HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-09-18 (Regular) Meeting MinutesI
I
I . Ca 1 1 to Order
ENGLEWOOD CITY COUNCIL
ENGLEWOOD, ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
Regular Session
September 18, 1989
The regular meeting of the Englewood Ci ty Council was called to order by Mayor
Van Dyk e a t 7:40 p.m.
2 . Invocation
The in vocat i or was given by Council Member Koltay .
3 . Pledge of Allegiance
The Pl edge o f Allegiance wa s l ed by ,~ayor Van Dyke.
4 . Ro11 can
Pre se nt: Counc il Members Hathaway, Koltay, Kozacek, Byrne,
Habeni cht, Clayton, Van Dyke
Abse nt : None
A quo ru m was present.
Als o present :
5. Iii nutes
City Manager Fraser
Assis tant City Attorney Gri mm
C!ty Cle1-k Crow
lli ,·ec tor Wanush, Community Development
(a ) COUNCIL HEIIBER KOZ.AcEK HOV ED, AND 1T WAS SECONDED, TO APPRDVE THE
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR IIEETINC-OF SEPTEMBER 5, 1989.
Mot i on
/\yes: Coun c il Me n•oer s Koltay, Hathaway , Kozacek, Byrne,
Na ys:
Absta i n:
Absen t:
ca,·ri ed.
Habe11ich t , Ll ayton, Van Dyke
!l one
None
None
6 . Pre-scheduled Visitors
There viere no pre -schedul ed vi sitors.
7. Non-scheduled Visitors
Englewood City Council "inutes
September 18, 1989 -Page 2
(a) Harry Fleener, Cha i rm an of Career Service Board, urged Council not
to appea l to the Colorado S"preme Court the recent decision of the Colorado
Cou rt of Appeals reg ar d ing the Leydon case . He mentioned the financial impact
upon th e City, bo th for court costs and backpay for Hr . Leydon. He also I
pointed ou t tha t if the rea s on fo r appealing the matter was to determine the
right of the Career Se rvice Bo ard to modify di sci pl I nary action, that issue
wil l be decided by t he citizens of Englewood in t he upcoming election; there -
for o, he did not believe it necessary to continue the appeal of the Leydon
ca srJ.
(b) Kat hy Summer, 4210 South Huron, a former member of the Career Ser-
vice Board, al so urged Council not to approve the City Attorney's recollllll!nda-
tion to app eal the Leydon c ase.
8 . Communications and Proclam ations
(a ) COUNCIL MEMBER KOZACEK MOVED, ANO IT WAS SECONDED, TO DECLARE THE
WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 17 THROUGH 23, 1989, AS "CONSTITUTION WEEK."
Ayes: Counci l Mem be rs Koltay, Hathaway, Kozacek, Byrne,
Ha be ni ch t, Clayton, Van Dyke
tl ays: !l one
Ab s ta in: tlone
Absent: rlon<!
Motion car ried .
(b) COUNCIL "EMBER BYRNE MOVED, ANO IT WAS SECONDED, TO DECLARE SEPTEM-
BER 20, 1989, AS "NATIONAL EDUCATION DAY.•
Ayes: Cou rie i 1 Members Kol tay, Hathaway, Kozacek, Byrne,
tlay s :
Absta i n:
/\b se nt:
Mot ion c ;,1·1 ·i C!d.
llab c n i cht, Cl ayton , Van Dyke
tlonc
I one
!l one
(t) COUNCIL MEMBER HATHAWAY MOVED, AND IT WAS SECONDED, TO DECLARE SEP•
TEMBER 22 , 1989, AS "AMERICAN BUSINESS WOMEN'S DAY,"
Ayes: Cotmc i l Mem bers Kol tay, Hathaway, Kozacek, Byrne,
Nay
Abs t a i n:
Absent :
Mo tion ca rried.
ll,1b1!ni cht, Clay ton, Van Dyke
llone
r1 one
None
(d) COUNCIL MEMBER HAB ENICHT MOVED, AND IT WAS SECONDED, TO DECLARE THE
WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 25 THROUGH 29, 19B9, AS "RUSH HOUR RE LIEF WEEK."
