During his last meeting as interim city administrator, Steve Albright presented the draft budget, which the council initially had worked through on May 31.
While Albright had brought a resolution to the meeting that the council could adopt that night to pass the budget, by evening's end some work was still to be done, with the council directing the revised document to be brought back on June 23.
Based on council feedback from the May 31 workshop, Albright had brought back proposed budget revisions that included the addition of two new police officers, which he said it would take six months to recruit and train. He noted that there also are several police officers currently out on medical leave.
He had previously proposed a 2.5-percent cost of living increase for city staff, who haven't had a raise since 2007. Albright's revised budget included a 2 percent increase, totaling $52,000 that he said would be spread across all funds and departments, including police.
Rehiring a full-time public works maintenance position that had been laid off had had been in the budget, but he removed it due to council response on May 31. However, because city residents continued to want street and park maintenance, Albright proposed keeping four part-time seasonal workers – two in parks, two for roads.
Other updates included an increase from $5,000 to $6,200 for the Lake County Animal Coalition, which assists the city in animal control functions, he said.
The bottom line, said Albright, was a proposed budget with $4,050,000 in revenue and expenditures totaling $4,002,000, and a projected 2011-12 fiscal year surplus of approximately $47,863.
That, plus the projected surplus at the end of the current fiscal year, is expected to total $436,000, which Albright said will help rebuild city reserves.
Mayor Joyce Overton asked city department heads for comments on the budget.
Public Works Director Doug Herren wasn't happy with it.
“I guess I'm a little bit upset. I think we should be putting more public works people on the streets,” he said.
Herren said he didn't have enough staff to safely do road work, and if they attempted road work without the requisite numbers the city could face large fines. “I'm trying to protect the city, I'm trying to protect my employees,” he said.
He said he was short-staffed and the department was doing the best it could to keep up parks maintenance.
Interim Police Chief Craig Clausen said police staff is getting “slammed” by a workload exacerbated by less staffing and unforeseen injuries.
“It's difficult and the public needs to know we're doing the best we can,” he said, adding that he was “ecstatic” to have two new officers, although he would love to have more.
Michael Vivrette, formerly the city's full-time finance director who came back on an interim, part-time basis, said he worked closely with staff, the council and the public in working on the budget, which he called “workable.”
Council member Judy Thein said she had a lot of questions about the budget, and in a lengthy statement she enumerated her issues with the document, saying she'd been “advocating passionately” for public safety and wanted to see more resources put toward the police department instead of the cost of living increases for staff.
She criticized an increase in management-related salaries and benefits. The new city administrator, Tully Clifford, will come in at a salary of $120,000, the same amount Dale Neiman, the former full-time city administrator, received before he took a pay cut to $70,000 when the council moved his position to part-time last summer. She said Clifford will receive more benefits than Neiman.
Vivrette's position – which formerly was full-time and now is part-time – is proposed to be moved back to full-time, with salary and benefits totaling about $124,000 a year, Thein said.
She said that while employees haven't received cost of living increases in several years, they did receive contractual increases and longevity pay. Thein said they should focus on what the employees have rather than what they don't have.
Over the last several years the city has laid off 46 percent of its workforce. Thein said the remaining 54 percent were able to maintain jobs, pay and benefits, and retirement. “The unemployment rate in Clearlake is very high, and a job is a job.”
She wanted more conservative projections on sales tax increases and wanted to see the finance director job kept at part-time.
Council member Jeri Spittler spoke on behalf of the Public Works Department, noting that the request for four part-time workers is “real minimal.”
After speaking with school bus drivers and fire department personnel, she was convinced of the need for road maintenance, pointing out that the Public Works Department has been understaffed for 20 years.
Spittler said it came down to a matter of safety.
She also wanted the council to direct the police department to work with Clifford to evaluate the amount of police staffing compared to other cities of similar size.
Overton suggested the council approve the two police positions and come back at midyear to consider adding more.
“I think our staff has worked extremely hard to try to satisfy everybody,” she said.
During public comment the council heard from community members who felt that the policing increases were important, but the safety issues associated with lack of road maintenance proved just as prominent a concern overall.
Working through the budget, the council and staff discovered some savings due to accounting errors, including about $40,000 incorrectly budgeted in the Measure P fund, which is meant for police services.
Vivrette also suggested that the city could draw on its reserves to find the additional Public Works Department staffer. Thein didn't want to do that.
“Your objective really should be to adopt a balanced budget,” and then try to save during the year, said Albright.
Altogether they appeared to have put together enough savings to squeeze in that Public Works position. “I'm happy with what you've got there, I'll make up the difference,” said Herren.
Vice Mayor Joey Luiz said he felt the salaries and benefits for management staff weren't unreasonable, but he said he couldn't support the cost of living increase while they are so short-staffed in police and other areas.
He said he supported trying to get a third police officer and dropping – or banking – the money proposed for cost of living increases.
Shortly before the meeting reached the four-hour mark, Luiz moved to continue the public hearing on the budget until the June 23 meeting.
Supervisor Jeff Smith commended the council for how it worked together, and how much ground it had covered during the meeting. “This is the way the council is supposed to work,” he said, adding his thanks to Albright for his services to the city.
In other news, the council voted to award a bid for $89,920 to a contractor to fix city hall's roof. Of that amount, $25,000 will come from a city match and the remainder from a federal grant.
The council also unanimously approved the purchase of 14295 Lakeshore Drive for $207,199 plus closing costs.
The city has reached a deal with a bank to purchase the property, which is in foreclosure. It's valued at $667,250, Albright said.
“In real estate, timing is everything,” he said, explaining that it would give the city a chance to fix the blighted property, located next to Highland Park.
The county has authorized up to $100,000 for a Southshore tourism and visitor center, said Albright, adding he would love to see the Lake County Chamber and Clear Lake Chamber operate a center there.
Also on Thursday, City Clerk Melissa Swanson led the city in thanking Albright for his service as interim city administrator, which began in February.
His last day with the city is Friday, although he will act as interim redevelopment agency executive director through year's end.
Albright “has done a fantastic job of handling our many issues and we are really sorry to see him go,” Swanson said, presenting him with a gift certificate.
“It's been a pleasure to be here,” he said.
Clausen also presented police dispatcher Melissa Vago with a commendation for her work on an April 30 call regarding vandals hitting the local Mormon church.
While Sgt. Tim Hobbs – whose handheld radio was broken – was involved in a foot pursuit, Vago coordinated with other officers to assist Hobbs, kept the sheriff's office informed and, as Clausen pointed out, maintained her composure in a high-stress situation.
Vago “performed admirably under the worst circumstances” and was receiving the commendation for her efforts, Clausen said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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