CLEARLAKE — The Clearlake City Council continued its discussion of the 2011-12 fiscal year to its next regular meeting, 6 p.m. June 23 at Clearlake City Hall. Public safety was a primary concern expressed by members of the council and the public in discussing the upcoming year”s budget.
As a result of input at a May budget workshop revisions to the budget were proposed as follows: Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for all employees (except those who have an at-will employment agreement) was revised at 2 percent rather than the 2.5 percent originally proposed. Interim City Administrator Steve Albright said that a 2 percent COLA represents an approximate $52,000 expense, 60 percent of which he said includes COLAs for police department employees.
Council member Judy Thein said while she thinks the employees are doing a great job and deserve increases, now is not the time to budget COLAs. She said the City of Clearlake is currently facing a 20 percent employment rate and that senior citizens have not received a COLA in several years either. She said that employees still receive longevity increases, which she indicated is sufficient at this time.
Two additional sworn officers were included in budget revisions. As proposed, the positions would be funded partially by the General Fund ($20,000) and the remainder from Prop. P funds, a local tax initiative for funding police services. Total expense would be about $124,000 for two officers including benefits. Because of training requirements, the officers would be qualified for solo patrol no earlier than January 2012.
“If this budget goes through, I”m happy to see additional officers, but I understand that the rest of the city has to survive,” Interim Chief of Police Craig Clausen said. “It”s important for the public to know we”re doing the best we can.”
Thein, who had lobbied adamantly during this and previous discussions for an increase in police officer personnel, said that while she was grateful for two additional officers, she still thinks that the city can afford one more.
Eliminating the re-hiring of a laid-off maintenance worker for the Public Works Department results in about a $20,000 savings, which Albright said has been directed toward the police department for the additional officers. However, after much discussion by the council and the public, road conditions and other Public Works concerns came to be considered as public safety issues as well. “I support (Chief Clausen) and his staff but we need to have a Public Works crew, too,” Doug Herren, Public Works Superintendent, said.
Thein indicated that she was in no hurry to pass a budget and suggested going through the document line-by-line to see if more funds could be freed-up or found.
Another topic of discussion was changing the position of finance director from a part-time position to a full-time position. Thein said that the City of Clearlake is not responsible for many of the services (i.e. fire, water, Special Districts, etc.) that other cities do that would require a full-time finance director and that she would prefer to see the position remain as part-time.
Mayor Joyce Overton disagreed and said that the city needs a full-time finance director. However, she suggested that the council budget for a full-time employee but keep it as is until the new city administrator has a chance to evaluate the needs of the position.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call directly at 994-6444, ext. 14.
