HomeMy WebLinkAboutDirection - On the Administration of Councilmember Compensation and BenefitsIWEEnNG DATE
ES a TINUEDTO 9- cXT bl
CITY OF PALM D UTUSEB ro 2ND READING
OFFICE OF THE CITY
STAFF REPORT
REQUEST: Provide direction to staff on the administration of City
Councilmember compensation and benefits.
SUBMITTED BY: John Wohlmuth, City Manager
DATE: August 23, 2012
CONTENTS: Staff Report
Council Compensation Committee Recommendation
Council Compensation Committee meeting minutes
Survey of Coachella Valley Cities
Council Compensation Committee Recommendation:
The final report of the Council Compensation Committee is attached, along with their
meeting minutes. On August 1, 2012, the committee voted 4-1 to make the following
recommendations for City Council Member Salary and Benefits:
1. Salary shall be $22,500 annually for each Councilmember, to be adjusted per
provisions of Ordinance No. 1139.
2. Pension shall be in accordance with CalPERS.
3. Insurance Benefits shall not exceed $7,500 annually for each Councilmember, to
be adjusted to provide coverage at the second -highest plan for an individual
member, or Councilmember can receive an allowance, which can be converted
to cash.
City Manager Recommendation:
The City Manager's recommendation follows a careful consideration of the Committee's
deliberations and a review of similarly situated communities.
1. Salary shall be $22,500 annually for each Councilmember, to be adjusted per
provisions of Ordinance No. 1139, it is recommended that this change be
effective November 1, 2012.
Staff Report
Council Compensation Committee Recommendation
August 23, 2012
Page 2 of 4
2. Pension shall be in accordance with the City's current and future CalPERS
contracts, providing pension benefits at the same formula as employees.
3. Health and Dental Insurance benefits shall continue to be provided to
Councilmembers and dependants at the same level as that provided to
employees. Councilmembers shall not be eligible to participate in the City's Life
and AD&D Insurance, Long Term Disability coverage, or Vision Coverage Plan.
They may participate in the City's IRS Section 125 Flexible Spending plan as
allowed by federal law. These changes to benefits coverage shall be effective
January 1, 2012.
Background:
At its meeting of April 26, 2012, the City Council established and selected Council
Compensation Committee made up of members of the community. The committee was
charged with developing a recommendation for Councilmember's compensation and
benefits. The committee met on five occasions and requested and received information
from staff, sitting Councilmembers and the public. The committee's minutes, findings
and recommendations are attached.
The City Manager is making a separate recommendation based upon his understanding
of the issues, due to the challenges of implementing and scheduling of Council policy
decisions. The City Manager's recommendation does not address the committee's
salary recommendations, but rather addresses more of the implementation challenges
and a nuance of the health benefits. It also presents staff's findings that some benefits
are less appropriate for the Council.
Staff recommends an effective date of November 1, 2012, for salary changes due to the
schedule required for adopting the necessary Resolution and Ordinance and for such
Ordinance to become effective.
Staff recommends any benefits changes be effective January 1, 2013, because that is
the start of the next plan year for the City. A mid -year change to the benefits design
would be more difficult to manage. Implementation at the plan year change allows for a
clean transition in flexible spending accounts and allows members to choose insurance
plans which are appropriate for them under the new guidelines during open enrollment.
Staff Report
Council Compensation Committee Recommendation
August 23, 2012
Page 3 of 4
Background - Dependant Coverage
The City has historically provided insurance coverage, including dependant coverage, to
employees and council members. As health care costs have increased, many
employers (including many public agencies), have looked for ways to shift more of the
burden of paying premiums to the employee. While many organizations have cost
sharing for premiums, in the public sector it is rarely tied to family size and more often to
a negotiated dollar amount. In many cases the employer provides a total dollar amount
to be used towards the purchase of benefits and employees choose the plan and
coverage that best meets their needs; this might or might not include a payroll deduction
for the employee. A survey of local Cities benefit levels is attached.
Palm Desert's managers and employees have consistently placed a high value on
family coverage and have regularly negotiated to keep it, even if it means reductions in
other areas. Management has been supportive because of the intangible benefits to the
organization. In addition, there have been academic studies which confirm the general
supposition that providing health insurance coverage is a benefit to employers. When
family members do not have adequate insurance coverage they are more likely to
become ill which has a negative effect on worker performance. A study conducted by
Cornell University showed a strong positive impact on job performance, finding that:
"Health insurance coverage did have a significant, positive impact on individual
employees' task performance."
