Approved Minutes - 2009-04-28 OF LAKE osw,CO
/W CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO
CITIZENS' BUDGET COMMITTEE MINUTES
April 28, 2009
Proposed FY 2009-2010 Budget
OREGO$
Chair Ron Smith called the meeting to order on April 28, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. in the Santiam
Room of the West End Building, 4101 Kruse Way, Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Members present: Jack Hoffman, Mayor Ron Smith, Chair
Donna Jordan, Council President Katherine Shallenberger, Vice Chair
Kristen Johnson Kelly Calabria
Sally Moncrieff Jeff Gudman
Mary Olson Daniel Williams
Bill Tierney
Members excused: Roger Hennagin and Frank Bearden
Staff present: Alex McIntyre, City Manager
Darin Rouhier, Finance Director
Jordan Wheeler, Management Analyst
David Donaldson, Assistant City Manager
Kim Gilmer, Parks & Recreation Director
Denise Frisbee, Planning & Building Department Director
Dan Duncan, Police Chief
Guy Graham, Public Works Director
Joel Komarek, Project Director, LOIS
Jerry Knippel, Special Projects Director
Ericka Rooney, Assistant City Engineer
Bill Baars, Library Director
Ed Wilson, Fire Chief
Carol Bryck, Assistant Finance Director
Kam Frederickson, Budget & Financial Analyst
Gary Evans, Assistant Parks & Recreation Director
Jeff Munro, Parks Maintenance Superintendent
Natalie Strom, Natural Area Coordinator
Tom Mueller, Golf Course Manager
Ann Adrian, ACC Manager
Kathy Kern-Schilling, Events Supervisor
Jackie Rose, Library Youth Services Manager
Donna Ainslie, Library Circulation Manager
Jane Carr, Library Reference/Adult Services Manager
Cyndie Glazer, Coordinator of Library Volunteer Services
Megan Phelan, Human Resources Director
Linda Dickhous, Administrative Support
City of Lake Oswego Citizens' Budget Committee Page 1 of 13
Minutes of April 28, 2009
I. Approval of Minutes
Jordan moved to approve the Minutes of May 27, 2008. Calabria seconded the motion and it
passed by unanimous vote.
Gudman moved to approve the Minutes of April 13, 2009. Jordan seconded the motion and
discussion followed. Gudman clarified that he had been emphasizing that charging accrued
leave to the individual departments was reasonable, and Rouhier and McIntyre had confirmed it
would be charged to individual departments as a cost of doing business. The motion then
passed by unanimous voice vote of those members present.
Smith asked if there were any remaining unanswered questions from the last meeting.
Gudman said that his estimate that the City's total PERS liability was $100 million had been off
by $5 million because it was actually $95 million.
II. Department Presentations
Parks & Recreation Department
Kim Gilmer, Parks & Recreation Department Director, explained her budget division by
division. She said of the 58 FTEs, 16 were temporary, seasonal, positions, such as instructors
and lifeguards. The part-time Natural Resources Coordinator position had been transferred
from the Planning & Building Department. The department had applied for a state grant for
trails. More programs had been added that offset their costs with the revenue they produced.
They were tagging on a small fee on every program and that would generate about $10,000.
They had reduced expenditures by $75,000. Part of that was achieved by closing the swim park
on Ridgeway Road, which would save $21,000. One of the three field overseeding cycles
would be eliminated to save about $16,000. $28,000 was to be shifted from the Parks Fund to
the Percent for Art Fund to fund the Arts Council.
Moncrieff asked if the swim park was only being closed for this summer. Gilmer said the
department would reevaluate all the programs they offered. The decision to close the swim
park had been based on its relatively lower use. She confirmed for Olson that the school
district's swim park would stay open. Jordan recalled that sewer work would be going on near
that swim park this summer. Moncrieff asked if they had looked into a "stress management"
method of watering fields. Jeff Munro, Parks Maintenance Superintendent, confirmed they
were looking into water reduction, but the fields took so much abuse they had to be watered.