Ayes: Co .inc i 1 Members Ko ltay, Hathaway, Kozacek, Byrne,
Habeni c ht, Clayton , Van Dyke
Hays: !lone
Abstai n: rl one
Abse nt : r one
Mo tio n c arried.
I
I
I
Englewood City Council Hinut ~s
September 18, 1989 -Page 3
9. Co ns ent Agenda
{a) Minutes from the Englewood Career Se r vi ce Board meetings of July
20, Ju ly 31, Augl lS t 1, and August 10, 1989
(b) Minutes from the Eng lewood Urban Renewal Authority meeting of Sep-
temb er 6 , 1989 .
COUNCIL
JTEHS 9
Moti on
MEMBER CLAYTON MOVEO, AND IT WAS SECONDED, TO ACCEPT CONSENT
(a) THROUGH (b).
Ayes: Cuuncil Members Ko l tay , Hathaway, Kozacek,
Nay s:
Abs ta i n:
Absent:
carr ied.
Habenicht, Clayton, Van Dyk e
None
tlon e
Non e
10 . Public Hearing
AGEIIDA
Byrne,
Ma yo,· Va n Dyke announced th~t the purpose of the Public Hearing was to rece i ve
citi zen in put concernin'J th e r ro~oscd 1990 operat i ng budget.
COUNCIL MEMBER KOZACEK MOVED, AND IT WAS SECONDED, TO OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING.
Ayes: Counc i 1 Mem be rs Koltay, Hathaway, Kozacek, Byrne,
Habe nicht , Clayton, Va n Dyke
/lays: tlon e
Abstain: tion e
Abs ent: ti one
Moti on c arried, a nd th e Pub l ic Hear i ng op ened. City Manager Fr aser provided
information concern ing the budget process. Mr . Fraser stated that the pro-
posed 1990 bl1dget wa s based on goals and objec tives prev i ously set by Council.
Th e purpose of th e Publi c He a ring is for Council to receive input from the
c i ti zens pr ior to Coun c il 's budget workshop. He advised Council that the or-
d i 11,111 c e es tablishing the mill levy for 199 0 sho ul d be introduced at the Oc-
tob,,,· 2 . 1989 , regu la r Council mee ting .
Mayor \Ia n Dyke asked th e Clerk to read in to the r ecord of the pub l ic hearing a
leller t"ec eived from St ev en II. lleyei-, Cha i rma n of Englewood Parks and Rec re -
at i on Co mm ission . Counc i l Memb er Ko ltay offered excerpted information from
l etters he had received fr om h i s co nsti tue nts as follows: Elizabeth L.
Lesage, 40 85 South Washing ton Street; Bill Glenn, 4085 South Washington
Street ; Rachel A. Fulton , 408 5 Sout h Washing t on Street; Christette l. Fulton,
4085 South Washington. Mayor Van Dyke sug gested that those present not speak
rep et i tiousl y concerning one subjec t; howeve r, s he encouraged anyone who
wished to spea k concerning the proposed budget to do so. She stated that all
testimo ny given at the Public Hearing would be given under oath. The fullow-
ing citizens, du ly sworn, addressed Council:
Pau l Skizinski, 4260 South Ela t i, s poke co nc erning the Parks and Recreation
summe ,· dr ama program . fie em pha tica lly urged Council to cont i nue with this
prog ram. He suggested that the city look into ways to make the program more
self -s up porting.
Englewood City Council Minutes
September 18, 1989 -Page 4
Joan Wh a tten, 4886 South Log an Street , a sked that the drama program not be
cut, s lating that "community involvement builds better conrnunlties.•
Clyde Wiggin s , 4975 South Inca Drive , expressed concern over the proposed I
position c u ts i n the Pol i ce, Fire, ~-,j Public Works Departments . He felt bet -
ter p1·iorities cou l d be set : , cit; ad 01ir,i,tration regarding the spending of
l i m i lNI mo ney .
