Monday, February 17, 2025

Upcoming Meeting 2.18.25

At our next Council meeting there is one significant item we will be discussing:

- We will discuss an adjustment to the Police Chief job classification and associated salary schedule.  In connection with our recruitment effort to hire a full time Police Chief, the City Manager is recommending an increase to the base salary of the Police Chief of 4%.  This is consistent with the scheduled increase in the contract with the prior Police Chief.

If you have any thoughts or questions on the above, please let me know.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

My 2.4.25 Meeting Summary

On Tuesday the Council met and discussed several significant items:

- We first interviewed three applicants for one open Planning Commissioner seat. The seat was vacated when Councilmember Enea was elected and we interviewed applicants in order to fill the open seat for the remainder of the term ending in June 2026.  Of the three applicants, the Council discussed and voted to appoint Nate Brzovich to the Planning Commission.  Nate's approach to listening to community feedback and balancing that with what the law requires was what was persuasive to the Council.  Congratulations, Commissioner Brzovich!

- We discussed and decided in favor of entering an agreement for investment advisory services with UBS.  UBS currently acts as a custodian of City funds in a non-discretionary manner.  This means that UBS can execute transactions for various securities, but only as the City specifically directs.  There are associated fees, and we are essentially buying at retail.  By entering into a advisory agreement, UBS becomes a fiduciary to the City, and will be authorized to act on the City's behalf within the approved investment policy of the City.

There are multiple benefits of such an arrangement.  While there is a 30 basis point fee associated with this arrangement, there is no cost for any individual transaction.  Because UBS is authorized to act on the City's behalf, there will be no time where cash is sitting idle and not being invested.  This will yield greater returns, but it will also free up staff time so they can focus on other activities.  We will also be able to exit certain positions that are underperforming and redeploy those funds towards higher performing securities.  Overall this should yield greater returns on the over $12M in City funds.

- We formed an ad hoc committee consisting of Mayor Trupiano and Councilmember Tillman.  Upon taking the role of Mayor, Mayor Trupiano reached out to Councilmember Tillman in an effort to address her previous requests for an investigation into fellow Councilmembers and training.  A result of that meeting was an agreement to propose this ad hoc committee in order to facilitate a governance training workshop for Council and staff.  Councilmember Tillman stated that this ad hoc committee and training satisfies her previous requests and I'm glad the Council can move forward and appreciate Mayor Trupiano's leadership in this matter.

- We authorized the City Manager to enter negotiations with Three Putt Development, the company that owns the Oakhurst Country Club, for the sale of city owned property adjacent to the overflow lot near Oakhurst.  The city owned property does not front any street, and was declared surplus by the City last year.  We also discussed with the City Manager the terms that the City was interested in during closed session later in the evening.

- We discussed the potential restriping project on the 4 lane section of Mountaire Pkwy.  Many residents spoke at the meeting, and others have been in communication via email and phone calls.  There were several that were opposed to taking action, and several that were in favor of taking action.  What was under discussion was a "road diet" - reducing the number of lanes in an effort to reduce speeds.  Included in this plan was also the addition of dedicated bike lanes.

There was some concern expressed regarding emergencies and egress.  Because there were no physical barriers being contemplated, in the case of emergency the overall width of the road was not going to be impacted so access would be unchanged if there were a need.

When the Dana Hills HOA surveyed its residents on a potential lane reduction, approximately 25% of households responded.  Of those that responded, 2/3 were in favor of the lane reduction, and 1/3 were opposed.  Ultimately the HOA did not feel it had enough feedback to take a position on the matter.

The largest concern the Council had was cost.  The section was recently repaved, though marked with temporary paint in anticipation of the discussion we had.  We have also applied for a grant that would cover a portion of the overall projected ~$250K cost.

Overall I was in favor of this work because the goal is public safety and reducing speeds.  Traffic safety and speeding is a significant concern I hear from residents all over town and while it does cost money I believe it worth it in an effort to improve overall safety.  The Council decided to proceed with the planned road diet, wait to hear if we are awarded the grant, then incorporate the actual road work into the already planning 2026 road work.  This has the potential of reducing the overall cost as we would get some economies of scale by grouping this project with larger projects.  The vote was 3-2, with myself, and Councilmembers Tillman and Diaz in favor.  Councilmember Enea and Mayor Trupiano voted no primarily based on the cost.

Monday, February 3, 2025

Upcoming 2.4.25 Meeting

On Tuesday the Council will meet to discuss several significant items:

- Earlier in the evening at 6:30 we will be conducting interviews for one open Planning Commissioner seat.

- We will discuss an update to our agreement with UBS Financial.  UBS Financial is one of the firms that the City engages to invest reserves.  There is a proposal to engage UBS for a more managed service in order to achieve higher returns on our investments.

- We will then discuss appointing one person from the earlier interviews for the open Planning Commissioner seat.

- We will discuss whether to create an ad hoc committee to facilitate a governance training workshop.

- We will discuss whether to authorize the City Manager to negotiate with Three Putt Development (the Company that manages Oakhurst Country Club) for the potential sale of certain surplus land that the City owns.

- We will discuss the road striping of Mountaire Parkway.  We previously discussed a potential road diet (reducing the number of lanes) at our 5.7.24 meeting and since then our City Engineer has done additional work to bring proposals forward.

If you have any thoughts or questions on the above please let me know.

Friday, January 24, 2025

My 1.21.25 Meeting Summary

On Tuesday the Council met to discuss a couple significant items.  While I was unable to attend due to schedule conflict, I did watch the recording and wanted to provide an update as to what was discussed and decided.