Hoffman observed the grass fields were ten years old and asked if a field replacement reserve
would be created. Gilmer said they had not done that yet and she believed that proper
maintenance would extend their life for quite a long time. Munro explained there were some
places with poor drainage that had to be replanted. Hoffman asked if we would be placing a
reserve for artificial turf fields and Gilmer advised that they should consider that. Kim relayed
that years ago the City had considered a reserve, but eliminated it after the School District
needed cut theirs. She confirmed for Hoffman that athletic field users were charged for using
the fields and that generated about $94,000 per year. She said they could charge more, but it
would never recover the City's investment. Jordan recalled seeing reseeding that had been torn
up immediately when it rained. Munro agreed that the schedule for overseeding and top
dressing was weather dependent. Tierney said he did not see a footnote to support the
increase in headcount or the explanation for the 16% increase in total Materials and Services.
Gilmer would provide that information to the Committee.
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Minutes of April 28, 2009
Gilmer explained the department had historically asked for a supplemental budget when they
added new parks and facilities to maintain, but this year they tried to budget for them. Smith
asked what the December 2008 supplemental budget included and Gilmer said it was for a
long-range study of the golf and tennis programs and some money for Park Fund expenditures,
including Cooks Butte.
• Adult Community Center
Ann Adrian, ACC Manager, reported the Center had experienced a 17% increase in home
delivered meals last year and it was continuing to grow. More part-time staff was being used to
prepare meals. Gudman asked if it was more cost effective for the department to do it or
contract it out. Gilmer said her research led her to conclude using another nonprofit group
might cost the same or more, and she added that the department's program offered better
meals.
• Management Services
Gilmer said the increase in salaries and benefits was because the Natural Resources Manger
position had been moved to this division from the Planning department and an increase in other
part-time. Materials & Services expenditures were up because the cost of the online registration
system was going up and the software was being upgraded. Copying and printing costs
reflected the cost of producing a new parks brochure. Professional & Technical expenses
would rise because of new software and bank service charges for credit card charges. That
expense went up as the number of participants went up.
Gudman pointed out that a footnote said software upgrades were in Repairs & Maintenance,
not Professional & Technical Services. Gilmer explained the first category included the cost of
repairing office computers and the Professional & Technical category reflected the cost of
software, upgrades and support related to the online registration system. Gudman asked how
much that was and Gilmer said it was a $60,000 increase and that there had not been an
increase in many years. Calabria asked if the department could raise their fees to pay for that.
Gilmer stated that they do raise fees and the Master Fee Schedule required them to cover
100% of the direct cost of adult programs and that did not include overhead. Tierney advised
that online registration was more like a direct charge and Olson noted that it only applied to
classes, not to the rest of the department's programs. Jordan suggested considering offering
users a direct deposit option to save money on credit card charging costs. Gilmer explained for
Olson that her department had shared printers with the Finance Department until they moved to
the WEB and now they shared printers with LOIS. Williams asked Gilmer to provide more
specific details related to the $221,113 contingency. Rouhier said this contingency and ending
fund balance would be rolled into one big, amalgamated, contingency in the new General Fund
reserves. But until then it was tracked both ways and shown as if it were still in a separate
Parks Fund.
Tierney said he was still trying to reconcile the cost of wages with the increase in FTEs. Gilmer
explained that the department was now budgeting for 1.3 temporary part-time workers to work in
the office and clean. They had them last year, too, but past budgets had not accurately
reflected that. Tierney said if the headcount was about the same, why did the budget increase
about $100,000? He figured that about half of it was for the Natural Resource Manager
position. Gilmer said the salaries budget also reflected anticipated step increases. Rouhier
clarified that the contingency fund was strictly for COLA increases and the associated increases
in benefits driven by pay (FICA and PERS etc.), which increased whenever someone's pay was
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Minutes of April 28, 2009
raised. COLA was dependent on the outcome of future labor negotiations. He said step
increases were already reflected in the budget because they happened when an employee
passed certain milestones in their career and not because of any management decision. He
acknowledged there could be other reasons for the change in the amount of salaried budgeted,
such as a change of the mix of positions in the department. Tierney asked how many steps
there were? Gilmer said there could be 5 or 6, depending on the position. Rouhier advised
they were typically 5% apart.
Rouhier handed out a one-page summary of changes in FTEs for all departments. It broke
down all the FTE changes that occurred since the adopted budget for 2007-09. He pointed out
that it showed and explained Gilmer's changes.