Sharo,. llP i nzerling, 50f·1 .,~u : •;;x St.reet, urged that the drama program be
ret ained. ~he! felt ti c de ' :a , .avings f i gure is misleading as a good per-
cent age o f those cost s ar~ •• •~•~d through fees .
Sharon Spurrier, 3901 South Hazel Court , stressed the importance of the drama
program a s it i mpac t e d hu mdn lives, s tating a lot of people in the c011111unity
had been affected po sit i ve l y by the ex per i ence .
Margaret and Reth Baker, 3719 South Grove Street, stated the drama program was
very i 111porta11 t t o a 1 ot of people , t hat it successfully kept a 1 ot of kids off
t he s re ets and occupied during t he summer montr.~.
Hali Lujin, 4836 South Sherman Street, f elt the drama program wa~ very impor -
tant an d she di d n 't thi nk it s houl d be cut as "cutting it would hurt a lot of
people." She stressed t he p ro \j ra m is good fo r the community.
Jamie Sp u rrier, 3901 South Ga lapa go Street , explained that the drama program
is no t just a play but one big fa mi ly; she felt Englewood could afford to con -
t inue the program.
Ma y or Van Dyke inqui red how r.1~11y in the aud ience we re ore sent
drama 111·og1·am. Ap proxi mate l y fifty indi viduals were pr,'sent.
coura\j eu those pre sent to c onso l id a te the ir comments in ,1rder
lime fo ,· o ther budge t ary matte rs t o be p rese nt e d .
concern Ing the
The Hayer en-
to afford more
Dana Seymo ur, 4750 So ut h Lip an Street , re ad into the record a letter from
Judge Rob~rl F. Kelly s up por t i ng th e continuat i on of the drama program. He
also o ff en,d s evera l other lett ei-s of sim i lar nature , as follows: Rachel Lay,
3654 Sou h Sherman Street: Les li ~ Shirk, 4475 South Ga l apago Street; Nina Sul-
l ivan, 4050 South Hash ing ton Sr e t; llryom D. Webber, 4850 South Grant Street;
Hali Lujin, 4836 South Sherm a n S r e e l; Virginia Guinn, 4040 South Washington
Street; Chris Gunn, 410 0 Soutli I nc a Stre£t; Amy Allen, 4980 South Fox Street;
A. Beethe , 20800 South Acoma St .-e e t; Britny Bigelow, 2834 South Clarkson Cir-
cle · Zoe Mc Gui r e. 365 flook e 1· Stree t ; Vi ncent Turnbull, 4400 South Logan I
Street; Jeff Bjorlin, 4470 So uth Grant St r eet ; Kim ilobbs; Amy Coleman, 3901
South Gala pa go Street; Jamie Spurri er, 3901 South Hazel Court; Lisa Shirk,
4475 South Galapago Street.; Lis a Batter, 3651 1/2 South Sherman Street; Leah
Gomez, 5060 Sou l t-"alapago Street : Bridget Voeck, 1801 East Girard Avenue
#158 ; Va l e ne Ga lla ,, . 501 1 South Fox Street ; Jodi Loomis , 7200 South Pennsyl-
va n i a Street; Emi l 1e z. 520 Eas t Gra nd Avenue; Heather Venard, 3965 South
Inc a Street ; Andy fir,,n zerl ing, 5001 So uth Fo x Street; Blake Barron, 2701 South
Emerson Street; J enny Kotik. 325 1 South Clarkson Street; Hatt Sklzinski, 4260
South Elat i Stree t : Cassie Po r t e n i er , 4515 South Delaware Street; and Beth
Bake r , 3719 South Grove Street.
I
I
Englewood City Counc 11 Hlnute~
September 18, 1g99 • Page 5
Don Seymour, 475-0 South Lipan Street, offered !~,f o rmation about how good the
proyram has be en for his so n and urged Council t o "out their money where their
hearl is -which is the k i ds.·
Jennifer Oounay, 444S South Elati Street, informed Council that she had pro-
vided e ach of them with he r letter s ,,pporting the drama program. The letter
was s i ~n ed by Ma ry Oounay , Gary Ooun ay, Jennifer Oounay and Amy Oounay.
