Water districts to respond to Grand Jury report

The Yorba Linda Water District is one of 13 public water agencies required to respond to seven findings and six recommendations in an Orange County Grand Jury report released recently.

Findings center on consultant selection procedures, directors conducting business with other water agencies, ethics codes, meeting times, the percentage of directors originally appointed rather than elected, directors holding multiple elected positions and term limits.

Recommendations include requiring directors to reveal their contracts with other water agencies and adopt consultant selection rules; develop an ethics code with training and monitoring; and schedule meeting times to generate maximum public attendance.

Others include filling vacancies by election rather than appointment; revealing other positions held by directors; and adopting limits of no more than three terms in office.

The report doesn’t tie specific practices to individual agencies, and state law requires each of the 13 bodies named to respond to all of the findings and recommendations.

The agencies cited can agree or disagree wholly or partially with each finding and can identify recommendations as implemented, soon-to-be implemented, requiring further study or not implemented because the recommendation is unwarranted or unreasonable.

The Yorba Linda district serves more than 20,000 water accounts in Yorba Linda and about 3,000 in Anaheim, Brea and Placentia and maintains westside sewers. Twice-monthly meetings usually start at 8:30 a.m., but lately some have moved to 6:30 p.m.

In 50 years as a public agency, 19 men have served on the district’s five-member board, with nine positions originally filled by appointment. Six of 25 elections were cancelled because only incumbents filed to run. Two incumbents have lost re-election campaigns.

Current directors total 68 years in office, and two exceed the Grand Jury’s recommended three-term maximum. Paul Armstrong has served 27 years, Mike Beverage 17, Bill Mills 10, John Summerfield 9 and Ric Collett 5.

Voters have been reluctant to turn out experienced incumbents, but the recent formation of a Citizen’s Advisory Committee might supply knowledgeable candidates in the future.

A FINAL NOTE

Last week’s column accurately referred to a section of then-interim City Manager Bill Kelly’s June 2 budget report stating, “Residents may experience longer wait times for police response to emergency situations.”

Now, Brea Police Capt. Jack Conklin e-mails that service level reductions would have no “significant” impact on the department’s response to emergency calls for service, while non-emergency response times may increase due to the reduction in available personnel.

City deals with budget using cuts, fees

Yorba Linda’s recently adopted budget for the fiscal year that started July 1 will impact residents in the form of additional fees to generate new revenue and reduced services to cut expenses.

Expenditures for 2009-10 are expected to be a bit more than $26.7 million, down about eight percent from last year’s total. The budget is balanced by using $327,627 from the city’s $34.4 million reserves built up from past years’ surpluses.

Most of the cuts from the previous year’s expenses are in personnel: eliminating 13 full and 12 part-time city and police positions; suspending vacation buybacks, performance and bilingual pay; and instituting furlough days and retirement “golden handshakes.”

City Council members even cut about $18,000 from their own expenses, including city-paid, before-meeting meals, travel expenses, business cards and pins and $100 monthly mileage stipend. They left untouched more than $60,000 paid for their health benefits.

Reductions in police staffing might result in “longer wait times for police response to emergency situations,” according to a 21-page report prepared for the council by then-interim City Manager Bill Kelly.

Other cuts include the elementary and junior high SAFE program, the police Citizen’s Academy, the Police Explorer-Junior Cadet program, October Fiesta Days, Breakfast with Santa, July 4 fireworks, online permits and the print-version city newsletter.

Other reductions include Senior Center services, Volun-teen personnel, tree trimming, park maintenance, employee incentive and appreciation and the number of Concerts in the Park from seven to four this summer.

Proposed new revenues include a false alarm fee, parking fines on street sweeping days, and various new and increased fees in the city’s public works, parks and recreation and commercial development departments.

The added fees could raise $717,300 per year, but would total $358,650 for 2009-10, if implemented Jan. 1, 2010. The budget doesn’t include expenses associated with Black Gold Golf Course turf renovations and lost revenue due to a renovation-related closing.

The budget “will need constant periodic adjustments to maintain the city in a balanced bottom line,” Kelly noted in his June 2 and July 7 budget reports to the council.

A FINAL NOTE

More than 2,500 Placentia-Yorba Linda school district employees face “salary schedule modifications and/or reductions to reflect the district’s financial situation” when contract negotiations begin for 2009-10.

The district has asked to re-open contract sections dealing with class size, wages and benefits and professional day for certificated employees and layoff, hours, wages and health and welfare for classified (non-teaching) staff.

Issues that are dividing the council's votes

The number of important issues decided by 3-2 City Council votes indicates that next year’s race for two of five seats on the governing body will draw considerable interest from potential candidates as well as the city’s registered voters—42,983 at last count.

Two of the most recent split votes came when council members disagreed over hiring consultants to conduct a comprehensive study and audit of the police services contract with Brea and to perform a feasibility study for establishing an equestrian facility.

In favor of the professional services agreements were John Anderson, Nancy Rikel and Mark Schwing, with Jan Horton and Jim Winder opposed.

The review of the near-40-year agreement with Brea also will explore four alternatives: contracting with the county Sheriff’s Department or a different city, entering into a joint powers agreement with other cities and forming a Yorba Linda-only department.

The equestrian facility study involves a viability analysis of the “lakebed” site, market feasibility with preliminary design recommendations and a management, financial and operations analysis.

The policing study cost won’t exceed $43,000 from the city’s general fund, while the equestrian study is budgeted at $93,550 from park-in-lieu fees paid by a developer in place of providing a facility in 1992. Both are expected to be completed by October.