Calabria asked how the decision had been made to move the department to the WEB. Gilmer
recalled the City Council had asked them to move there. Their offices in City Hall had been very
crowded. Shallenberger noted that the increase in Materials & Services in many departments
reflected the fuel and repairs costs being moved there from the Transfers category and asked
for a summary sheet that reconciled transfers between departments, such as the transfers for
fuel. She asked if there was some way to capture all the costs related to the WEB, including the
cost of moving the department there, in a one-page summary. Johnson explained there were
non-quantifiable reasons to use the WEB. It increased the productivity of the department when
they had enough room to work in and it put an empty building to use. Hoffman questioned how
asking the staff to justify something that happened two years ago was relevant to the current
process. Smith anticipated the Committee would discuss FTEs and contingencies and
"Katherine's summaries" later in the process.
• Sports & Fitness Programs
Gilmer said they were adding more programs, but the FTEs stayed the same. The 2.2
temporaries were positions such as instructors, league managers, and skate park staff.
• Cultural & Specialized Programs
Events was expanding and that one full time employee was moved here, who dealt with
downtown and other events. Gilmer said what was not described in the budget was that
$20,000 for Professional & Technical Services was going to be used to hire part-time
employees and instructors at a lower cost this year. The small tools budget was lower because
$28,000 for the Arts Council had been shifted to the Percent for Art Fund for their use.
• Maintenance
FTEs had been increased because money from the Professional & Technical budget had been
moved to be used to pay for part-time workers. The department found it was less expensive
and they got more consistent service in key positions when they hired temporary part-time
workers than when they contracted work. Moncrieff said she had read in the Oregonian that
Youth Corps workers were helping in natural areas. Natalie Strom, Natural Area Coordinator,
said Youth Corps was not the same organization as AmeriCorps. She had also read the article
but had not explored that possibility yet. Gilmer explained for Olson that the cost of repairs and
maintenance of Luscher Farm was in the Special Events budget, not this budget. $54,000 of
the Repairs & Maintenance item was a shift here of the motor pool transfer for fuel and $32,000
of it reflected a 14% projected increase in the cost of electricity and natural gas. There would
be additional utility expenses connected with operating Hazelia Field.
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Williams asked if the department was finding the 14% assumption to be realistic. Munro
reported that lights and water rates for Hazelia Field had jumped from $0.83 cents to $2.05.
Olson wanted more specifics on rates because the increases would affect all departments.
• Acquisition, Development & Pathways
This budget included the cost of the boat dock and design of Rosemont Trail. When Gudman
asked for it, Gilmer pointed out the Parks & Recreation Capital Projects listed on page 152.
McIntyre said the staff would provide a report covering the entire CIP program and it might
make sense to wait until then to discuss these projects. Olson asked what City's share of the
Boat Dock was. Gilmer explained that cost would be reimbursed from a grant related to
development of Foothills Park. Rouhier explained the City would pay out cash for it, and then
be reimbursed, so both the revenue and the expense had to be reflected in the budget, but net
cost to the City was zero. Gilmer pointed out that the grant revenue offset is shown as
Intergovernmental revenue.
• Adult Community Center
This budget accounted for adding more temporary workers to help with the Meals Network
program. The revenue coming in would not completely offset the cost, so fundraising would be
expanded.
Gudman noticed that Repairs and Maintenance had jumped from $42,000 to $94,000. Gilmer
said $12,000 of that was motor pool transfers and the part of the increase was due to increased
electric and gas costs, but she would check out the remaining increase. Tierney observed that
fuel cost transfers were only half of the transfers to other funds. He asked what other costs
would be transferred. Gilmer said there were transfers to the General Fund for administration,
insurance and self insurance; to the Parks & Recreation budget to pay for bank charges,
brochures, and general administrative expenses; and there were transfers to maintenance for
electronics. Tierney wanted more information on what was in transfers and that was a general
question he had for all department budgets. McIntyre said the staff would bring back
information to explain the transfers.
Gudman observed the minutes of the last meeting indicated a theme came up that Committee
members wanted to get a handle on totals across the City for various categories. He asked for
a total of year-to-year, on both the revenue and expenditure sides of major inflows and outflows.
