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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 4/17/2018 City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 1!" GLE\TD$E Meeting Minutes Tuesday, April 17, 2018 9:00 A.M. Budget Workshop Meeting Council Chambers City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Bart Turner 1 3 i CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 9:02 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Bart Turner Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Tom Duensing, Assistant City Manager Jack Friedline, Assistant City Manager Michael Bailey, City Attorney Julie K. Bower, City Clerk WORKSHOP SESSION 1. FY18-19 BUDGET WORKSHOP Presented by: Vicki Rios, Director, Budget and Finance Presented by: Tom Duensing, Assistant City Manager Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. Phelps said the budget aligned with Council's goals and priorities. Budget challenges included: •Continued focus on reaching fund balance goal •Public Service Personnel Retirement Service (PSPRS) increases •Debt service increases •Deferred facilities and parks maintenance • Health care costs •Little margin for error Mr. Duensing said budget highlights for FY 18-19 included: •No increase to the Primary Property Tax levy •School Resource Officer Program • Heroes Park Library •Police technology enhancements •Replacement of a fire ladder tender truck •Victim's Advocate •Forensic Scientist •Veterans' success center •Skunk Creek Wash flood control initiatives Mr. Duensing said the cost to fund the nine school resource officers (SRO)was $1,383,759. The cost would be covered as followed: $433,504-Anticipated school district funding $252,995-Current budget allocation City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 2 of 21 $92,444- Transfer funding - Council Assistant $275,042 -Transfer funding - MOU release positions $84,774- Reduce anticipated non-represented increases to 2.25% $245,000 -Amount absorbed by Police patrol Councilmember Aldama asked Council to support a 2.5% increase for employees and finding the difference.of$84,000 somewhere else. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked if the salary increases were considered in the recent class and compensation study. Mr. Duensing explained the study looked at adjustment to some positions' salary ranges to correct inequities in the pay structure. The 2.5% applied to all positions. Mr. Phelps added the recent study analyzed a small number of positions that were not within market range. If the 2.5%was withheld last year, more positions would have been below market range. Councilmember Turner said it was not the intention of Council to have increases across the board now that salaries were within market range. He asked what had happened to the previously discussed merit increases. Mr. Duensing said the compensation philosophy needed to tie into the strategic plan. A return to a pay-for-performance system was anticipated but an across-the-board increase was recommended until a pay-for-performance system could be implemented. Councilmember Turner supported Councilmember Aldama's suggestion to find another way to cover the $84,000 difference. Mr. Phelps would accelerate discussions regarding a compensation philosophy to implement pay-for-performance. He suggested a placeholder in each year of the 5-year plan to discuss increases. Councilmember Clark agreed with Councilmember Turner's comments regarding the classification and compensation study. The class and compensation study focused only on salaries and not benefits. She wanted to review the total package of compensation. Mr. Phelps said total compensation would be an item to discuss when deciding a compensation philosophy. Mr. Duensing said due to the number of retirees on the City's health plan, staff was recommending that after the fiscal year, new retirees be required to enroll in the Arizona State Retirement Systems' (ASRS) plan. Mayor Weiers asked why retirees had not been encouraged to switch to the ASRS plan since it was less expensive and provided comparable coverage. Mr. Duensing said healthcare was a personal issue but staff did hope to switch retirees to the ASRS plan. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked how the 7% increase in healthcare costs would be divided. Mr. Duensing said the increase was split and affected the employee and the City. Jim Brown, Human Resources Director, confirmed the premium increase was split between the City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 3 of 21 employee and the City. CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE BUDGET Candace MacLeod, City Auditor, presented an overview of the City Auditor's programs, functions, objectives, goals and performance measures. Councilmember Clark wanted to confirm the goal for the Auditor's Office was to increase audits by one. Ms. MacLeod said that was correct. Councilmember Clark asked how the numbers and percentages were determined. Ms. MacLeod said it was based on accepted professional standards for measuring performance. Her office was unable to control whether management accepted an audit recommendation or the percentage of the completed audit plans due to unplanned audit requests. Councilmember Clark asked why the measurement of the percentage of annual audit plans completed was not within the department's control. Ms. MacLeod explained unplanned audits requested by management affected the number of planned audits completed within the year. The number of unplanned audits was not included in the measurement. Councilmember Clark asked for an explanation of the total number of audits completed. Ms. MacLeod said the department had completed twenty audits at the time of the meeting. Councilmember Clark asked why the percentage did not reflect the total number of completed audits. Ms. MacLeod said the presentation was being given before the end of the fiscal year. She chose to present a conservative estimate. Councilmember Turner asked how many calls were received on the ethics hotline and how many were investigated. Ms. MacLeod said one complaint had been received during the year. Councilmember Clark