Providing insurance coverage to employees as well as children and spouses assists us
in having an engaged and "present" workforce. Individuals attracted to public service
often have the core values that drive them to provide health insurance to their families.
It is also clearly necessary to remain competitive in recruiting talented professionals for
key positions.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Health Care Reform)
The health care reform legislation passed in May 2010 and upheld by the Supreme
Court in June 2012 may significantly impact our ability to provide a lower tier of benefits
to certain classes. The act contains requirements for employers, beginning in 2014, to
provide certain levels of health care coverage to all employees or be subject to a fine.
This includes coverage for dependants and children up to age 26. Staff is still unsure
whether or not elected officials will be considered "employees" under this law, but if they
are, as they are for IRS purposes, the City may incur a fine if the council member
obtains health insurance from the newly created exchange.
Staff Report
Council Compensation Committee Recommendation
August 23, 2012
Page 4 of 4
If approved, the City Manager's recommendation would utilize the following timetable:
Date
Action
8/23/2012
Staff receives direction from Council based on
Committee report.
9/13/2012
Approve amended Salary Resolution;
First reading of new Council Salary Ordinance
9/27/2012
Second reading of Council Salary Ordinance
9/27/2012
Adopt amended Section 125 Flexible Benefits Plan
(coincides with annual Open Enrollment period)
11 /1 /2012
Salary changes become effective, pay date November 7,
2012.
1/1/2013
New benefits coverage structure takes effect
Fiscal Analysis:
The current Council salary and benefits are accounted for in the FY 2012/2013
budget.
Council Compensation Committee Recommendation would result in
approximately $128,895 in salary and $12,887 in benefits savings annually, for a
total of $141,782 annually and $63,541 in FY 2012/2013.
City Manager Recommendation would result in approximately $128,895 in salary
and $2,503 in benefits savings annually for a total of $131,398 in savings
annually and $59,248.79 in FY 2012/2013.
CITY COUN90CTION
Submitted by: APPROVED,v�/� DE1VtEfl
RECEIVED OTHER
MEET G DATE
AYES: SdYI I
NOES:
N M. WOHLMUTH, CITY MANAGER SENT:
ABSTAIN:
VERIFIED BY:
Original on File with City ckJrks Office
* By Minute Motion: 1) Set City Council Salary at $22,500
annually; 2) continue consideration of the matter of
benefits to the meeting of September 27, 2012.
CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA
City Council Compensation
Ad Hoc Citizens' Committee
- August 1, 2012 -
Process
At the April 26, 2012, City Council Meeting, the City Council approved establishing a Citizens'
Compensation Committee ("the Committee") to review City Council compensation and bring a
recommendation back to the Council regarding appropriate compensation.
The Committee met five times between May 2012 and August 2012 and considered
comprehensive data compiled by City staff, heard a presentation regarding Council Health
Insurance and Pension Benefits, interviewed each Councilmember, and received a Comparative
Salary Report ("Salary Report") prepared by City staff dated July 18, 2012.
A public hearing was held on July 18, 2012, and input was received from five residents. No
written correspondence was received.
During the review process, each Committee Member evaluated the data independently. The
information was then discussed as a group. At the July 18, 2012, meeting, the Committee voted
on a recommendation and subsequently revised it at its August 1, 2012, meeting.
Findings
1. Palm Desert City Councilmember duties are not defined in the Municipal Code.
2. City Councilmembers choose to spend additional hours in their capacity as a
Councilmember than what appears to be necessary.
3. The City of Palm Desert became a Charter City in 1997 as a cost savings measure, not
as mechanism to increase Council Salary.
4. Council Salary in a General Law City would be $18,816 per year, assuming a 5%
increase each year.
5. The significant increase in Council Salary that occurred in 2007 (from $20,130 to
$42,000) was not tied to an increase in Council responsibilities.
6. The position of Mayor requires an additional time commitment; however, since the
position is rotated yearly, the salary should remain the same as a Councilmember.