• Golf Course
The department was doing a study of the Golf and Tennis programs. The 2008-09 budget
reflected that they were trying to streamline them and find ways to generate enough revenue to
cover the operating costs. There was no café revenue because the café operation had been
contracted out after the division calculated it was not worth doing it themselves. Gilmer said
this budget had "aggressive" revenue numbers. Revenue from classes was anticipated to grow,
even in the current economic downturn, because they were seeing an increase in registrations
and hoped it would continue. The shift in fuel costs had significantly increased the Repairs &
Maintenance Services budget. That budget also reflected the fact that the Golf Course had a lot
of old equipment, including expensive mowers, which they might need to replace. Special Pay
reflected what golf pros got for instruction. It was a separate line item from the one that
reflected the base pay they got for working in the pro shop. Gilmer confirmed to Olson that the
department hoped the Golf Course would pay for itself.
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Tom Mueller, Golf Course Manager, said he thought that if the mowers did not break down the
program could end up with a balanced budget. Gilmer said the study would take a look at golf
operations. She confirmed for Olson that the food vendor paid a rental fee, but that was not a
significant revenue generator.
• Tennis Facility
The Tennis Facility budget projected fewer FTEs. The director had been a temporary part-time
employee, but he was now on contract, which increased the Professional & Technical Services
budget. There was a 3/4 FTE manning the center desk and the rest of the staff was temporary,
part-time, instruction staff. Resurfacing the courts and repaving the parking lot would require
capital funds this year.
Olson observed this budget showed this program would break even, but she recalled they
usually made a little money. Gilmer confirmed that they usually did, but this was a conservative
approach that showed it in balance. Tierney suggested the Committee discuss it as a policy
the decision to close the swim park at a later time. He thought it was likely they could find
$21,000 for it.
• Percent for Art
Gilmer confirmed for Gudman that the number of summer concerts would be reduced and that
would save $12,000. The Jazz West concerts did not enjoy the level of attendance the others
did. However, some Art in the Plaza events had been added and they produced revenue (from
vendors). She also confirmed for Gudman that the City had allowed the Arts Commission to
become a nonprofit organization a few years ago so they could fundraise and eventually would
not need City support. But they still needed that support and they were partially funded in her
department's budget. When Gudman asked what their plan was, Jordan related that the
foundation had a new plan with ambitious goals and had put fundraising people in place. But
they were suffering as all arts organizations were from a lack of grants and donations. Gudman
asked if it was a City goal to eliminate that funding entirely? Jordan explained that Percent for
Art was permanent and the City paid the Arts Council for managing the public artwork collection.
Hoffman confirmed for Gudman that the City Council was working with the Arts Council to help
them plan how to raise private capital.
Olson observed a footnote said that the 1.5% contribution to the Percent for Art was coming
from the General Fund for the West End Building (WEB) purchase. Gilmer advised the
percentage was required when a building was purchased as well as when a building was
constructed. Olson suggested that was another issue to be placed on "Katherine's list."
McIntyre said he had been told that in 2006 the City Council had anticipated they would capture
the arts funds when the building was redeveloped, but that did not happen. The only money the
Percent for Art program had right now was because of the WEB acquisition. He had suggested
the Arts Council should plan to raise some money. But at the current time the City owed them
$300,000 and the code required it. Gudman asked if the City was "on the hook" for a building
they might sell? McIntyre said yes, the code required allocating the percentage for art for a
acquisition of capital. Tierney said that also raised the question whether the money should be
allocated as a function of the WEB building or if there should there be a policy decision that
money for the arts was an important investment. McIntyre agreed it was an investment in the
community. He clarified for Olson that the City was not required to allocate a percentage of the
LOIS budget to the arts because that requirement did not apply to utilities. Gudman asked if it
was the prerogative of the Committee to recommend putting the $300,000 "on hold" until the
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decision had been made about the WEB? McIntyre advised that the City owed this money four
years ago and had not paid it. Jordan observed that the City Council had made a commitment
to economic development. Arts and parks events brought in dollars from outside the community
and helped local merchants. If the Committee decided they did not want that item in the budget,
the City Council could decide it was important enough to support the arts and put it back in.
Hoffman understood that Gudman was basically recommending that the City Council pass an
ordinance that would be retroactive and that would amend the Percent for Art program. He said
both of those things were problematic. Gudman reasoned that if the City had not purchased the
WEB they would not owe for art. He said that they had delayed paying for it for four years and
he believed it was financially prudent to delay paying the money out until the fate of the WEB
was determined because there was no link yet. Tierney pointed out it was $300,000 in
resources added, and expenditures were far less than that. Smith cautioned the Committee
was getting into deliberations about the budget.