asked if the requested salary increase reflected the expected 2.25% increase. Ms. Rios said it did include the increase plus any associated benefit increases for all departments. Councilmember Clark asked what services were included in the technology charges. Ms. MacLeod said it included two desktop computers and a copy machine. Ms. Rios explained the charges also included phones, other devices, network security, licenses, etc. Councilmember Clark asked how many phones were in the City Auditor's office. Ms. MacLeod said the department had three phones. City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 4 of 21 CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE Brittany Lopez, Management Assistant, presented an overview of the City Attorney's Office's programs, functions, objectives, goals and performance measures. Councilmember Clark asked how the department accounted for a 31% increase in the number of cases adjudicated with the same number of employees. Michael Bailey, City Attorney, said it was a projected estimate and staff would be handling cases differently, utilizing plea agreements or something similar and would accommodate the workload. Councilmember Clark asked if there were any statistics from last year. Mr. Bailey said the information would be provided to Council. Councilmember Clark asked if the budget increase was to be used mainly for outside legal counsel. Mr. Bailey said the increase was for the victim's advocate position and was a transferred position from the Finance Department. Councilmember Clark asked for an explanation regarding a 15% increase for the professional and contractual line item. Ms. Rios said the 15.43%was the total requested budget increase. She said the format of the budget book could not be easily changed and hoped with the new SimpliCity system, the format would be easier to edit and read. COMMUNITY SERVICES Stephanie Small, Community Services Director, presented an overview of the department's programs, functions, objectives, goals and performance measures across five divisions. Councilmember Clark asked why the Library division was moved to Community Services. Mr. Duensing explained the reorganization had determined that Parks and Recreation focused on the parks and maintenance aspect of services while Community Services focused on social and human services. It was determined that the Library would be a better fit in Community Services. Mr. Phelps said the realignment of services had occurred in FY 16-17 and it was the third budget year it had been in effect. Councilmember Clark asked if there were statistics regarding how many of the allotted housing vouchers were used within Glendale. Ms. Small said all of the vouchers stayed within the City. Councilmember Clark asked if there were vouchers that could be used within the county. Ms. Small said there were housing agencies that had vouchers for the county. Councilmember Clark asked why a grant-funded position was eliminated when it could be trying to obtain more grants for City programs. She asked if there would be a position responsible for applying for grant funds. City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 5 of 21 Ms. Small said there were positions within the Community Revitalization division that researched grant funding opportunities. Councilmember Clark asked how many positions were allocated to research grant opportunities. Ms. Small said all staff conducted research but the manager was primarily responsible. Mayor Weiers asked if there were grants that could not be pursued due to the number of staff. Ms. Small said staff was capable of obtaining federal grant funding at its current staffing level. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked what contributed to the decreased targeted number of households served in the Community Action Program (CAP). Ms. Small said the number was an estimate based on the allocated dollars through the Department of Economic Security(DES). She said an increase in utility rates could also decrease the number of served households based on available funding. Councilman Turner said the issue now seemed to be evictions from rental units. He noticed the availability of affordable housing was dwindling which added to the issue of homelessness in the City. He would like the issue to be on the department's radar. Ms. Small agreed. The rise of rents affected the number of households who could be served. More money was used to assist with rent to keep families in homes. Councilmember Clark asked where the Arts programs and events were held and how the events were advertised. Ms. Small said most events were held in the amphitheater area, the Civic Center complex or other areas within the City. The events were advertised on the City's website and calendar and throughout social media. Printed information was available at all three libraries as well as walk-in areas of the department. Councilmember Clark asked how the population in zip code 85301 would be reached. Ms. Small stated the information was distributed citywide and staff took advantage of word of mouth. She was open to any additional ideas Council might have. Councilmember Clark said there was a segment of the population that seemed unaware of the programs and events. Councilmember Turner asked if the City's relationship with the school district was utilized to advertise programs to families. Ms. Small said the City currently partnered with Glendale Elementary School District on a variety of activities. Councilmember Clark said she would like to see churches added as an additional resource. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked for clarification on the additional positions being requested. Ms. Rios said .25 additional positions were being requested but the report showed an impact to the General Fund because they were previously funded by grants. City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 6 of 21 Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked if the management analyst position was a new or reclassified position. Ms. Small said the job description existed within the City but the position would be new to the department. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked what the job functions of the public service assistants would be. Ms. Small said the position would provide a variety of technical assistance at the libraries. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked for clarification on how many were being requested to serve four libraries. Ms. Small said seven positions were being requested to staff the Heroes Park Library. Ms. Rios said the positions would be half-time which equaled the 3.5 full-time positions filled by seven people. Councilmember Clark asked if the administrative operating budget increase request would be used only for interpreting services. Ms. Small said interpreting services was an example of what would be covered out of the administrative budget. She said as a newly-formed department, it did not previously have such an item budgeted. Councilmember Clark asked what department was being formed. Ms. Small said, as a whole, Community Services was new. Councilmember Clark asked for examples of responsibilities for each of the requested full-time positions. Ms. Small said the management assistant would be responsible for many SimpliCity functions. Councilwoman Clark asked who was currently taking care of the responsibilities. Ms. Small said Parks and Recreation and the City Manager's Office were assisting the department in maintaining day-to-day functions. Councilmember Clark asked if the department had to borrow positions from another department. Ms. Small said many of Community Services' positions were grant-funded and required the positions to adhere to specific functions that could be charged to the grants. Other positions had specific duties that did not include administrative functions. Councilmember Clark asked out of 40 positions outside the library, none were able to cover administrative functions without borrowing from other departments. Ms. Small said that was correct. Mr. Phelps said during the realignment, the department director at the time decided to move all of the administrative functions to the Parks and Special Events department. Due to the workload, it was decided to restore the position. Councilmember Clark asked for justification to increase the Centerline District Arts and Culture City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 7 of 21 Initiative budget. Ms. Small said the feedback received from community members indicated a wish`for more programing. The increase would allow for more program variety and partnerships. Councilmember Clark asked what the average attendance was at one of the programs. Ms. Small did not have the information but would provided it to Council at a later date. Councilmember Clark asked whether the laptop request was for use of library patrons or staff. Ms. Small said it was for the use of library patrons. Councilmember Clark asked Council to consider keeping the Centerline District Arts and Culture Initiative budget at its current funding level. Mr. Duensing explained the Centerline Arts District was from the Arts Fund and would not impact the General Fund. Councilmember Clark asked for clarification on the training period for new library staff. Ms. Small explained the hiring process would begin in November. New hires would need up to thirty days of training. She said there must also be time to set up materials and other collateral for the opening in March. Councilmember Clark commended Ms. Small for keeping administrative costs down. POLICE DEPARTMENT Rick St. John, Police Chief, presented an overview of the Police department's programs, functions, objectives, goals and performance measures. Mayor Weiers asked if the increase in DUI arrests was due to drugs being included in the DUI category. Chief St. John said DUI drugs had always been included in DUI arrests and the trend was increasing. Mayor Weiers asked if the department was taking a more aggressive role in going after DUls. Chief St. John said some side duties had been reduced for the DUI motors to allow more time for enforcement. Councilmember Clark asked how the increase in the number of beats and the absorption of some of the SRO costs would be handled. Chief St. John explained through a realignment of responsibilities, the department was able to reduce two patrol positions and move the positions into the SRO program. Councilmember Clark asked if additional patrol positions would be requested in the next budget year to serve the additional beats. Chief St. John said an assessment would be done on the 24 beats and based on that, he would make recommendations. City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 8 of 21 Councilmember Clark asked why the higher number of violations was not reflected in the court's caseload. Chief St. John said officers were using discretion during stops. The department was conducting an active review of the traffic enforcement unit in hopes of seeing moving violation stops result in a citation more often. Councilmember Clark asked if the decrease in home burglaries could be attributed to more affordable home monitoring systems. Chief St. John said as the community became educated in protecting assets, it would help drive numbers down. Mayor Weiers asked if the proposed forensics position would be working solely on Glendale cases within the Department of Public Safety (DPS)facility or if it would be getting trained in the event a City crime lab was built. Chief St. John said the employee would be working on Glendale DNA cases at the DPS lab and would provide testimony for court cases. The employee would stay at the DPS lab for one year until the Glendale crime lab was accredited and then move over. Councilmember Clark asked if either Chandler or Gilbert had its own crime lab. Chief St. John said Chandler did but Gilbert did not. Mayor Weiers asked if it was possible to partner with any of the West Valley cities. Chief St. John believed there was opportunity. He would first like to catch up on Glendale cases and then have conversations with the West Valley chiefs to see if there was interest. Councilmember Clark asked if the City was reimbursed for stadium and arena event staffing. Chief St. John said the City did not get reimbursed but