Sheryl Webber, 4590 South Elati Street , stres ,~n t he advantages of continuing
the drama program and urged that Counc i l find a w~y to keep the program.
Troy Fowler, 3662 South Sherman Street, stated the drama program had changed
hi s lif e an d helped h im to develop a se nse of r ~s µonsibility.
Delores
l s t he
spirit.
1 ear ned
and Lisa Batter, 3651 1/2 South Sherma n ~treet, concurred that culture
hi ghest evolution of any society and ve r y important to the human
Lis a offered that 1 iving in Englewood is good and that she had
a l ot of thin g s th r o ug h the drama program.
Julie Lay, 3654 South Sherman Street , stated she was a single mother, that the
drama pi-ogram had been exce pti onall y good for her daughter. She urged that it
be re la i ne d .
Jo Slci2inslci. 4260 South Elati Street, a pr oponent for the theatre program,
i nforme d CoLm ci l of ils v al ue to her f amily.
Bill Gle1J n , 4085 South Washington Street , sa id he would be unhappy and very
sad if th~ prog r am i s cut.
Amy Colem~n, 3901 South Galapago Stre et, s tated that cutting the program would
be 1 i kr• g tt i ng a d iv or c~.
Lesl i e Shirk., 4475 South Galapago Street, said the program had helped her
t hnni<Jh the sc hool ye ar a nd as ke d Co unt il t o please keep the program.
Julie Phelps, 650 West Mansfield , comme n t ed that she could not imagine not
h av i n<J lhe p.-og r am nex l s um ,c,-as sh e want s the program to go for years and
year s in o r de r to g ive other chi ld ren a sense of purpose .
Ken Webber, 4590 South Elati Street, te s tified that the drama program had
chang ed h is life ; th a t he p robably c o uld not have made it without the program.
Th i s co ne 1 uded t es t i many o ffered in be half of the drama program. Mayor Van
Dyke as s ured th e aud i erc c e tha t Co un c i l wt 11 l oak for opportunities to keep the
prog ra m. a nd she th an ke d thos e i.ho had offered testimony for sharing their
comment ~.
Gary Do unay, 4445 South Elati Street , commented that the 1990 budget should
r e flect the City 's goa l s and that c ity government exists to provide for the
citizens t hose th i ngs which they cannot provide for themselves, specifically
po l ice and fire protection. He expressed concern over the number of proposed
cuts to th e poli c e and fir e de pa r t me n ts. He felt that these cuts could affect
Englewood City Council Mi nute s
September 18, 1989 -Page 6
lhe qua l ity o f life in Englewood as well as affect fire ratings and fire In-
s uranc e rates . He strong l y i-ccommen ded that these positions not be elimi -
nated. As a me ans to raise addition al revenue, he suggested that the City
consider initiatin<J a occupation lax on all Englewood employees, and he estl · I
mated t his would equate approximately SS00,000. An employee head tax was dis·
cu ss£'<! f urtl1e1·; Council Men1be r C 1 ayton offered to review Hr . Dounay' s figures
~Ii I h l1i m.
lrv i ng Bennett, 4040 Sou t h Inca Street, fe 1t the budget process should be
simplified. He was of the opin ion that some departments ~ere being penalized
more than others, that there ,,ere r,o rewards for efficiency. He s ·i.1 ted full
di sclosure of expenses and r e ve nue should be incorporated into the process.
ln response lo some of his co wnents, City Manager Fraser explained the process
of amendments to the adopted budge t and further explained that some of the
di sc repa ncies me n tioned by Mr . Bennett we.-e the result of the consolidation of
ten d epartments to seven d ur ing 1989. Mr . Fraser offered to spend time with
Mr . Aennett explain i ng th e details of the budget. Hr . Be nnett was concerned
that it might not be pos s ible for Council to spend sufficient time studying
th e hu d')et before its ad op io n . He was ass ured that between now and the com-
p let ion of the budget retrea t , Council would be very familiar with the budget.