Williams said he hoped the Parks Department would find ways to leverage the City's
investment and make the Centennial Celebration a successful interface with the citizens.
Gilmer said the RFP she was fashioning asked the contractor to leverage the City's normal
events to save some money and maybe schedule one, big, gala event too.
Planning and Building Services
Denise Frisbee, Planning & Building Department Director, reported that Building & Permit
Center staff had been reduced by 3.7. The department would forego some software
improvements that would have been in the Professional & Technical Services budget. She
pointed out the budget document listed the goals and initiatives the department was to work on
in the coming year. She said they would implement some of recommendations related to
improving customer service and departmental efficiencies made in a 2008 organizational audit
McIntyre had commissioned.
During the questioning period, Frisbee confirmed that the Building & Permit Center suffered the
biggest cuts. Tierney asked about fee revenue. She said fees were down about 60% from last
year and the number of permits issued was down about the same percentage, so it was both a
fee and workflow reduction. She said Planning Department fees were also down.
Gudman wanted to know how many neighborhood plans had been approved so far. Frisbee
said FAN, Evergreen, and Palisades were done; Glenmorrie would be ready soon; Waluga and
Lake Forest were in process; and Lake Forest was pending. Gudman asked what it would cost
to implement the changes in adopted plans and how long that would take? She explained the
staff was studying the Palisades plan to determine that. However, the challenge was that each
neighborhood plan was a little different. The Planning Commission had formed a working group
to suggest a neighborhood plan template that would identify what aspects of neighborhood
plans were really of Citywide concern and make the plans more consistent with each other. The
department hoped to be able to estimate the cost of implementation at the time the City Council
adopted a plan. Gudman wanted a general range, "best guess," estimate of the cost of
implementing a plan, or an estimate of the cost of implementing the Palisades plan. Wheeler
said he did not know, but he thought the study of the Palisades plan could help them
understand. Frisbee said the department was working on getting better numbers, but she
advised that there were aspects of the plans that did not involve hard costs. They could be
implemented by code changes, Capital Improvement Program projects, and using neighborhood
enhancement grants. Gudman opined that the policy should be that neighborhood plans would
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Minutes of April 28, 2009
not be adopted until funding was found to pay for them. Smith cautioned that was getting into
process and policy questions.
Jordan suggested talking a look at what the neighborhood planning process itself cost.
Frisbee said two neighborhood planners worked on the plans. How long that took varied
greatly, because Palisades had changed leadership in mid-process and that plan took a long
time to finish. But Glenmorrie would be done in record time because the neighborhood was
cohesive and able to communicate and resolve critical issues more quickly. Olson observed
that Palisades was much larger than Glenmorrie. Frisbee anticipated that the Planning
Commission working group would offer better information about neighborhood plans soon.
Tierney asked how confident the department was they would generate $935,000 in fees.
McIntyre said he was watching the trend, and if it continued they would ramp down further.
Tierney asked, as a policy issue, if Building & Permitting Services should be making money or
breaking even. McIntyre explained that they had to pay for themselves on the one hand and on
the other hand, the Building & Permitting Services division could only use those monies for
building services. He related that reserves are created for a reason and he and Frisbee
recognized that if you dipped into reserves during hard times to preserve the operation and
employees you also had to have plan to glide path out of it. Tierney asked if they were being
proactive. Frisbee said layoffs had already been initiated. .
Tierney observed the headcount was going down and Professional & Technical Services was
going up. He recalled one of the justifications was that was it paid for staff development and
training. He asked if that should be cut back in these times? Frisbee said that was the only
jump in her budget. Planners had continuing education requirements to fulfill and they were
getting training in green building and code auditing so they could accomplish City Council goals.
Structural, electrical and plumbing inspectors would be cross-trained. She clarified for Olson
that the department would get professional help with the scope of the code auditing process this
year and then work on finding out what was wrong with the code and fashion a strategy for
streamlining it.