Similar 3-2 votes were cast when council asked for a follow-up report on interim City Manager Bill Kelly’s investigation of issues related to the failed Town Center project and discussed wording for an ordinance involving council member service on regional bodies.

These issues, as well as forthcoming votes on an ethics and whistle-blower ordinance, the rehabilitation of 15 city-owned Old Town residential structures, subsidies for Black Gold Golf Course repairs and potential city revenue losses, already have caused lively debate.

And no doubt that debate will continue through the 2010 municipal election, when seats now held by Anderson and Horton will be on the ballot. Although they were elected on similar “change” platforms in 2006, they long ago parted ways on many key topics.

Deep political and personal divisions among council members are obvious at meetings and in e-mails some council members have sent to constituents and consultants, as well.

Of the 29 individuals who have served on the council since incorporation in 1967, three didn’t seek a second term, and six were defeated in their attempts to win a second term.

During 42 years of cityhood, 194 candidates have appeared on 23 council ballots, and the elections with contentious issues usually draw larger fields of candidates—the number of contenders on a single ballot has ranged from three for one seat to 27 for all five seats.

The cost of watering the landscape

Here’s one piece of good news for Yorba Lindans facing increased water, sewer and trash collection fees: the amount due to support the city’s lighting and landscape district won’t go up this year.

But maintenance of up to 50 currently landscaped areas might be reduced or eliminated to save as much as $687,211 when City Council acts on a widely praised report by Assistant City Manager Mark Stowell and Assessment District Manager Bruce Carleton.

The two officials suggested the land be allowed to return to natural conditions or have maintenance assumed by property owners, homeowners associations or newly created assessment zones to save watering, maintenance and aging infrastructure costs.

The city-administered district maintains 5,665 streetlights, the citywide and six specific-benefit landscape zones and three traffic signal zones with 62 signalized intersections. It was created in 1979 under the state’s 1972 Landscaping and Lighting Act.

Annual assessments on 2009-2010 property tax billings will raise nearly $5.6 million for the district’s $7.6 million budget with the remainder coming from the city’s general fund and other taxes.

The general fund contribution will increase to $796,995 from $639,254 last year, mostly to fill a deficit in the budget to maintain landscaping along 14 major streets—arterials—running through the city.

Last year, property owners turned down an arterial fee increase with a 75 percent “no” vote. The current rates, with yearly Consumer Price Index boosts when warranted, were approved in 1997 with an 83 percent “yes” vote, after 1996’s Proposition 218 mandated stakeholder input on certain tax and fee increases.

Owners of all of the city’s properties—21,258 single-family homes, 1,115 multi-family units, 288 mobile home spaces and 1,570 acres of commercial, industrial, school, park and rural land—will pay $1.27 for arterial lighting, $47.86 for arterial landscaping and $2.88, $5.68 or $6.98 for traffic signals, the same as last year.

Fees paid by owners of 12,080 single-family homes, 524 multi-family units and 917 acres of commercial, industrial, school, park and rural land in the specific-area landscape zones also will remain the same.

These special “benefit zone” fees range from $41.89 to $299.79, in addition to the arterial lighting and landscaping and traffic signal payments. Some properties in Vista Del Verde pay fees for two landscaping zones, $263.27 and $170.70.

A local lighting zone with 17,301 parcels adds $16.36 in fees, bringing the highest annual total fee to $505.14 for some landowners. The lowest yearly total fee is $54.81.

City audits police contract, explores alternatives

One of the best expenditures in tough economic times is to hire an expert to see if you’re getting the best bang for your budgetary buck—and that’s what Yorba Linda has decided to do in regards to the police services contract with Brea, first adopted in 1970.

The City Council voted to spend up to $43,000 for a comprehensive study and audit of the Law Enforcement Services Agreement with Brea and an assessment of alternatives for providing police services in the city.

A report from the Rocklin, California-based Ralph Andersen and Associates is expected in October. Yorba Linda spends about one-third of city revenues—some $10 million of the $30 million budget—on the Brea contract.

Alternatives to the Brea contract include forming a Yorba Linda department, contracting with the county Sheriff’s Department or a different city and forming a joint powers pact with other cities similar to the agreement establishing the 22-city Fire Authority in 1995.

Cities mentioned in the Andersen proposal as possibilities for joining a joint police agency are Brea, La Habra, Placentia and Yorba Linda. The Sheriff’s Department policed Yorba Linda through 1970 and currently contracts with 12 cities.

The report will evaluate forming a Yorba Linda-only department, determine the number of sworn officers, support and management staff needed to meet the city’s enforcement workload and calculate required capital outlay and other expenditures.

Yorba Linda and Brea are in the second year of the a five-year contract negotiated by two former council members: Keri Wilson, a retired 20-year La Habra police officer, and Allen Castellano, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy.

“The service provided by Brea to Yorba Linda should be tested and evaluated based on objective, measurable criteria, using workload-based data,” the Andersen firm stated, noting costs increase annually for the same level of service “at a time when economic pressures are causing most cities to find ways to cut costs.”

The city’s only other independent evaluation and audit was conducted in 1993, with subsequent councils continuing to renew the now-39-year-old pact.

Voting for the study were John Anderson, Nancy Rikel and Mark Schwing, with Jan Horton and Winder opposed.

A FINAL NOTE

Council will continue with the two-year-old barking dog ordinance for another year at an extra cost of about $10,000, with Winder impressed with recent clearances of complaints.

Interestingly, a past recommendation by interim City Manager Bill Kelly to rescind the ordinance was missing from his latest report, and he merely asked for council direction.