Mr. Ue nnett questioned the f und s allocated to the City Manager's budget and
thi s wa s e xpla i ned in depth .
Don Seymour, 4750 South Lipan Street , ex pressed c oncern over the proposed cuts
of fireme n and poli cem en . He e ncouraged Council to ride with police officers
to ge l J s e n se of their needs a nd d u ies .
COUNCIL MEMBER CLAYTON MOVED, AND IT WAS SECONDED, TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC
HEAR ING.
Ayes :
fla ys:
Abstain:
Absent:
Moti o<1 c arried, and the
Coun c i l Me mb ers Koltay, Hathaway,
Habeni c ht, Cl ayton, Van Dyke
llone
rlone
Hone
Pttb l i L llearing closed.
II. Ordinances , Rc s ol~tions and Motions
Kozacek, Byrne,
(a) Oireclo,· Wan u~h prn s c nl ed a recommendation from the Department of
Commun ity De velop111e nt to adop a bi ll for an ordin anc e approv in g an agreement
for an encroacllment of an ex i s ting s tructure located at 3200 South Zuni
StrPe t. He explained tha th e s tructure ex t ends nin e feet in to a totally I
unimprnved right -of-way . li e st<Hed tlie right-of-way had been obtained througl,
annexation from Arapahoe County. Al some point after that the City issued a
permit for constniction of this bl1 ildi ng, based on survey information which
more t han likely was the result of inaccurate surveys done at the turn of the
centu r y . Staff has reviewed the matter and recommends granting the encroach -
me nt , wh i ch appear s t o be the simplest means of clearing title for the proper-
ty ow ne r. The ma tter of vacati on of t he property versus approval of the en-
croachment \'las di scussed . and 1-11·. Wanush explained the problems with vacating
the ri ght-of-v1ay. He did conf i rm that future use of the right-of-way would
I
I
Englewood City Council Hinutes
September 18, 1989 • Page 7
no t be required by the Cily . Mr . Wanush assured Council that before the or-
Ii n an er: is presented for secon d r ea ding, an effort will be made to contact the
owne r o f t he adjo i ni ng proper ty .
The Ci t.y C 1 erk r ead Cou ~r i I I' il • '.i;i . 33, introduced by Council Member Hath-
away , "'' I i t 1 ed:
A Bl LL I Oil AN ORDINA NC E APPROV lN(' AN AGREEMENT GRANTING AN ENCROACHMENT FOR A
STRU CT UllE I NTO AN UN I HP ROVED POr:.TIO N OF RIGHT -OF-WAY IN THE 3200 BLOCK OF
SOUTH WV AtlDO T STREfT EXTEND ED rn 1' ·: CITY OF ENGLEWOOD
COUNCIL MEMBER HATHAWAY HOV EO , ANO TWAS SECONDED, TO APPROVE ON FIRST READ-
ING COUNCIL BILL NO. 33, SERl t S OF i 989.
Cou ncil Member Habeni ch t expresse~ her co ncern about approving this without
•· -~ i n formation from th e pr'!Pe rty owne r ; s he also felt it would be advan-
l~~1e n 11 s for the City to h av e tin ~ prope rty o n the ta)( rolls. Hr. Fraser ex-
p l ~i ,11-d that thi s action 1-i ; an e ffo r t t o clear the owner 's title and make it
a n~,1 f er o f public record t hat the bu i lding extends nine feet into the public
ri· '-o f •way. Ms. Habe n icht •1a s ~ss tired that contact would be made with the
pr . ,·ty o~mer before final c on s i d e1·ation of the ord inance.
Vot e re s ults:
Ayes:
Nay s:
Ab s tai n:
Absent:
Mot io n c an·ied.