Police
Dan Duncan, Police Chief, noted two items that were not in the "What's New" section of the
budget: The department had been awarded state accreditation for good policies and standards,
and the staff had created a five-year strategic plan at a retreat last year. He said there were at
least three officers and one supervisor on duty at any given time and the department could
respond to an emergency within three minutes. He said the department had acquired two
canines and had used grant money to install cameras in patrol vehicles. When Gudman asked
what they were for, Duncan explained they recorded what happened when an officer stopped
someone and they automatically recorded collisions. He discussed each division budget. A
great deal of different types of training and ongoing training of staff was necessary. Gudman
asked if the City was reimbursed when the officer certified to investigate fatal accidents
involving child safety seats was called out of the area. Duncan said no, there were mutual aid
agreements for that. He said his department used transfers in the same way as other
departments. Tierney asked how confident he was about the revenue from LOCOM service.
McIntyre said those amounts were contracted with West Linn and Milwaukee. Duncan said
other revenue came from 911 taxes and juvenile diversion. He confirmed for Tierney that the
911 tax did not apply to cell phones and he said the legislature might decide to reduce it.
Tierney speculated that Intergovernmental income might be down because more people used
cell phones now. When Tierney observed the budgeted figures indicated someone might be
ready to retire, Duncan listed several employees who were eligible to retire. He confirmed for
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Jordan that the budget factored in the cost of veterinary service and boarding of animals the
police picked up on the street, and that the Patrol budget factored in the cost of the two Police
dogs. He clarified for Jordan that the department divided the City into three patrol areas, and
the biggest and busiest was Lake Grove, which included Westlake and Mountain Park. He said
they could create a fourth district but that would require more manpower.
Gudman asked if all department positions were filled the entire year. Duncan said there had
been two positions open in the last six months. Duncan explained that the department had kept
those positions open until they got some guidance regarding the budget. Olson reasoned that
the police dept had to fill their shifts so if they had vacancies they had to pay overtime. Duncan
advised that the national average was two cops per 1,000 population, but Lake Oswego
averaged 1.19. They had the lowest per capita staffing in the Metro area.
Public Works
Guy Graham, Public Works Director/City Engineer, said Public Works had become its own
department last fall, bringing together Engineering, Maintenance Services, the Water Treatment
Plant, and Facilities Maintenance. He listed the members of the management team and gave
an overview of the services they provide, such as planning and geographic mapping and
information services (GIS); and designing, constructing, inspecting, managing, operating and
maintaining infrastructure. Some of Public Works responsibilities include maintaining
wastewater lines and pump stations, streets, street lights, storm drains, water lines, reservoirs,
and maintenance of City facilities. He explained the draft capital program would be presented
for discussion at the May 11th meeting. Public Works plans include developing strategic asset
management protocols. Jordan asked where in the budget the stimulus money was shown.
Graham said it would be spent for two projects on the CIP list and he would provide the details.
Williams asked how much of the Materials & Supplies budget increase would be spent for
computers. McIntyre explained that projected amounts to be spent on computers had been
provided by the IT Department. Gudman asked where the City streets were on the road
pavement condition index. Joel Komarek said it was just under 70 CPI. Gudman asked if
there was sufficient money in the budget, or a five-year budget, to get the streets from less than
70 to 70? Graham said no and he would provide further information. He added that one issue
for City Council discussion relates to the current street maintenance revenue being less than
what is needed. Johnson said the City Council had considered raising the Street Maintenance
fee, which had not been increased for many years. They decided to increase it slightly, but not
the jump that should have been made years ago. Graham advised the price of asphalt had not
gone down because oil was being used for higher-grade fuels and not asphalt.
Tierney observed a trend in all the budgets was an increase in Materials & Supplies and
Professional & Technical Services, and often the justification was "computers." Rouhier said
he would provide a citywide picture of computer expenditures. Tierney observed that
Engineering - Construction Services needed an explanation of full-time salaries and the FTE
count as well as more detail for Professional & Technical Services large increase. Komarek
noted that this may relate to improvement projects that may require contracted services.
Tierney noted that Other Purchased Services in Planning & Information Services had risen
significantly to $24,000 and the related footnote attributed that to GIS applications. Komarek
addressed Tierney's question about GIS. He explained GIS services were very computer
intensive and the software was sophisticated and very expensive. A new version comes out
every two years or so and that does not support the old version. They need to buy new
software, technical support, and licenses. Tierney observed that the Facilities Management
Maintenance budget had doubled and there was no footnote to explain why. Graham
commented about the need for repairs on older buildings. Wheeler noted the WEB
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maintenance costs were now reflected in this budget combined with other facilities. Graham
offered to provide the Committee with more details on their questions.