the arena did cover part of the cost. Councilmember Clark asked if the reason for not being reimbursed was because staffing occurred outside of the building. Chief St. John said that was correct. The department mainly provided traffic control. Councilmember Clark asked what the request for$250,000 would be used for. Chief St. John stated the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) program paid for the Narcotics Unit's operations and related technology. Councilmember Clark asked about the intended use of the funds for the professional and contractual services. Chief St. John said it should be for services related to K-9s. Councilmember Aldama asked what would happen if the school district was unable to pay its portion of the SRO program. Chief St. John explained Deer Valley Unified and Peoria Unified School Districts had been paying their portions already. If Glendale Union High School District was unable to fund the requested amount, he would need to speak to the City Manager's Office and the Budget Department to City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 9 of 21 decide how to proceed. Councilmember Aldama asked what would happen if none of the school districts were able to pay their portions. Chief St. John said conversations would need to be held with the City Manager's Office and the Budget Department to determine what would be the best course of action from a budget and service delivery perspective. Councilmember Malnar asked Chief St. John to address the concern of overtime within the department. Chief St. John said filling vacancies and call-outs were the primary causes of overtime. The department was planning to add a night-time detective squad because most crime occurred after normal business hours. Members would be recruited for the evening or swing shift. He anticipated it would reduce the number of times a detective would be called back to work to handle an investigation and as a result reduce the amount of overtime. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked how staffing was planned for Camelback Ranch. Chief St. John said the department managed two intersections with on-duty motor personnel. The City of Phoenix managed the other intersections. Personnel was there for short durations during the events. Councilmember Turner asked for information on the communications dispatch upgrade process. Chief St. John said the City owned the software but had to pay for the installation of the update to devices and make sure it was functional. Councilmember Turner asked if the full amount requested would be expended. Chief St. John said the amount budgeted was recommended by the IT Department but it was anticipated that the total amount would be significantly less. It was funded out of the Technology Replacement Fund, which he believed was funded by the General Fund. Ms. Rios explained the budgeted funds were transferred out of the General Fund. It was a one-time occurrence for the upgrade. Councilmember Turner asked for an explanation of the Police Department's hiring process. Chief St. John said lateral position movement could happen at any time. New employees within the department were hired in three cycles due to the length of the application process. If a person had been selected as a new hire, he or she entered a pre-academy to become acclimated to what was expected of an officer. They were then sent to academy for 18 to 20 weeks, depending on the time of the year, followed by post academy. Finally, the person entered field training and upon completion, they would be certified and placed on patrol. Councilmember Turner asked how long the process took. Chief St. John said from hire date to completion of field training was about ten months. Councilmember Turner asked when lateral hires received training. Chief St. John said an out-of-state lateral was required to pass the Arizona certification test. Once they passed, they entered field training. An in-state lateral received accelerated training based on City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 10 of 21 their abilities. Councilmember Turner asked if during the training cycle, there were some officers ending training then going into patrol. Chief St. John said as of April,there were five out of training and in June, August and September, there would be a group of four to five. Each group was in some phase of training and on the City's payroll and would enter the patrol division to fill specific needs upon completion of training. Councilmember Turner asked where the shortfall in the next fiscal year's budget would be if officers were being moved into the SRO program and would be replaced by the same number of new officers. Chief St. John said there were 208 positions in patrol being funded but there were not necessarily that many employees assigned to it. To fund the SRO program, five positions were moved from patrol into the Budget department, which housed the SRO program. Five current patrol officers were moved into the SRO program and within two weeks, five recruits would complete training and fill the five positions in the patrol division. Councilmember Turner said patrol officer positions were not added to cover the SRO positions and existing staff was being used. Chief St. John understood Councilmember Turner's point and hoped the schools would receive state funds for the SRO and safety program. The department was trying not to increase the number of employees and then have to reduce employees due to it being grant-funded in the future. It would be built up over time. Councilmember Turner asked if State efforts towards funding grants for the SRO program would benefit the City in the next or future budget years. Chief St. John hoped the application process would be open sometime in the summer and awards would be given prior to the beginning of the school year. Councilmember Turner asked how the SROs would be utilized when school was out on breaks. Chief St. John said during the shorter breaks, the officer would also take vacation. During the longer summer break, the officer would be redeployed to the patrol division. Councilmember Turner asked if the expense of the SROs was