Co unci l Me mb ers Koltay, Hathaway, Kozacek, Byrne,
Ma bcni clit, Clayton, Va n Dyke
!lon e
!l one
Ilen e
(b) City Man ager Fra ser presented a recommen dation from the Library and
Re c ,·· a t i o n Se rv ices Dep artme nt l o ad op t a resolution approving the letter of
acp·r>em enl bet1,,ee n t he City and J1·v in g library Network to expend $65,000 in
f e rl eral g,·a nt f unds. Mr . frdser explai n ed this would provide computer access
to a va ~l number of co mp ut e r systems throughout the metro area. The Resolu -
l i on wa s ass igned a n umber and r ea d by tit le:
RE SOLUT 011 NO. 51 , SER I ES OF 1939
I\ RESO LU TI ON APPROVING Tl1E LETlE R OF AG RE EMENT BETW EEN CITY OF ENGLEWOOD ANO
IRVW G LIB RARY NEHIO RK rO R TII E PU RPO SE OF CONNECTING THE DYNIX LIBRARIES INTO
THE I RV lflG LIBRARY IIETI-/ORK.
COUNCIL HEHBER HABENICHT MOVED, ANO IT WAS SECONDED, TO APPROVE RESOLUTION NO.
51, SERIES OF 1989.
Discus si on ensued concern i ng the service. Council Member Koltay asked if any
ad dit i~nal mo n i es a r e required; Mr. Fraser responded $10,500. Vote results:
Ayes: Cou n cil Mem bers Koltay, Hathaway, Kozacek, Byrne,
liabe nicht, Cl ay lon, Van Dyke
Nay s : Non e
Englewood City Council Minutes
S~ptember 18, 1989 • Page 8
Abstain: None
/Ibsen t: ti one
Hotio11 c an-ied .
12 . Ci ty Manager's Re por t
Mr. I ,·as c r . ,-eferring to d r ep or t wh ich had been prov ided Council, advised
t ha 1 1 he purp ose of tl1c r,ipo r l ,ra s to respond in detail to comments made by
Off i«••· Madonna at t he Ci ty Counc il mee t i ng on September 5, 1989, concerning
th e u11 res o l ved neg otia t ion matters. Mr. Fraser refuted several statements
which had been made by Officer Madonna on beha 1f of the Englewood Pol ice Bene-
fit As soci a tion, specifically about t he Senior Pat1 ·ol Officer position, turn -
over ,-ales, inadeq uate training a nd eq u i pment. In addition, Mr . Fraser com-
mented upon t he st atus o f wages in Englewood as compared to other metro cit-
ies , which is at t he median. He fe lt the report would provide Council with
ad e quat e in f or mation t o respond to any a rgumen ts posed by the Pol i ce
11,so ciat i on .
13. City Attorney's Report
Mr . Gr in ~ r e quested a moti on fo r a ppeal of the Leydon decision.
COUNCIL MEMBER KOZACEK MOVED, AND IT WAS SECONDED, TO APPEAL
SION. Len gthy discussion c ns u~d . Vo te results :
Ayes: (rnrnc i 1 ·!emb er s Ko ltay , Hathaway ,
llays:
Ab s ta i n :
/lb sc11t :
Motion c,11 .-icd .
Habe ni cht . Clay ton, Van Dyke
!l one
Ill H:
ll r,ne
14. General Discus s ion
(a ) May~r•s Choi ce
Tl''c LEYDON DECI·
Kozacek, Byrne,
l·hyo1 · Van Dy ke mad e the f11l l o1<i119 s ta tem ent rega rding major co nc erns of Coun·
cil l"e l Jt i ve t o th e 1990 1•.<l g P t:
"Gcl"ore 1-,c go i n to th i s ./'-··••··~ uud<je l re treat, would like to say a few
th i ng s about wh.t I perc i•e t o b~ s ome of t he major issues confronting
th is c ur rent council.