Graham explained for Moncrieff that Systems Development Charge revenue was used for
capital projects so they would not be shown in the operating budget. The CIP presentation
would show that SDCs were down.
III. ISSUE: Lake Oswego /Tigard Water Supply Partnership
Joel Komarek, Director of the LOIS project, presented the new water project budget. Lake
Oswego and the City of Tigard joined together and formed a water supply partnership in August
2008, which would expand Lake Oswego's water supply system, doubling its treatment
capacity. He explained that the intergovernmental agreement with Tigard established Lake
Oswego as the managing agency. The project would be completed and serving both
communities by July 2016. The budget includes addition of 3 FTEs and office set-up for this
project. He plans to join the water project team after the LOIS project is finished. Tigard was to
initially contribute $2.8 million and pay 57% of the annual cost through completion of the project.
During the questioning period, Komarek confirmed that Tigard would pay 57% of the operating
expenses such as personal services, transfers and the cost of the team's office. He clarified
that the intergovernmental agreement states that both cities were to establish an oversight
Committee created by elected officials. He said Johnson and Tierney were on the Lake
Oswego committee that had reviewed this budget and recommended it to the City Council.
Hoffman asked which City would go out for revenue bonds. Komarek said each individual City
would do that. He noted that Tigard had been raising water rates for many years in anticipation
of a project like this. Smith invited public comment.
Citizen Input
Carolyn Jones, 2818 S Poplar Way, recalled hearing that the project would provide water for
the Stafford area. She questioned spending money to supply Stafford if the City Council had
taken a position against developing Stafford. Komarek said that possibility had been posed for
long-range planning purposes, but there would not be any infrastructure built to get water to
Stafford as part of this project. Jones was concerned that the City might legally be required to
serve Stafford. Hoffman explained that Metro would require a new area to find some service
district to buy water from, and they would have to figure out how to get it there.
John Surrett, 1685 Edgecliff Terr., said he had reservations about the agreement with Tigard
because Lake Oswego did not suffer from water shortage, except for a few days in summertime
when it reached the capacity of the water treatment facility, and he thought citizens were being
taxed through higher water rates in order to demonstrate the City's willingness to tax itself to
potential revenue bond holders. He said Tigard was getting a multi-million dollar system for a
paltry sum. The tiered water rates had nothing to do with conservation. He advised the
agreement could be rescinded. He said Jordan had represented at a recent LONAC meeting
that the City might serve Stafford at some time in the future. Jordan recalled her comments
from LONAC, where she made observations about when the Stafford area is looked at, there
would be certain area service providers that it would make more logical sense to provide certain
services. She commented that City would not provide wastewater services because it would
need to be pumped uphill, however, water could flow downhill into the Stafford area. There is
usually a logic to determining service providers, though she clarified that she had not said the
City was going to do that.
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Eugene Ditler, 5034 Foothills Road, Apt D, asked if this was an elitist town and if the budget
should be increased to $10,000 per person and borrow money to stimulate the economy.
Johnson explained the City operated under totally different budgeting laws than the federal
government did, and the City could not have a deficit.
IV. ISSUE: Library District Revenue
How should the City apply the new revenue brought about by the formation of the county library
district?
Bill Baars, Library Director, explained that the Library budget was $3.3 million, but recent
passage of the measure to form a Clackamas County Library District meant County support was
to increase by $900,000 this year and the new tax district would provide a future stream of
funding for the library. In addition, each City was to receive a one-time allotment of$1 million
capital funds for library facilities and improvements. He asked the Committee what they would
do with the money. He provided a number of options, ranging from using the County funds to
supplant or diminish the City general fund contribution, to establishing a library station in Lake
Grove, to establishing a reserve to build a new library.
Baars explained that the $900,000 will come into the Library and the question is whether the
City will continue to provide the Library with additional General Fund support from property
taxes. Gudman recalled a task force had previously determined that the City could not sustain
two libraries. Baars explained that a library station would be a small facility to provide services
to a part of the community. Gudman anticipated once such a facility was established the
pressure would eventually build to make it a full second library. Gudman commented that the
full additional $900,000 should not stay in the Library department and that staying flat year to
year is where we should be. Tierney recalled the existing building had no more room to expand
services and Baars confirmed that. Williams asked if the library had tracked where users came
from. Baars reported they came for all over the City and 96% of users lived in the City. He
confirmed to Olson that they shared materials with Portland and West Linn. Johnson said
sustainability goals encouraged having a library within walking distance or shorter driving
distance.