- The Council approved several organizational changes including eliminating two positions, adding three positions,  updating job descriptions for many roles, and changing the reporting hierarchy within the City staff to better align with those changes. The result is a modest annualized increase of approximately $70K and a much better aligned staff to the roles and responsibilities that the City needs.

What was presented by staff was the culmination of a significant amount of analysis and work by City staff, our new City Manager, and the Budget and Audit Committee.  Starting back as early as March 2023, there were various voices suggesting that much more staff was needed, and at significantly higher rates. Instead of taking significant action without sufficient analysis, myself and Mayor Trupiano as part of the Budget and Audit Committee, worked with staff to bring forward a more needs based staffing model.  

The updated organizational structure has a flatter structure - reducing the instances where a management level position only has one direct report.  We also focused on the compensation ranges for the positions we needed and aligned them with both market rates and the duties they'd be performing.  Our City Manager has stated that these updates "would be amazing".

- The Council also approved the application of a grant to assist in funding bicycle lane improvements on Mountaire Parkway in connection with potential street striping changes.  The substantive discussion around the street work will occur at our next meeting on 2.4.25.

Monday, January 20, 2025

Upcoming Meeting 1.21.25

At the next Council meeting, there will be discussion regarding two significant items:

- Council will discuss a proposal for organization and staff redesign, eliminating two positions, adding 3 positions, and updating the job descriptions of affected roles.  The proposal reflects the changing needs of the city focusing more roles on areas that need support and reducing staff in areas that need less support.  There is an increase in cost associated with this change of approximately $70K on an annualized basis, however this is an estimate as the benefit load which consists of over 30% of compensation is variable and assumptions are being used to forecast.  We will need to do further analysis in the next month through our mid year budget review.

- Council will discuss a grant application for the Mountaire Parkway area.  The grant has an application deadline and if successful, funds could be used towards the restriping project that will be discussed at our 2.4.25 meeting.

I will be absent from this meeting as I have a scheduling conflict but will update after reviewing the video.  If you have any thoughts or questions on the above, please let me know.

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

My 1.7.25 Meeting Summary

Last night the Council met to discuss and take action on several significant items.  

With the new Council being seated last meeting, these actions were primarily administrative in nature and intended to increase the overall efficiency of our meetings, reduce the administrative burden on staff, and add clarity for the public.  The overall theme of our actions was to look at items that aren't designed for discussion and move those items to a written format.  

By having things in writing, rather than just verbally stated, it provides a clear report of actions taken and thoughts expressed.  This also makes it more accessible to the public - rather than having to watch extensive video to obtain information, more will be in writing which can be easier to consume.

The first action we took was to cease the taking of remote public comments.  Over the past several years, the practice of taking remote public comments has ebbed and flowed at various municipalities.  In some instances, this ability has been used to berate, curse at, or attempt to derail Council meetings.   In other instances, technical or user challenges has come into play and impacted the meetings as well.  

We will continue to live stream our meetings, and people will be able to make comment in person at the meetings themselves.  In addition, as our agendas are posted  in advance, anyone is able to submit public comment in writing prior to each meeting.  These submissions are sent to each Councilmember and included in the public record.  By ceasing the taking of remote public comments, our meetings will be more efficient overall for both the Council and the staff.

There is often confusion as to the purpose of our meetings and the place of public comments.  Council meetings are designed so that Council can discuss among ourselves and conduct the business of the City.  It is not, and cannot be a dialogue between Councilmembers and members of the public.  Our meetings are open to the public and recorded so that the business of the City is conducted transparently, not to hold a dialogue between the full Council and members of the audience.  We are restricted in our ability to respond to public comment in general, so much of the time when a comment is made, there may be an expectation that Councilmembers respond, however this often leads to disappointment or confusion.  

This is one of the main reasons I try to inform the public of what is going to be discussed prior to any meeting - to provide residents with an opportunity for such a dialogue, or to share their thoughts.  I have been writing a pre-meeting introduction and post-meeting summary for each meeting since first being elected in 2018.

We also updated our Council guidelines.  These guidelines document how the Council operates and it gets refreshed from time to time.  The updates were non-substantive and were administrative in nature.  We clarified the order of the meetings, and consistent with the overall theme shifted items that aren't up for discussion to being in writing.  This will result in more efficient meetings as well as provide additional clarity to the public.  

We also discussed and approved City Council committee assignments for the year.  A list of these assignments can be found in the minutes.

There is quite a bit of work that needs to be done - from addressing staffing vacancies, to tightening up our budget analysis, and all the regular activities of the City.  It is my goal to do the people's business in the most efficient and effective manner and reduce the administrative burden on staff where possible.  The actions we took at this meeting will further that goal.

Sunday, January 5, 2025

Upcoming Meeting 1.7.25

I hope everyone had a restful holiday season.  Our first meeting of the year will be on Tuesday, 1.7.25 and we will be discussing several significant items:

- We will discuss whether to continue the use of hybrid meetings that allow remote participants to offer public comment during meetings.  We discussed this item at our 11.7.23 meeting and at that time the Council did not take any action.  We are revisiting this item for similar reasons that were raised at the time, and in an effort to reduce administrative burden on staff.

- We will discuss updates to the City Council guidelines and procedures.  This was last discussed at our 5.2.23 meeting.  It is fairly routine that the guidelines are updated to reflect the desires of the current council and it is important that these guidelines be written for clarity.  The proposed changes reflect an update to the regular agenda order.  There is also clarity added around how things are agendized, though there is no substantive change in that regard.  In addition, in an effort to provide more transparency and reduce staff administrative burden, the proposal contemplates that council reports shall be provided in writing to be included in the minutes of each meeting.

- We will discuss City Council Committees and assignments for standing and ad-choc committees and liaison positions.

If you have any thoughts or questions on the above, please let me know.