7. Current Palm Desert Council Salary is in the 1001h percentile of the Salary Report.
8. The Committee's recommended salary exceeds the 751h percentile of the cities
considered in the Salary Report.
9. Council Salary in 2007 was $20,130.
(Continued on next page.)
City Council Compensation
Ad Hoc Citizens' Committee Recommendation
August 1, 2012
Recommendations
Therefore, the Committee recommends that Salary and Benefits for Palm Desert
City Councilmembers be as follows:
1. Salary shall be $22,500 annually for each Councilmember, to be adjusted per provisions
of Ordinance No. 1139.
2. Pension shall be in accordance with CalPERS.
3. Insurance benefits shall not exceed $7,500 annually for each Councilmember, to be
adjusted to provide coverage at the second -highest plan for an individual member, or
Councilmember can receive an allowance, which can be converted to cash.
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CITY OF PALM DESERT
MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012
12:00 P.M. - NORTH WING CONFERENCE ROOM
73510 FRED WARING DRIVE, PALM DESERT, CA 92260
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Rover convened the meeting at 12:05 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Present:
Member Joan Busick (Alternate)
Vice Chair Dale Gribow
Member Kim Housken
Member Bob Leo
Member Leo Sullivan
Chair Mike Rover
Also Present:
John M. Wohlmuth, City Manager
David J. Erwin, City Attorney
Lori Carney, Human Resources Manager
Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —Meeting of July 18, 2012.
On a motion by Member Sullivan, second by Member Leo, and unanimous vote of the
Committee, the Minutes of July 18, 2012, were approved as presented.
V. FINALIZATION OF RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
- Review of. Draft Findings and Recommendation.
Chair Rover noted that he'd drafted up the document that was provided in the agenda
packets in a bullet -point form for discussion today.
Responding to question about how much the City will be contributing to PERS even if
Council Salary is reduced, Ms. Carney said the City would still continue to contribute 21 %
of the lower salary. However, current Councilmembers' pension will be calculated at the
current highest salary.
Member Housken felt the Recommendation Report should be more comprehensive, so
she worked on an expanded version this morning and provided everyone with a copy.
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CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE MEETING
AUGUST 1, 2012
Because the Committee covered so many things, she wanted the recommendation to
reflect those points. Since drafting the revised version, she'd even thought about more
things she would have added, such as the vote on the recommendation and the issue of
CVAG Compensation.
Committee Members carefully reviewed the revised Findings/Recommendation Report,
asked more questions of staff, and discussed ways to further enhance the subsections
entitled, "Process," "Findings," and "Recommendation" to clarify certain aspects and
provide additional information that would be helpful to City Council when it receives the
report. In response to comment, Mr. Wohlmuth explained that the Committee was
making a recommendation, and he would be doing a staff report to City Council for the
August 23 meeting. He added that there were many implementation issues to be
considered in the process — Ordinances (Nos. 1051 and 1139) will have to be
rescinded/amended, a new one takes two readings and becomes effective 30 days after
date of adoption; Council will need to be informed of other related issues before they
implement anything.
Further responding to the question about Council Salary increases that were received
previously, staff answered Ordinance No. 1139 provides that Council gets the same
increase at the same time as employees; said increases were based on Cost -of -living
Adjustments (COLA) set forth (amounts between 2% and 5%) in the negotiated
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with City employees. Committee Members
discussed the fact that this process was somewhat over -inflated, as most businesses
were no longer giving CPI (Consumer Price Index) increases. Staff pointed out that the
MOU was a four- or five-year agreement and affirmed that Council ultimately approves
the MOU; however, because the CPI was negative one year, no increase was received.
Mr. Wohlmuth stated in that instance, due to the MOU providing a guaranteed 2% to 5%
increase, he opened the MOU with employees, amended it to account for the 0% CPI that
year and look at it for the two-year period. Going forward, Management's been
discussing with employees how future occasions of 0% CPI would be addressed in the
MOU.
Member Leo said he didn't have any problem whatsoever with the employees; his
problem was with the people elected in a "volunteer" position getting the same
percentage increase as employees. He felt that part of the Ordinance be should be
reconsidered.
Ms. Carney said according to what she'd heard Committee Members discuss about how
to adjust the salary going forward based on inflation, she suggested that one of the
recommendations could define inflation and increases based thereon. Because she said
that increases for employees were not always based on inflation per se.
