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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 12/12/2017City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 Meeting Minutes Tuesday, December 12, 2017 1:30 P.M. Workshop Meeting Council Chambers City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren To/machoff Councilmember Bart Turner CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 1:31 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager; Tom Duensing, Assistant City Manager; Michael Bailey, City Attorney; Julie K. Bower, City Clerk; Jack Friedline, Assistant City Manager WORKSHOP SESSION 1. UPDATE CITY COUNCIL ON HUD'S NEW ASSESSMENT OF FAIR HOUSING REQUIREMENT FOR ALL ENTITLEMENTS OF -COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. Presented by: Stephanie Small, Community Services Department, Director Presented by: Charyn Eirich-Palmisano, Community Revitalization, Administrator Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Small said there had been major changes by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that impacted a majority of the City's HUD programs. Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said previously HUD had required the City to periodically examine its fair housing issues and if any, develop policies and goals to address the issues. The policy had no enforcement. In 2015, HUD implemented a new process that required a fair housing study. Eligibility and compliance was now tied to funding. Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said the City had to complete its first assessment by October 4, 2019. The Assessment of Fair Housing Plan (AFH) identified fair housing issues, reviewed public and private practices to identify contributing factors to fair housing issues, and developed goals and strategies to mitigate contributing factors and increase fair housing choice and access opportunities. Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said the assessment required a regional approach to address the topic of fair housing. Maricopa County was working with Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Surprise, Avondale, Peoria, Scottsdale and Tempe. Staff was recommending that the City join the collaboration to leverage minimal investment with maximum returns and ensure compliance. Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said the City's share of the cost would be 7.7%, representing the percentage for Glendale's share of the total of all the community development block grants (CDBG) invested in the Valley. The cost was estimated to be $45,000. It was the best direction for the City to take to remain compliant with the new requirements. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if all of the cities listed were part of the collaboration. Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said there were a total of ten, so a majority were onboard. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 12, 2017 Page 2 of 11 Councilmember Tolmachoff asked how decisions would be made. Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said the assessment would be done at a regional level and Glendale would be responsible for its local assessment and the hiring of a consultant. Council would have input on the issues uncovered and how they would be addressed and would still have control over the City's CDBG funds. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if it would affect how the Community Development Advisory Commission (CDAC) operated. Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said it would not. Council directed the priorities for CDAC. Ms. Small said each city had the opportunity through the CDBG program to determine the particular needs of the community. The City was now required to look at issues on a regional basis and that was why Maricopa County was leading the endeavor. Council would still allocate the CDBG funding. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the consortium would be offering input to each of the'cities. Would it be a group decision and who represented the City. Ms. Eirich-Palmisano had been the City's representative on the consortium. The group would work together on issues such as transportation and housing because of the limited funding and the overlap of jurisdictions. Councilmember Clark said it would cost the City a minimum of $10,000 to $20,000 for the consultant. It seemed like the City was doing the work for the community and she wasn't sure what the benefit of the consortium would be for an additional $25,000. Ms. Small said it was a requirement to complete the assessment. In addition, although the City could do it on its own, it did not have the in-house expertise to complete it. The estimate for a consultant was up to $90,000. Councilmember Clark asked what the specific requirements were. Ms. Small said the requirements were quite lengthy and she did not have the details. She said there was no one in the City who had completed the HUD training with regard to the requirements. Councilmember Clark said Ms. Small didn't know what the HUD requirements were but was asking the City to join the consortium and pay for participation when in essence, the City would be hiring a consultant. Ms. Small said the City was already a member of the consortium. The new assessment required training. No one on staff had yet completed the training so the details on the requirements were not fully known. Councilmember Clark was not inclined to support it until she knew what the HUD requirements were for each city. She wanted to know if Council had to decide the issue today. Ms. Small said there was no due date. Staff was only presenting information to Council and anticipated brining the intergovernmental agreement back to Council in January or February. Councilmember Clark asked that staff provide the changes being made so that Council could make -an informed decision. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 12, 2017 Page 3 of 11 Councilmember Aldama said perhaps another workshop was necessary. He asked for information on how many public housing vouchers there were and the value of the vouchers. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the City had always been a member of the consortium or was it something new. Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said the City had been a member of the home consortium since 1993. Mayor Weiers said the Council consensus was that staff bring the matter back to another workshop and provide additional information. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the CDAC would be making a recommendation. Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said they would not be making a recommendation. Ms. Small said there was nothing that had to go before the CDAC because it was a HUD mandate. Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said to be compliant and continue to receive funding, the City had to complete an assessment, local or regional, and either way, it would have to pay for a consultant. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if it was a disparate impact initiative through HUD. Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said there were disparate analyses as part of the document. 2. REPORT ON PRELIMINARY FY2016-17 YEAR END FINANCIAL RESULTS Presented by: Vicki Rios, Director, Budget and Finance Presented by: Lisette Camacho, Assistant Director, Budget and Finance Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Rios said a preliminary analysis of the results of the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2017 would be presented. The results were currently being audited. Ms. Camacho said the unassigned fund balance for the general fund was $40,557,000. Over the last four years, the balance target had been met. She said revenues were on target at 100% of the budget or $235,000,000. Total revenues had increased by $7.4 million (3%) over last year. The City's sales tax increased by $4.5 million (4%). The state -shared revenues were slightly below target at 99% but did increase by $2.7 million (5%) over last year. Other revenues were below target at 97%. Ms. Camacho said expenditures were slightly below target at 99% but did increase by $8.6 million (5%) over last year which was a budgeted increase for police and fire activities. Ms. Camacho said in the Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF), revenues came in over target at $15.6 million (1.09%). The increase was primarily due to a special distribution from the State of $585,000. Expenditures were below target at'$18 million (61 %). Ms. Camacho said total revenues in the Transportation Sales Tax Fund came in above target at $28.8 million (110%). Expenditures were below target at $27.4 million (76%)._ Ms. Camacho said both revenues and expenditures in the Police Special Revenue Fund were on target at 100%. Ms. Camacho said there were no expenses in the Fire Special Revenue Fund. Expenses were City Council Workshop. Minutes - December 12, 2017 Page 4 of 11 considered transfers -out and the expense occurred in the general fund. Councilmember Clark said the fund showed a deficiency and asked if it would be covered. Ms. Camacho said the deficiency. for both Police and Fire was actually a planned draw -down of fund balance. Ms. Camacho said both revenues and transfers -in were below target in the Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund at 92%. The difference was due to other revenues coming in at 30%. Revenues from. the City of Peoria had been budgeted for the Pyramid Peak plant. The project was in the design phase and the City did get reimbursed for the expenditures related to the project. She said expenditures were at $89.7 million (54%). Councilmember Clark asked if the $6 million deficit reflected the Pyramid Peak project. Ms. Rios said it was not the result of the Pyramid Peak project because revenues would offset expenditures. There was a planned spend -down of fund balance for capital projects. Ms. Camacho said revenues for the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund were -above target at $15.1 million (102%). There had been an increase in commercial services. Expenditures were slightly below target at $17.5 million (98%). Ms. Camacho said the Landfill Enterprise Fund revenues were below target at $10.6 million (97%). It was due to recycling sales coming in under budget because of a reduction of tonnage. Total expenditures and transfers -out were below target at $12 million (65%). Councilmember Turner said expenditures were below budget because of capital projects that were not completed. He asked if they would be re -programed into the next fiscal year or would expenditures be over budget. Ms. Camacho said the balance for capital projects was carried over to the next fiscal year. Councilmember Turner asked if HURF was all pass-through money. Ms. Rios said other than some interest earned, it was the primary source for the fund. 3. COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST REGARDING RESIDENTIAL RENTAL TRANSACTION PRIVILEGE (SALES) TAX AND LICENSING COMPLIANCE Presented by: Vicki Rios, Director, Budget and Finance Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Rios said staff was seeking Council direction regarding implementing a residential rental tax compliance program. She said, in order to confirm that residential rentals were licensed.and in compliance, staff used information from utility accounts, audit leads and research of Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) data. There was no dedicated staff person to perform audits regarding compliance. Ms. Rios said the biggest challenges and constraints were: • Multiple properties reported under one license • Information on exact locations was not always reported • Assessments for taxpayers must be treated as audits through ADOR Ms. Rios said there were 10,465 water utility residential landlord/tenant accounts. The information from the Maricopa County property tax rolls indicated there were 7,424 registered as City Council Workshop Minutes - December 12, 2017 Page 5 of 11 single-family residential rental properties. There were 7,367 licensed at ADOR and only 3,000 of those accounts were currently paying taxes. She said there could possibly be 7,465 taxpayers not paying which meant the estimated maximum potential annual residential revenue that was not being collected was $2.2 million. Ms. Rios felt that estimate was high. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the numbers were based on an average monthly rent of $1,000 which was on the low side for a single-family home. She said $2.2 million might be a reasonable amount. Councilmember Clark said she was the one who suggested the $1,000 monthly average. She said census data from 2010 estimated there were 14,413 single-family homes in Glendale. The City was not collecting from a lot of people. If the program was implemented, she estimated the revenue collected could be $500,000 to $1 million. It was worth pursuing. Ms. Rios said the estimated cost would be $79,000 to fund a tax auditor position. To break even, the auditor would need to bring in 264 new unlicensed rentals to cover costs. In her estimation, the auditor could possibly bring in three times the cost amount. Mayor Weiers said instead of doing a pilot program on 264, a mailer could be sent out to everyone explaining the new direction regarding compliance. The City could receive enough revenue upfront to cover the costs of the auditor. Ms. Rios didn't mean to suggest that staff would only audit 264 but would reach out to everyone. The break even point was 264. Councilmember Turner asked if it would be helpful if a video was produced that property owners could view to receive information on the requirements and walk them through the process. The educational component was important. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if there were any cities that were sharing information with the county since it would be missing out on the higher rental property tax rate. Ms. Rios did not specifically know about compliance at the county level. Councilmember Tolmachoff said residential rental taxes was an issue the state legislature had considered. She didn't want to implement a pilot project without being sure how it would play out at the state legislature in the next session. Ms. Rios said there was no current budget for the position. If Council wanted to implement a pilot program, she believed a contingency request would be necessary for the current fiscal year or a budget request could be made for the next fiscal year. Ms. Rios asked if Council wanted staff to bring forward a compliance program and did it want the program to begin in the current fiscal year or be included in a request for next year. Councilmember Clark wanted to start as soon as possible. Councilmember Tolmachoff said there were also vacation rentals. She asked if that was on the radar. Ms. Rios said staff could look at the issue. There had been agreements made with some of the larger vacation rental companies. Mayor Weiers said the consensus of Council was to proceed with developing a program for the current year. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 12, 2017 Page 6 of 11 4. DISCUSSION RELATING TO MUNICIPAL LOBBYING ORDINANCE Presented By: Michael D. Bailey, City Attorney Councilmember Clark had shared an article regarding the issue with Council. She had brought , the item forward in an attempt to provide transparencies for the public about lobbyists in the City. Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. Bailey said the proposed ordinance was modeled after the ordinance adopted by the City of Phoenix. He was requesting feedback and direction from Council on how to move forward. He reviewed the following from the ordinance: • Lobbyist was any person who was compensated to lobby for a person other than himself • City officials were the Mayor, Council, members of City boards, committees and commissions, City Manager, executive staff and all department heads • Requirements: • Lobbyist must register before communications with a City official for the purpose of influencing official action to disclose acting in the capacity of a lobbyist • Lobbyist must file an expenditure report • Lobbyist must not give a gift to a City official for the performance of official duties or if it may reasonably be interpreted to be offered in order to influence any action or decision of the official Mr. Bailey said there were exemptions: • Individuals who were not compensated for lobbying • Individuals acting on their own behalf • Public officials, experts or individuals whose professional services were to draft legislation or represent individuals in quasi-judicial proceedings - such as attorneys. • Individuals who were contacting City officials for information or for participating in a requests for proposals Mr. Bailey said lobbyists would register annually with the City Clerk's Office and file annual expenditure reports. Enforcement would be through the City Attorney's Office. He anticipated utilizing a third party in the case of violations. There was a $500 minimum and $1,500 maximum fine or a 90 -day prohibition of activity. Mayor Weiers asked what it was that was being fixed. Councilmember Clark said historically there had been times when lobbying had taken place.- She said the ordinance was proactive.and there wasn't anything currently that was being fixed. It was also an effort to become more transparent in how City matters were dealt with. Mayor Weiers asked what the difference was between the ordinance and state statute regarding lobbyists. Mr. Bailey said state statute required that lobbyists who wanted to lobby the state legislature, to register and report. The proposed ordinance would be similar to the state statute. Mayor Weiers asked if the ordinance was requiring the Council to report. Mr. Bailey said no, it was the lobbyist who was required to report, not Council. Mayor Weiers said his staff had been keeping a record of everything that was received. .Mr. Bailey said Council had reporting requirements regarding elections, which was a state requirement. Mayor Weiers said if Council was already reporting, what was the ordinance trying to accomplish. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 12, 2017 Page 7 of 11 Councilmember Clark said the statutory requirements for state legislative lobbyists were not very effective. She was asking Council to create greater transparency. Mayor Weiers asked how the ordinance would effect police and fire unions. Mr. Bailey said if they were lobbying on behalf of an entity, they would have to register. Councilmember Aldama asked to what extent was the ordinance requiring lobbyists to report. He asked if the information on the registration would appear as a specific agenda item. Mr. Bailey said there was no administrative requirement that the registration appear as an agenda item. Councilmember Aldama said it would be a toothless policy. Simply registering wasn't transparent. Councilmember Turner said it appeared the ordinance was trying to identify who was lobbying and the money being spent in the process of lobbying. was that in mind, he would prefer a quarterly expenditure report and that the reports be available online. He was leaning toward a more immediate expenditure reporting, such as 10 to 15 days after the expenditure. Councilmember Turner asked why registration was required in addition to the reporting. Councilmember Turner asked if an executive director of an organization, who appeared before Council on an agenda item, would need to register. Councilmember Aldama said lobbyists didn't always lobby all Councilmembers. The report should indicate who was lobbied. Mr. Bailey said Council could include that information if desired. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked who's responsibility it was to determine whether or not a person was a lobbyist. Mr. Bailey said that would probably arise as a complaint, filed with the City Clerk's Office. The City Attorney's Office would determine if a violation occurred. Mayor Weiers asked, for example, if Michael Bidwell of the Cardinals came to talk to Council about the Cardinals, would he have to register as a lobbyist. Mr. Bailey said he would not have to register. Mayor Weiers was still trying to figure out what was being accomplished by the ordinance. He said Councilmember Aldama had a good point. Mayor Weiers liked lobbyists to talk to him. It allowed him to hear the information they had about the issue. Councilmember Clark had no problem with lobbyists and the ordinance was not meant to be punitive. The timely reporting suggested by Councilmember Aldama was a good idea. She asked if language could be added to the ordinance to require reporting within 15 days of the event. Mr. Bailey said there was a high likelihood that if a complaint was filed, because of the potential for a conflict, his office would send it out to another attorney. Mayor Weiers said the attorney would expect to be compensated. Mr. Bailey said that was correct unless he could find another city attorney who would do it gratis. He said regarding other suggestions, he would need to discuss it with the City Manager and the City Clerk because there could be workload issues. Councilmember Tolamachoff was concerned about unintended consequences. She didn't want to put any community partners in the position of being required to register as a lobbyist. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 12, 2017 Page 8 of 11 Mr. Bailey said there was an exception for a public official, employee or appointee of a state, county or local entity. Mayor Weiers also wanted to make sure that there were no unintended consequences for organizations such as a 501(C)3. Councilmember Aldama said the ordinance wouldn't affect a 501(C)3. The purpose was to identify paid lobbyists and the definition was clear. Councilmember Malnar would like to hear from lobbyists and if they had any concerns about the proposed ordinance. He wanted to get their perspective on it. Councilmember Turner said the proposed ordinance wasn't an attack on lobbyists. Lobbyist had an important function and served as a conduit for information. Government at the local level had a direct impact on the residents and it was important to pay some attention to the issue. Councilmember Clark said the proposal was not new or outrageous. It had been an ongoing issue for Phoenix for the past year. It was time to implement strategies that prevented problems in the future. Mayor Weiers didn't want anyone to lose the opportunity to fight for what they believed. The proposed ordinance might encourage people not to come before Council and provide all of the information necessary to make good decisions. Councilmember Aldama had nothing against lobbyists. He said if Council was going to get input from lobbyists then the community should also be included in the discussion. { Councilmember Tolmachoff asked how it would work through the City Clerk's Office. Would an additional staff member be necessary or some type of'software. Ms. Bower said it would be handled the same as the election reporting. Registrations and reports would be available online to the public. It also depended on the number of lobbyists and the reporting requirements. If it was a couple dozen a year, her office could absorb it and assuming it was annual reporting. If the reporting was more frequent, it could be a problem. Councilmember Clark said the compromise could be quarterly. Mr. Bailey said it seemed there was a consensus for he and Councilmember Clark to do further work on the ordinance and return for another workshop discussion. Mayor Weiers said there was a consensus. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT Mr. Phelps thanked Council for its hard work during the past year. He also thanked his team of directors and team members for keeping up with the increased workload. He was proud of the work that had been done. Mr. Phelps also recognized Jon Froke, Planning Director and Erik Strunk, Public Facilities, Recreation and Special Events Director. Both would be leaving the City by the end of the year and he thanked them for their dedicated service to the City. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT Mr. Bailey had no report. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 12, 2017 Page 9 of 11 COUNCIL ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST Councilmember Aldama would be holding mobile office hours on January 8, 2018 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Councilmember Malnar wanted Council to consider forming a committee to review the City Charter and make recommendations to update it. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked staff to look at the speed feedback sign criteria. She believed it was based on the volume of cars and not speed. There were a lot of collector streets where speed was an issue. MOTION AND CALL TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Councilmember Bart Turner, seconded by Councilmember Joyce Clark to enter into executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed Council entered into executive session at 3:18 p.m. EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Councilmember Jamie Aldama, seconded by Vice Mayor Ian Hugh to adjourn the executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed The executive session adjourned at 3:47 p.m. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff, seconded by Councilmember Joyce Clark to adjourn the meeting. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers City Council Workshop Minutes - December 12, 2017 Page 10 of 11 Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 3:47 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 12th day of December, 2017. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. ,'Dated this,27th day of December, 2017. � �r4c3F, 6ir mMC, City Clerk City Council Workshop Minutes - December 12, 2017 Page 11 of 11