p.m.
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MAYOR |
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ATTEST:
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CITY CLERK |