Committee Members discussed how to appropriately define the insurance benefits and
deal with any future increases in the costs of those benefits, being adjusted to provide
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CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE MEETING
AUGUST 1, 2012
coverage for an individual at the second -highest plan cost. Staff offered that salary
increases didn't have to be tied to employees. It was pointed out that the life of a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was four or five years. Since Ordinance No. 1139
was tied to what employees received, their agreement with the City was renegotiated
every four or five years. The 2% to 5% increase was just one MOU, and Council Salary
increases didn't have to be tied to employees at all; Council Salary could be adjusted
based on changes in the CPI from March - March and become effective July 1.
Chair Rover proposed the Committee recommend that future Council Salary increase or
adjustment be tied to the Employees' MOU, as it is currently; and that insurance benefits
also be adjusted to cover the Councilmember at the second -highest plan.
With Committee concurrence, Chair Rover called for a recess at 12:56 p.m. in order for
staff and Member Housken to draft the revised Recommendation Report to be brought
back to the whole Committee for review and approval. He reconvened the meeting at
1:15 P.M.
Following reconvening, Committee Members were each handed a copy of the
revised/updated City Council Compensation Ad Hoc Citizens' Committee
Recommendation Report dated August 1, 2012, and reviewed and discussed the
document, making some further clarification to the language.
Member Leo moved to approve the amended City Council Compensation Ad Hoc
Citizens' Committee Recommendation and subsequent findings that salary and benefits for
Palm Desert City Councilmembers be as follows: 1) Salary shall be $22,500 annually for each
Councilmember, to be adjusted the same as per provisions of Ordinance No. 1139; 2) pension
shall be in accordance with CaIPERS; 3) insurance benefits shall not exceed $7,500 annually
for each Councilmember, to be adjusted to provide coverage at the second -highest plan for an
individual member, or Member can receive an allowance, which can be converted to cash.
Motion was seconded by Member Sullivan and carried by 4-1 vote, with Vice Chair Gribow voting
NO for reasons previously stated. (Copy of the Recommendation Report is attached hereto and
made a part of these minutes as "Exhibit A.")
VI. REMARKS AND COMMENTS BY COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
Member Housken stated for the record that she does appreciate the efforts of the
City Council and believes that they're all doing it for their love and betterment of the City,
not for the money. She said while one of her colleagues felt that the result of this
exercise would be taken as a "slap in the face to the Council," from her own perspective,
this wasn't a punitive process, not meant to be against anything the Council's done; but
they asked the Committee to come up with a number, and it did.
Vice Chair Gribow believed that all Committee Members appreciated everything the City
Council has done. His comment was meant to say that it could be interpreted as a slap
3
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CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE MEETING
AUGUST 1, 2012
in the face, and he honestly believed that some, if not all, Councilmembers will take it that
way.
Member Housken countered that even making that statement was the slap in the face,
because it questioned the reason they're serving on the City Council. She recalled all
Councilmembers saying that it wasn't about the money, and she didn't understand the
comment. She didn't get that feeling from any of them; they recognized that they have
people approaching them but understand it's part of being a politician. In fact,
Councilmember Benson related that she'd been approached to be thanked for what's
been done in the City. She didn't think it was the negative thing that it's been made out
to be.
Member Leo complimented the Committee for being so open and honest with their
discussions, and for coming up with what he considered to be a credible package for the
City Council to consider. He was certain the Committee had accomplished the purpose
for which they were selected.
Member Sullivan agreed and followed up on Member Leo's comment, saying he knew all
six Committee Members had put a lot of time and effort into this process and studied it
well. He went on to commend the involvement of City staff in supplying everything that
the Committee asked for — terrific information that was available for the asking, but one
had to know how and what to ask for in order to obtain it. He reiterated wholehearted
praise for the Committee and City staff for their efforts.
Alternate Member Busick said she pretty much agreed with everything already stated and
also felt the Committee had been amazing. If voting on the matter herself, she would
probably have an issue with the level at which it was being recommended. But she felt
the Committee had given it its best shot, and it was a very respectable position being
taken.