divided according to the time they would be on campus or was it expected to be completely covered by the supplemental request. Chief St. John explained the grant-funded SRO in Tolleson Unified School District was split 90/10. The City was requesting a 25% contribution from the school districts. He hoped at least one of the districts would receive the grant from Governor Ducey's initiative for SRO programing to help mitigate the City's cost. Councilmember Clark asked how many sworn officers were within the department. Chief St. John said there were 428 sworn officers. Councilmember Clark asked if there would still be 428 sworn officers with the addition of the SRO program. Chief St. John said sworn officers would increase by one to 429. City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 11 of 21 Councilmember Clark asked where the cost increase came into effect. Chief St. John said program changes were being made within the department to absorb some of the SRO increases. Councilmember Clark said an officer moving positions should not have an impact on the budget. She wanted to know why an increase in funding was necessary when the number of officers within the department had not changed. Ms. Rios said staff would return with additional information to clarify the supplemental request. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked what was proposed to replace the patrol unit tablets. Chief St. John said the tablets would be ruggedized touchscreens that were docked into each patrol unit. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked if it was a new piece of equipment and how many were being requested. Chief St. John said it was new equipment and the department was requesting 226 which was down from the previous request of 347. CITY CLERK'S OFFICE Julie Bower, City Clerk, presented an overview of the City Clerk's programs, functions, objectives, goals and performance measures. Ms. Bower said the Clerk's Office budget included a supplemental request for funding for the 2018 municipal election in the amount of$125,750. The primary election would be held on August 28, 2018 and, if necessary, the general election would be held on November 6, 2018. There were three Council district seats up for election in 2018- Barrel, Cholla and Ocotillo. There were no increases being requested for the operating budget. Councilmember Aldama recognized Ms. Bower for innovating and streamlining processes in the Clerk's Office. Councilmember Clark said the Clerk's Office was small but mighty. CITY COURT Elizabeth Finn, Presiding Judge, presented an overview of the City Court's programs, functions, objectives, goals and performance measures. Councilmember Clark asked if Judge Finn would consider using a system that could see if a customer's credit card balance had sufficient funds so that court fees could be collected immediately. Judge Finn said the process had been ruled unconstitutional in Arizona. The Court did have the option of recurring credit card payments but many defendants did not have bank accounts and paid in cash. Councilmember Clark asked if traffic violations could be paid up front. Judge Finn said customers could make payments online with a credit card. City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 12 of 21 Councilmember Clark asked what was the rate of non-payment. Judge Finn did not have that information but would provide it to Council later. Councilmember Turner commended Judge Finn on her accomplishments throughout her career. Mayor Weiers thanked Judge Finn for her involvement with his "Stand Up" event for veterans. FIRE DEPARTMENT Terry Garrison, Fire Chief, presented an overview of the Fire Department's programs, functions, objectives, goals and performance measures. Councilmember Clark asked if there had been discussions with Phoenix about building a fire station to alleviate the number of calls received for automatic aid. Chief Garrison had been involved with several discussions regarding the automatic aid issue. Phoenix had added units at stations and an engine company that assisted the area. He said the issue was closest unit response and the station's location on the Glendale/Phoenix border. Councilmember Clark asked if Phoenix had any plans to expand its units in the area. Chief Garrison was unaware of expansion plans. Councilmember Clark asked if there had been discussions on reimbursing the City due to lack of callbalance for automatic aid. Chief Garrison said the city managers of Glendale and Phoenix had held discussions and as a result, the City did receive monetary support for dispatch fees due to the high call volume of that area. Councilmember Clark asked if he would advocate reimbursements for high call volume automatic aid areas during his discussions. Chief Garrison said those items had been discussed, and he believed changes would have to be done at the city manager level. There were discussions of adding a time penalty but he opposed the idea because the customer would receive a delayed response. He agreed with the closest unit receiving the call and assisting the customer. Councilmember Clark agreed with Chief Garrison but felt the responsibility should be shared when the City was responding to another community. Chief Garrison explained during the Citygate study, there was discussion regarding the automatic aid system and Glendale's capacity. He said it was determined what the City could handle before it would need assistance from its response partners. Other communities did reciprocate when it was needed. Councilmember Clark could see there was some reciprocation but felt the City offered more than it received and it should be fair. Mayor Weiers asked where the low acuity units were located. Chief Garrison said the units were located at Station 151 and Station 157. Mayor Weiers said the station at 43rd Avenue and Peoria seemed to serve Phoenix the most and City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 13 of 21 thought it would benefit to have a low-acuity (LA) unit there. He asked why there had not been discussion to house a Phoenix crew at that station to help service the Phoenix customers. Chief Garrison agreed and had been speaking with Mr. Phelps regarding more LA units. He had also had discussions with Phoenix regarding a co-unit to assist with responses in the area. Mayor Weiers did not want customers penalized because of where they lived. Mr. Phelps explained the challenges with the station location in relation to the City border. Housing a Phoenix crew at the Peoria station would be difficult due to space issues. The station was expected to be explored in future CIP discussions for updating to better serve the City's service territory and evening out service times. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff said when Glendale responded outside the boundaries to a low-acuity call, it did not respond with,a low-acuity unit because the units did not leave Glendale. Chief Garrison said that was correct. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked if Phoenix had any low-acuity units. Chief Garrison said Phoenix did have a low-acuity unit at its Station 15. The unit did not enter Glendale. Councilmember Turner asked if Phoenix could place a low-acuity unit at a Glendale station during high demand times and use it as a base. Chief Garrison said the station would be able to house a unit and crew during the day. Mr. Phelps said with the assistance of a low-acuity unit from Phoenix, the call unbalance would remain the same and other solutions would need to be discussed. Chief Garrison said if there was another vehicle to assist with the call volume, it would lessen the number of calls to respond to. Mayor Weiers reiterated if Phoenix had a unit in Glendale, both units could respond to Phoenix. He said if Phoenix paid for the calls to go into Phoenix, it would cost Glendale less. Mr. Phelps reiterated a low acuity engine from Phoenix housed at the station would not impact the call volume discrepancy. He said a full company housed at the station would have a positive impact on total calls for response into Phoenix. Chief Garrison believed a low acuity vehicle at the station would assist the engine with response. Mayor Weiers said during a 24-hour ride along at that station, he noticed that most of the calls went to Phoenix. There was room for a truck and a crew that could be housed during the day and would be a benefit. Councilmember Clark agreed Mayor Weiers. It the station was relocated, the City should consider leasing the old station to Phoenix to assist with the automatic aid volume. Chief Garrison would move forward with discussions on a low-acuity unit and open all other topics with Phoenix's Fire Chief. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked if there was a larger disparity in the automatic aid area than at 43rd Avenue and Peoria. City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 14 of 21 Chief Garrison said there were a few other areas along other City borders but the 43rd Avenue corridor was the largest disparity area. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked if three thousand calls were a company. Chief Garrison said two thousand calls a year started to impact services. Mayor Weiers asked what the disparity was at the 43rd Avenue and Peoria station. Chief Garrison would get the information and follow-up with the Council later. Vice-Mayor Tolmachoff asked what the annual cost of a low-acuity unit was. Chief Garrison said the information was available later in his presentation. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked what type of classes were being offered besides life-safety classes. Chief Garrison said the department also offered emergency medical services (EMS) classes, mock crash training at high schools with the Police Department. The department also participated with several community events to educate the community. Councilmember Clark asked if the pass-through fees took into account the discount fees for dispatch. Chief Garrison said the discount fee applied to the City's dispatch fees. The pass-through fee was for ambulance responses to Glendale. Ms. Rios said the dispatch fee had a revenue off-set, so it would be billed to the ambulance companies. Councilmember Turner asked how quickly it could be expected to receive back the billed funds. Ms. Rios explained it was possible it would be an accounts receivable, but they would bill out as quickly as possible for a quicker response time. Councilmember Clark asked the classification of the two release positions. Chief Garrison explained in 2008 there was an agreement that two positions would be released to support the labor group. He said the positions were currently held by two Fire Captains. Councilmember Aldama asked with the reduction of the full-time employees (FTEs), what would be the impacts and how would the department go forward. Chief Garrison said it would be a decrease of one FTE in the department. Councilmember Aldama asked what the impact would be without the position. Chief Garrison said according to the Citygate study, the department had an adequate number of firefighters in all positions. He was unsure of the actual impact it would have. Councilmember Aldama asked how soon the impact would be known. He assumed there would not be any future requests for additional FTEs due to the Citygate study findings. Chief Garrison said the department used constant staffing and believed the impact would most City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 15 of 21 likely be felt when overtime needed to be utilized to fill the missing position. Councilmember Clark asked if the two release positions worked on an engine. Chief Garrison said the captain positions had the option of being a forty-hour staff position or on an apparatus. One worked out in the field and the other worked for the labor group. Councilmember Clark said since one of the positions did not work in the field, had not the department been working down a position the whole time. Chief Garrison did not agree with that characterization. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked how the department deployed for Camelback Ranch. Chief Garrison said the department deployed based on the size of the event. Councilmember Clark asked why the fire administration cost was increasing by nearly ten percent. Ms. Rios reiterated the increase to Police and Fire administration costs was due to the PSPRS contribution increase. Councilmember Clark asked why the costs at the Glendale Health Center were increasing by 25%. Chief Garrison said it was due to increased costs for internal services for IT costs. Councilmember Clark said Wildland Special Operations appeared to be grant-funded. She asked if the department planned to apply for grants and planned to deploy units to assist in fighting wildfires. Chief Garrison said the department was working with other cities on funding and grants. When units were deployed it was shown as a reimbursement to the City. Councilmember Clark asked if the City was reimbursed the cost of the equipment that was sent. Chief Garrison said there was reimbursements for equipment. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked if employees received additional pay for being on the list for overtime. Chief Garrison said employees did not. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked if the safety assessment of the stations had been concluded. Wayne Smith, Logistics Chief, said four garage doors needed repair and approximately$10,000 worth of repairs was scheduled to be completed after July 1st. Councilmember Malnar asked if ways of trying to reduce the amount of overtime to be more efficient with budget dollars had been investigated. Chief Garrison said the amount of overtime for special events had been evaluated and decreased. Councilmember Clark asked how Kelly days fitted in with overtime. Chief Garrison explained Kelly days were part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)and helped reduce the hourly work schedule of a firefighter throughout the year. City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 16 of 21 Councilmember Clark wanted to confirm Glendale's firefighters worked 52 hours a week versus other Valley cities that worked 56 hours a week. She asked if the reduced hours were due to Kelly days. Chief Garrison said the hourly reduction was through Kelly days. He said Phoenix used Tobin days to drop hours but not to 52 hours a week to even up a firefighter's work schedule. Councilmember Clark asked if all cities in the Valley had programs similar to Kelly Days. Chief Garrison was aware of only Glendale and Phoenix that used the method. Councilmember Clark asked when salaries were compared among cities, did the City consider whether another comparison city worked a 56-hour week compared to the City's 52-hour week. Mr. Duensing confirmed the information was taken into consideration and was reflected in the budget. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked how many sworn forty-hour positions worked in the department. Chief Garrison said the number of 40-hour positions fluctuated and depended upon whether the employee was on modified duty. He would provide the information to the Council at a later date. HUMAN RESOURCES AND RISK MANAGEMENT Jim Brown, Human Resources Director, presented an overview of the department's programs, functions, objectives, goals and performance measures. Councilmember Clark asked whether Employee Relations was an internal investigations area of Human Resources (HR). Mr. Brown said that was correct. Councilmember Clark asked what were the four positions within the Benefits Division. Mr. Brown said the four positions were wellness coordinator, benefits administrator, benefits technician and a business partner. Councilmember Clark asked what a business partner's function was. Mr. Brown said a business partner worked with departments to ensure there were recruitment processes in place, assisted with modified duty issues and worked with the benefits administrator. Ms. Rios said there were four business partners in HR but each worked in different divisions within the department. Councilmember Clark asked if the wellness program covered public safety. Mr. Brown said it covered the entire organization. Councilmember Aldama asked if the City had a tuition reimbursement program for employees. Mr. Brown said there was a degree completion program. Councilmember Aldama asked for Council to consider the previous version of tuition City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 17 of 21 reimbursement in the future. Councilmember Clark said there had been a concern that the Judicial Selection Advisory Board (JSAB)survey was not broad enough. She asked if that concern would be addressed. Mr. Brown said a review was taking place for better solutions. Councilmember Clark asked why employees were not required to use a City pool vehicle rather than being reimbursed for mileage. Ms. Rios explained IRS rules and City policy stated if an employee traveled from work to a training location, the normal commute to work was deducted from the total mileage and not reimbursed. Councilmember Clark wanted to see the reimbursement charge eliminated and a policy created to use a pool car. Mayor Weiers wanted to be cognizant of employees' time as well. Mr. Brown said there was a policy prohibiting pool cars from leaving the county. Ms. Rios said it was cost prohibitive to retrieve or repair a broken-down vehicle outside the county. Councilmember Clark asked if the City had considered appointing an ombudsman in the interest of neutrality with internal investigations that were usually conducted by business partners. Mr. Brown said the process in place allowed for the right to appeal. The appeal was heard by the Personnel Board which included neutral citizen members. Councilmember Clark would like Mr. Brown to research the issue of creating an ombudsman for the employees. Councilmember Aldama asked if there was a climate and culture survey that went through HR. Mr. Brown said there were surveys conducted through the City Manager's Office and the City Auditor's Office. HR was responsive to the data that reflected climate and culture. Councilmember Aldama asked when the last survey had been conducted. Mr. Brown said a survey was completed two months ago. Councilmember Aldama asked if it was conducted citywide. Mr. Brown said it had been conducted citywide. Councilmember Aldama asked what happened to the