I
"Ov e r the pas t 21 mo nt hs , his co1>nc i l has repeatedly addressed citizen I
concerns on reducing expen d i t ures , find ing ways to i ncrease government
effi c iency. and i mp ro ve l i1 1es of co mmun ication between the average citizen
and city ad min is trat ion . l oni ght . I feel we can emphatically state that
great strides have be en made to aodress many of these issues in a positive
an d effective manner . l he city adin inistration has changed dramatically,
d epa1·tme n t s hav e been reorg an ized t o better meet today 's changing needs,
budg e t s have been redu ced, ch ecks and balances have been instilled to
promote more effic i ent exp e11 d iture s an d to increase operational
effectiveness.
I
I
Englewood City Council ~tnutes
September 18, 1989 • Page 9
"It has been a diffi cu lt road to haul , sa 1 es tax revenuP.:. h. ve been below
projections for ov er three years, wi th use taxes equally depress r i . All
o f these fa ctors are clearly associated with the compounding effe ts of
our f lat economy .
"loni gh t , I would li ke t o pub li cly s tate that this council plans to do
eve r yt h ing possible to hold fa s t on raising pro perty and sales taxes for
fi sca l year 1990 . We are ded icated to continually look for additional
way s lo reduce exp endi tu r ~s and i mprove the revenue base by studying
altern ative resourc es. •le il re also very interested in maintaining our
cur ren t leve l ~f ci ty s erv i ces.
"All of t hes e thi ng s cant ~ aL compli shed if the city is capable of
imp l e111e nt i n9 a reasonabl e emp loye e salary raise. The city's offer of a 2%
ac.-o ss the boa r d salary i11uea se is consistent with salary raises provided
ttn·ough o ut the metropol i tan area . Even the 2 . 7% increase as recommended
by t he Ca r eer Service wa s accepted by the city as a reasonable propos ·.1.
No1·1 that the employee association and the Englewood pol ice association
h~v c request ed th e c i ty t o ta ke t he i ssue to an election, we are faced
~i t h th e poss ibi l i ty of ha v ing to find an add i tional three-quarters of a
1.ii 11 ion do llars .
"O n Novem be r 7th , th ~ issue of salary compensation will be on thP ballot
fo 1· pu blic considerati on . Shou l d the residents of the City of Englewood
ch oo:;e to sup port the cmµlo_v ees' request for a 6o/. raise, I feel the
fu nding of these addition a l mor.ie s ca n o n l y be provided, in the
sh or t-te1·m. t hrough coun ::·1 •s s up po rt of increased taxes.
"tJ m . on to the ma ttcr o f 1 ~1 rnc il 11e a 1th insurance.
"AL t he t ime hea lt h i11s1wdr1 ce ben efi ts we re appropriated, council was
ad v i s ed by our at t orney that the inclusion of these benefits was not In
di rect v io lat ion of [ng l m,iood's city charter . lhere was al s o subst:J.ntial
di scus sion among c oun ci l membe r s at la s t year 's budget retreat as to the
v i ability o f imp lementi ng this poli cy . At t tat time there was no vocal
opposition pr esent ed by any one of the seven member counc i 1. Si nee then,
it ha s become quite a vocal i ssue 1-li th Erica Byrne leading the charge in
oppos i t ion. Se ver a l po in ts o f vi e,,, ha ve been presented by employees,
e s teem res i dents of the c it_v, and o thers who publicly state the perceived
i nappropria t eness t o e xpend monie ~ for council health insu r ance .
"Bac au se of his pub lic o u ry , y our council proposed the creation of a
citize ns t as force to s t w.l :, th e issue of council compensation in its
e11 i,-e t y. T is ta sk fo1·cc is ab ou t to provide us with their
rr.•,.ommendati on s . a s tom n ·o1•1 they wi ll meet for the last time . All of us
antic i pate r ec eiv in g a dQtail ed repor t of what is acceptable and
ap p ropria e comp ensation for city cou nc i l members. Although health
bene fit s -.ere not a spe cif i c issue of the task force agenda, It is and
co n t in ue s t o be a maj or topic of co ncern.