Chair Rover echoed Member Housken's and Member Leo's statements and agreed that
it was a very interesting experience for him — quite different than what he'd expected.
He'd also been very impressed with all the Committee Members and the work put in,
including that by City staff that made the job easier for the Committee.
Vice Chair .Gribow agreed with all of the above, hoped he was wrong and that the
Committee wouldn't live to regret its decision.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Vice Chair Gribow, second by Member Leo, and 5-0 vote of the
Committee, Chair Rover adjourned the meeting at 1:34 p.m.
Ra elle D. Klassen, Recording Secretary
4
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CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE MEETING AUGUST 1, 2012
EXHIBIT "A"
Committee Recommendation Report
5
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CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE MEETING
Process
AUGUST 1, 2012
At the April 26, 2012, City Council Meeting, the City Council approved establishing a Citizens'
Compensation Committee ("the Committee") to review City Council compensation and bring a
recommendation back to the Council regarding appropriate compensation.
The Committee met five times between May 2012 and August 2012 and considered
comprehensive data compiled by City staff, heard a presentation regarding Council Health
Insurance and Pension Benefits, interviewed each Councilmember, and received a Comparative
Salary Report ("Salary Report") prepared by City staff dated July 18, 2012.
A public hearing was held on July 18, 2012, and input was received from five residents. No
written correspondence was received.
During the review process, each Committee Member evaluated the data independently. The
information was then discussed as a group. At the July 18, 2012, meeting, the Committee voted
on a recommendation and subsequently revised it at its August 1, 2012, meeting.
Findings
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Palm Desert City Councilmember duties are not defined in the Municipal Code.
City Councilmembers choose to spend additional hours in their capacity as a
Councilmember than what appears to be necessary.
The City of Palm Desert became a Charter City in 1997 as a cost savings measure, not
as mechanism to increase Council Salary.
Council Salary in a General Law City would be $18,816 per year, assuming a 5%
increase each year.
The significant increase in Council Salary that occurred in 2007 (from $20,130 to
$42,000) was not tied to an increase in Council responsibilities.
The position of Mayor requires an additional time commitment; however, since the
position is rotated yearly, the salary should remain the same as a Councilmember.
Current Palm Desert Council Salary is in the 100th percentile of the Salary Report.
The Committee's recommended salary exceeds the 75th percentile of the cities
considered in the Salary Report.
Council Salary in 2007 was $20,130.
(Continued on next page.)
N
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CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE MEETING
Recommendations
AUGUST 1, 2012
Therefore, the Committee recommends that Salary and Benefits for Palm Desert
City Councilmembers be as follows:
1. Salary shall be $22,500 annually for each Councilmember, to be adjusted the same as
per provisions of Ordinance No. 1139.
2. Pension shall be in accordance with CaIPERS.
3. Insurance benefits shall not exceed $7,500 annually for each Councilmember, to be
adjusted to provide coverage at the second -highest plan for an individual member, or
Councilmember can receive an allowance, which can be converted to cash.
7
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CITY OF PALM DESERT
4K-, Lq�j MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2012 - 2:00 P.M.
ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE ROOM
I. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION OF MEMBERS - City Manager John M. Wohlmuth
Mr. Wohlmuth convened the meeting at 2:01 p.m. and welcomed all the Members.
Ms. Klassen administered the Oath of Office to all Committee Members present.
Present:
Member Dale Gribow
Member Kim Housken
Member Bob Leo
Member Mike Rover
Member J. Leo Sullivan
Also Present:
John M. Wohlmuth, City Manager
David J. Erwin, City Attorney
Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk
Absent:
Alternate Member Joan Busick
Self -introductions were made by the Members, as follows:
- Mike Rover, Attorney in Palm Desert practicing Real Estate and Business Law, after
having grown up here.
- Leo Sullivan, 16-year resident, formerly working with a couple of local banks and owning
business known as Sullivan Maintenance Company. Retired four and a half years ago.
- Dale Gribow, practicing Attorney here and full-time Palm Desert resident for 20 years
after having a part-time home in Palm Springs for 17 years. Parents had a home here,
and he visited the area frequently since the 1950s observing growth of the desert.
- Bob Leo, 17-year Palm Desert resident. Currently at Cal State University
San Bernardino, both its San Bernardino and Palm Desert Campuses. Will be retiring on
June 14, 2012.