results. Mr. Duensing said Jean Moreno in the City Manager's Office and City Auditor Candace MacLeod had received the results to see if there were any trends and to create a summary. Councilmember Aldama asked for clarification on what would be released from the surveys. Mr. Duensing said the summary was a report for Mr. Phelps and some findings were communicated back to the employees. Councilmember Clark asked who administered the employee programs. City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 18 of 21 Mr. Brown said the employee development program manager oversaw the programs as well as liaisons. Councilmember Clark asked if the City had an employee with knowledge of benefits rather than using a consultant. Mr. Brown said the HR benefits administrator had full knowledge of City benefits but there were limitations on what could be done. The consultant was able to see market trends and additional information the City could not obtain. He would not advise eliminating the consultant. Mr. Phelps said, in his experience, with the size of the self-insurance fund, having a consultant in the industry would provide the best analytics. The current consultant had provided excellent data, approaches and strategies. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked what the benefits consultant's responsibilities were and what services were provided. Mr. Brown said the consultant assisted with the RFP process, had analytic tools the City did not have, had systems to run claims, and saw where costs could be reduced. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked if providers were shopped to be sure the City was competitive. Mr. Brown said the consultants could be sure the City's rates were competitive and had researched alternative savings before an RFP was released, and they provided information on benchmarking. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked the number of active and retired employees on the City's medical plan. Mr. Brown estimated there were 5,000 on the active plan and about 220 retirees but would get exact figures to the Council later. Councilmember Turner verified that the number of random drug and alcohol tests administered was 408. Mr. Brown said that was correct. Councilmember Turner asked how many failed the testing. Mr. Brown said it was less than five. Councilmember Turner asked if the results from the surveys would be made available to the Council. Mr. Duensing said the results would be made available to Council within the next several weeks. Councilmember Turner asked if the number of FTEs in the HR department was comparable to other cities that were similar in size. Mr. Brown said the average number of FTEs on staff was 19.6. Councilmember Turner asked how Council could be sure the replacement for any positions would be done through a competitive and transparent process and if there were any exceptions. City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 19 of 21 Mr. Brown encouraged a competitive process for all departments when hiring and recruitments took place with all vacancies. Promotional opportunities were posted on the website through NeoGov and would be available to view through the Internet or intranet. Councilmember Turner asked if Council would be made aware of the exceptions after the fact Mr. Phelps had used his administrative authority to appoint positions based on experience and the needs of the organization. Most promotions and new-hires were done through an open process but there could be exceptions, and he would use his administrative authority to appoint positions. Councilmember Turner asked if it occurred at the department head level. Mr. Brown said it did not. Only the city manager had that authority. Ms. Rios reviewed the budget calendar. MOTION AND CALL TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Councilmember Joyce Clark, seconded by Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff to hold an executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Bart Turner Passed EXECUTIVE SESSION Council entered into executive session at 4:43 p.m. to discuss, consult and consider its position and to provide instruction/direction regarding the evaluation process and performance reviews of the City Manager, City Attorney and City Clerk pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(1)(4)); to discuss and consult with the City Attorney and City Manager to receive an update, to consider its position, and to provide instruction/direction to the City Attorney and City Manager regarding Glendale's position in connection with a contract relating to property in the area of 95th Avenue and Glendale Avenue (A.R.S. §§ 38-431.03 (A)(3)(4)(7)); to discuss and consult with the City Attorney and City Manager to receive an update, to consider its position, and to provide instruction/direction to the City Attorney and City Manager regarding Glendale's position in connection with a contract relating to property in the area of Camelback Road and Ballpark Boulevard (A.R.S. §§ 38-431.03 (A)(3)(4)(7)); and to discuss and consult with the City Attorney and City Manager to receive an update, to consider its position, and to provide instruction/direction to the City Attorney and City Manager regarding Glendale's position in connection with a contract relating to property in the area of 95th Avenue and Orangewood Avenue (A.R.S. §§ 38-431.03 (A)(3)(4)(7)). A motion was made by Councilmember Joyce Clark, seconded by Councilmember Ray Malnar to adjourn the executive session. AYE: Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 20 of 21 Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Bart Turner Other: Mayor Jerry Weiers (ABSENT) Passed Vice Mayor Tolmachoff adjourned the executive session at 5:49 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Vice Mayor Tolmachoff adjourned the meeting at 5:49 p.m. I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the meeting of the Glendale City Council of Glendale, Arizona, held on the 17th day of April, 2018. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 18th day of May, 2018. re K. Bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes-April 17,2018 Page 21 of 21