Baars clarified that the City could ask for the $1 million in capital to build or improve a library in
any one of the next five years. The County revenue could not be applied to any other purpose
than for the library. McIntyre confirmed for Jordan that the budget showed the entire $1.8
million inflow from the County to the library. He said there was no policy backing what is
currently in the budget to guide him and it needs to be further refined, so we are seeking
direction on what needs to be done. Options may include earmarking the additional $900,000 in
an endowment fund as reserves to be to be used to build a new library, or it might be used to
pay for library services so General Funds that had been budgeted for that could be used for
other purposes. Calabria suggested being cautious in this economy and not spend the
$900,000, placing it back in the General Fund for things the City may need in the down
economy. Also, important to go back to the community asking the voters what they intended.
Shallenberger said she agreed with Calabria, but did not have enough information to make a
recommendation. Smith wanted to know what the cost of the options Baars presented would
be. He observed that the inflow of County dollars gave the City the opportunity to use General
Fund dollars elsewhere. Olson had heard people say they had voted to support the new library
district because they thought there would be a proportionate decrease in property taxes.
Gudman asked McIntyre what his perspective was on one versus two Library locations.
McIntyre said as City Manager, his concern would be operating and staffing two libraries. He
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explained that he had brought the matter to the Committee because he felt with their insight and
overview of the entire budget they might have a perspective on how to resolve competing
interests of the library and other components in the budget. Jordan recalled the library district
had been created to ensure libraries were at a certain standard and Lake Oswego's library had
always been at or above that standard. She did not want to see its standards lowered because
they had County money. But she knew there were other things the community wanted like
pathways that were unfunded and important to consider. She wondered if the $1 million coming
from the County and the existing endowment funds and money Friends of the Library has set
aside could be leveraged to ensure the community got the library they wanted In the near term,
then use future monies for other things. Hoffman recalled the community has had discussions
about the library issue for 20 years. He was uncomfortable with the Committee making a
recommendation because not all the perspectives he had heard over time from different
stakeholders were represented. He said keeping the money in reserves would give the
community the option for economic development and to build a new library downtown. If the
committee decided to spend the money they would lose some flexibility.
Public Input
Glen Robles, 4869 Parkview Dr., he researched this matter and held that voters clearly
expected the County funds to be used to supplement what the City contributed. He said library
resources helped people in tough economic times with such things as career development and
complimentary internet resources.
Marie Hannigan, 1179 Sunningdale Rd., said she was a member of Friends of the Library but
speaking for herself. She suggested instead of a branch or station, the library could circulate a
bookmobile that would serve all neighborhoods. She said the high usage showed the
community demand for library services and thought they would want the County money to
supplement the City contribution. She suggested splitting the County funds so some were used
now and the rest were added to other endowments to pay for a future building that would meet
excellence in library standards.
Eugene Ditler said he believed in government control of all allocation of resources. He
suggested the City hire a lobbyist so they could have six libraries.
Darrell Condra, 1179 Sunningdale Rd, said he had helped build the new Tualatin library. He
advised that it took years to build one and the City should start thinking about a new library now.
He advised the existing building was the smallest in the state on a per capita basis.
Sherry Richardson said she had experience serving on library committees. She supported the
option to put the $900,000 in a reserve for a new library. The library serves all ages. She said
the existing facility was so small it was embarrassing. She wanted the City to continue its
current level of funding library services.
Jane Carr, 5300 Parkview Drive, indicated that she agreed with the previous speakers.
Nancy Shatsky, 18168 Westminster Drive, said she served on the Library board, but was
speaking as a citizen. She stressed the library was much too small. She said the people who
voted for the Library District wanted the City to continue with the full amount it had been
contributing.
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Jackie Rose, indicated she agreed with the previous speakers. She said a good library reflects
the values of the community and felt that the citizens Lake Oswego wanted the strong values of
education and cultural enrichment that the Library provides.
V. Adjournment
Chair Smith adjourned the meeting at 10:11 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kam Frederickson /s/
Kam Frederickson
Budget & Financial Analyst
APPROVED BY THE CITIZENS' BUDGET COMMITTEE: 5/11/09
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Minutes of April 28, 2009