- Kim Housken, grew up in Palm Desert, and very happy continuing to live here raising her
family.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None
MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE MEETING MAY 30, 2012
II. COMMITTEE'S DESIRE TO ESTABLISH A CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR
A. Nominations
Committee Members discussed the need and desire for Chair and a Vice Chair,
how many meetings would be necessary to conduct, how much additional time
would be required for the Chair and Vice Chair, and how the Committee would like
to structure the process of formulating its recommendation to the City Council.
Member Sullivan nominated Member Mike Rover as Chair for the City Council
Compensation Ad Hoc Citizens' Committee. Nomination was seconded by Member Leo and
carried by unanimous vote.
Chair Rover nominated Member Dale Gribow for the position of Vice Chair for the City
Council Compensation Ad Hoc Citizens' Committee. Nomination was seconded by Member
Sullivan and carried by unanimous vote.
Mr. Wohlmuth noted that First and Second Alternate Members were appointed to
the Committee by the City Council: Pat Pratt and Joan Busick, respectively.
However, Mr. Pratt had declined the appointment because of scheduling conflicts.
Ms. Busick was out of town today for this meeting but would return next week.
Committee Members were asked whether or not they desired Alternate Member
Busick to participate in the meetings going forward in case there were any regular
Member absences, the Alternate Member could fill in during such instances.
With Committee concurrence, Members desired Alternate Member Busick to participate
in the meetings from this point forward so that she could fill in with full voting rights should
any regular Member be absent during the process. (Quorum of the Committee is
established with three [3] of the five [5] Members present.)
III. DISCUSSION OF PROCESS.
A. Does Committee wish to interview Councilmembers? Others?
Members discussed interviewing Councilmembers and how it would be
accomplished.
Chair Rover moved to proceed with interviewing Councilmembers as part of the activity
the Committee will undertake to gather information about establishing salary and benefits for City
Councilmembers, individual interviews with a set of standard questions to be scheduled with
each Councilmember on 20-minute intervals at some point in the future during this process.
Motion was seconded by Gribow and carried by unanimous vote.
2
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CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE MEETING
IV. DISCUSSION OF BROWN ACT/OPEN MEETING REQUIREMENTS -
City Attorney David J. Erwin
MAY 30, 2012
Mr. Erwin provided a general overview of the Ralph M. Brown Act, enacted to
assure the public that all legislative body considerations, deliberations, and actions
occur in an open meeting, with agendas posted including all matters to be
considered no less than 72 hours prior to the meeting. He emphasized the
requirement that all discussion and consideration of matters under the jurisdiction
of the Committee are to be held during the posted public meeting and not
elsewhere or through electronic means (i.e., Internet). He offered to answer any
questions at any time.
Staff was requested to provide Members with a copy of the City's Technology and
Electronic Communications Policy - City Ordinance No. 1234.
V. DISCUSSION REGARDING THE ROLE OF STAFF
City Manager John M. Wohlmuth
A. Does Committee wish to have Minutes taken?
Mr. Wohlmuth explained now that the Committee had elected a Chair and Vice
Chair, staff's role would be to support the Committee, obtaining any information it
requests, investigating/researching relevant matters, preparing staff reports as
necessary, posting the meeting agendas, and preparing the minutes for the
meetings. He also offered to provide access to any other City staff members that
the Committee would request (e.g. Human Resources Manager or Finance
Director) and be the point of contact for coordinating all those requests. He went
on to say that as a Brown Act Committee, minutes will be prepared by the City
Clerk and provided to Committee Members for approval as an agenda item for
future meetings.
Ms. Klassen added that in the interest of time, minutes will be prepared in as
efficient a manner as possible to get them back out to the Committee before the
next meeting; they will include relevant facts about an item discussed, along with
the full motion.
Committee Members concurred that Minutes be provided as proposed by staff.