"A s y our mayor , I would like to recommend that we revisit the issue of
hea lth benefit s a l ong ,~ilh t he recomm endations provided by the task force
Englewood City Council Hinutes
September 18, 1989 -Page 10
on other compc~s at ion i ss ue s at ou r budget retreat. I feel this will
prov i d e an opµo rtun i ty to review and possibly reconsider our original
po si ti on on th e provision of hea l th benefits. I am optimistic that
co un c il will come out o f bu dge t retreat with a much more palatable
re s o l ution of th e i ssu e o f comp e ns at i on and/or benefits for future council
rn cmuers.
"Over the last year a nd~ ha l f , I feel t hat this seven member council has
worked hard, de ~ic at ing much ti me and effort to effectively 2ddress the
operational concern s o f this governmen t. Great strides have occurred
t hrou g h the con sc ient io us effort of each member of council. We aren't
through, as mu ch is yet to be done. We are your elected officials and as
s uch , each one of us i s obligated to provide fair and equitable resolution
to lh e many i ssues fac i ng us. You, the c itizen, speaking out "for or
against" a c i ty propo s a l truly helps us to make better decis lnn s. We are
comm i t t ed to '1i sten and ho pe that in the final analysis we c;;n all look in
th e mirror and say , "Ge e , Eng l ewood really is a great place in which to
I ivq . And may be, ju s t may be, I pl ay e d a positive part in that.•
(b ) Co un c i l Mem b,,.··s Ch o ice
( i ! Co uncil Me mbe r Ko l t ~y reques t ed that staff clarify information
provid e d in t l1 e prop o s ed bud g et con c erning st affing cuts to Patrol and Com-
mun ic a t i o ns si nc e nu mber s J nder "Signi fican t Chan ge s" {page 352) do not equate
to t hose s how n on pa ge 353 , "Pe ~s onnel St affing Comparis on -Full Time
Empl o_y e e s ."
(i i ) Counc il Mem ber Ko z acek aske d that staff prepare alternatives
to cut i r1,1 pa .-cl o ffi cci-s for c nns ide rat ion at budget retreat.
(i ii) Co 11nc i l Me rn be ,· By rn e rebut l ed the Mayor's comments concern-
ing I li c me d i~a l /d e n tal i n s 11 1·a nc c l1aving bee n discussed at last year's budget
r e tr~.,L. Sli s taled tt ,.t. th e !JuJ g et approved for 1989 did not i nclude health
in ~11 r ;,1,c ~ m · d ~11 t a l in s u r a nce , no for i ndivid uals and not for family members.
Sti c c t a l r:rJ l ha l was do ne by a n as ,,nd me n l to t he budget made in late December.
(i v ) Co unc il k in!>("· 'l a be n i c llt expressed regret that the May ri r's
c o1111ne n t ;, c on c e rning t he hud yc l ,,nd Co unc i l 's major concerns were not made
~,hile mo r e uf t he pu bl i r 1·1a p ,·e s e rit. She corn me nted upon the high quality of
c i tiz e ns ~10 had p re sen t •d t he ir v i ws during t he pu blic hearing.
(v) Coun c i l M mbe r Koz a .k r eq ues ted s taff to research and provide
d at a co nce rn ing a pre vio u s Co ,rn c i l 's dec i si o n to allow council members the
bc nc f i of f 11ll ph y s i c al e -. .. ninati o ns . He felt the information should be
g i ve n to t he Counci l Compe nsati o n Co mm i ttee for their review.
(vi) Cou ncil Memb e r Cl ayton noted that a discussion was held at
' st year's budget r e tre a t co nce rning in suran c e coverage for Council Members;
•:.1rthe r . tha t the d c i s i on ,-,as matl e at the budget retreat to provide this
~overa 9 '.!. He explai ne d tt,a t l he He s o lllt ion a pproved in llecember, 1988, was to
ippro pL"ia l e tt,e fund $ fo 1· previ o us l y approve d expenditures .
I
I
I
I
Englewood City Council Ninutes
September 18, 1989 -Page II
JS . Adjournment
COUNCIL HEHB[R KOZACEK HOVEO TO ADJOURN.
The meeting adjourned at 10:33 p.~.