VI. BACKGROUND INFORMATION - City Manager John M. Wohlmuth
At the beginning of the meeting, Committee Members were provided with a packet
of information that included: 1) Copy of Government Code Section 36516 - City
Council Compensation; 2) City of Palm Desert Charter; 3) City Council Staff
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CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE MEETING MAY 30, 2012
Reports on establishment of the Compensation Committee dated April 26 and
May 10, 2012; 4) Coachella Valley City Council Salary Survey that contains
population and general fund budget for each City, plus a Statutory Calculation for
Palm Desert from 1998 to date; 5) Palm Desert City Council Compensation and
Benefit Table; 6) City Council Monthly Calendars for May 2011 - April 2012;
7) 2012 City Council Committee Assignments list; 8) City Ordinance No. 1139.
Mr. Wohlmuth discussed the difference between a General Law and a Charter City
and that the City of Palm Desert Charter was approved by voters in 1997. The
Charter allows Palm Desert's City Council to have greater control over municipal
affairs, one of those being Council compensation. In Palm Desert, all five
Members of the City Council rotate the position of Mayor amongst themselves and
are all paid the same salary; whereas, some other local cities have an elected
Mayor that may receive a higher salary.
Committee Members asked questions about considering a higher salary or bonus
for the Mayor and what other stipends Councilmembers may receive as they serve
on other entities' boards. It was pointed out that different organizations have
different meeting schedules, and they set the amount of a stipend provided, if any.
Palm Desert City Councilmembers go through their list of Committee Assignments
annually after the Mayoral rotation.
Contents of the aforementioned packet were reviewed in detail, including means
of calculating the State Guideline that is applied to General Law Cities, specifically
Packet Item No. 4 above, illustrating what the Palm Desert Statutory Guideline
figure would be as calculated to date. Currently, Palm Desert City
Councilmembers' monthly stipend is $3,868.51, with a $50/meeting stipend
provided for their service when the Palm Desert Housing Authority is convened as
needed. Further, it was noted that Health Insurance is not considered part of the
compensation per the Government Code, as long as it is the same program
available to all City employees. Upon question, staff offered to research how it
could provide exact premium expenditure information for Councilmembers and
agreed that benefits provided could be reviewed by the Committee as it makes a
recommendation on total compensation. CalPERS is the City's provider of
retirement and contract pool health insurance benefits; and for its purposes, City
Councilmembers are considered employees of the City.
There is no auto allowance provided, but mileage reimbursement is provided at the
IRS rate if Councilmembers or employees use their own vehicle for City business
to drive to a meeting or event outside the City instead of one of the City's fleet
vehicles.
Upon question, Mr. Wohlmuth explained that the COLA (Cost Of Living
Adjustment) had been standard for the City overtime, and was generally based on
the CPI (Consumer Price Index) for the area on an annual basis. Ordinance
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No. 1139 allowed the City Council compensation to also be adjusted by the COLA
offered to the Palm Desert Employees Organization and all employees. For
example, in the coming 2012-2013 Fiscal Year the Employees' Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) provided a 4% COLA, but then 4% is being added to the
employee share of the PERS contribution. Previously, employees paid 1 %, then
4%, now it will be the full 8% Employee Share CalPERS contribution. In FY 2012-
2013, the City's share of the CalPERS contribution is 21 %. This means Council
will also receive a 4% COLA on their salary but will contribute that 4% to CalPERS.
In answer to question about why Palm Desert elected to become a Charter City,
Mr. Wohlmuth affirmed that it was not done in order to change the Council's
salaries. He went on to explain that at that time, he was the staff person
responsible for drafting the Charter and getting it on the ballot. The biggest issue
for the City then was having a long list of capital projects to undertake (e.g. roads,
parks), and while not expressly stated in the Charter, establishing itself as a
Charter City allowed Palm Desert opportunity to opt out of prevailing wage
requirements for certain projects that were paid for with general fund dollars as
opposed to Federal, State, or Redevelopment dollars. Opting out of prevailing
wage requirements was the primary driving force to become a Charter City in
1997. Additionally, he believed there was a subsequent feeling that the Charter
would perhaps allow more local control overthe State attempting to take resources
from the City.
Responding to question by Committee Members, staff said that the Committee
could look at Council Compensation in any manner it wished to formulate a
recommendation —either looking at what the Committee believes Councilmembers
should be making, or assuming that the present rate is appropriate, subject to
evidence to suggest that it should be lowered. Committee Members agreed that
they would proceed after obtaining and reviewing additional information to assist
in their deliberations.
Chair Rover proposed interviewing Councilmembers after reviewing all the
information the Committee should and wishes to consider.
Upon question about Councilmembers scheduling specific office hours at City Hall
and if those times are calendared, Mr. Wohlmuth answered that the majority of the
Council schedules specific appointments with constituents and calendars these
events. However, he offered that if a Councilmember happens to be in the office
unscheduled for any other meeting when a constituent calls or stops in, the official
will take time to speak with that person, but it would probably not be calendared.
Further, staff responded that Councilmembers typically did not post a set schedule
of open office hours. Additionally, staff felt it would be difficult to calculate the
overall time spent by Councilmembers, either when they're in their City Hall Office
or out in the community with the public.
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Committee Members discussed issue of time spent, agreeing that it is ultimately
up to the voters if they're unhappy with the responsiveness of their
Councilmembers, yet it is the Committee's responsibility to recommend a pay rate
or salary based on the research it can do to establish same.
Follow-up Requests from the Background Packet: Mr. Wohlmuth agreed to provide as
much information to the Committee as it requests and to call upon him with any questions
that may arise between meetings, and he will incorporate responses into the next agenda
and packet.
Staff agreed to provide per diem/stipend provided to Councilmembers in their
service on various outside entities.
2. With regard to reviewing each City Councilmembers' calendars as provided in
30-day format, staff was requested and agreed to provide a weekly format for each
Councilmember for the specified 12-month time period (May 2011 - April 2012) for
the next meeting.
3. In response to Committee request, staff agreed to provide a means by which
attendance and length of meeting at the various City meetings Councilmembers
attend can be illustrated.
4. Staff agreed to provide Committee Members with the City Council Minutes at the
time Ordinance No. 1139 was introduced and adopted in 2007.
VII. MEETING SCHEDULE
A. Discussion of Public Input.
B. Schedule of Public Input Meeting and Advertisement.
Committee Members discussed the need, manner of obtaining, and the timing of
scheduling a specific public input session.
Mr. Wohlmuth noted that the City does maintain a website where announcements
could be posted, and there are other tools that may be enlisted to solicit public
input - the City also has both a Facebook and a Twitter account for marketing and
a Twitter account for traffic alerts. Alternatively, Committee Members can gather
information from residents as they're around town shopping or doing other
business, and interested members of the public can submit a letter or e-mail to the
City that can be distributed to the Committee for consideration.
Answering the question about what sort of deadline the Committee was under to
make its recommendation, Mr. Wohlmuth said it was up to the Committee to take
whatever time it felt necessary. As for the budget, he said the Fiscal
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Year 2012-2013 Budget has been prepared, been through three City Council Study
Sessions for review and is balanced currently. Budget goes into effect on July 1,
scheduled to be approved at the City Council Meeting on June 28, with the
Council's salary contained in the balanced budget to be presented at that meeting.
If the salary were to be lowered, it would not present a problem.
Committee Members discussed their upcoming obligations and availability in the
coming 30 - 45 days in order to set a schedule of future meetings.
With Committee concurrence, two future Committee meetings were scheduled for
4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 6, and Wednesday, June 20, in the Administrative
Conference Room.
Member Sullivan moved to set a time limit for Oral Communications and speakers on
agenda items at three (3) minutes each. Motion was seconded by Member Leo and carried by
unanimous vote, with the understanding that additional time may be granted at the Committee's
discretion on a case -by -case basis.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
Upon a motion by Sullivan, second by Gribow, and unanimous vote of the Committee,
Chair Rover adjourned the meeting at 3:50 p.m. to the next one scheduled for Wednesday,
June 6, 2012, at 4:00 p.m. in the Administrative Conference Room.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 - 4:00 P.M. - ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE ROOM
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Rover convened the meeting at 4:00 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Present:
Member Joan Busick (Alternate)
Vice Chair Dale Gribow
Member Kim Housken
Member Bob Leo
Member J. Leo Sullivan
Chair Mike Rover
Also Present:
John M. Wohlmuth, City Manager
David J. Erwin, City Attorney
Lori Carney, Human Resources Manager
David Hermann, Management Analyst/P.I.O.
Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk
111. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —Meeting of May 30, 2012.
Ms. Klassen noted for the record that she wished to make a change in the first paragraph
of page 5, sixth line, to "4%" from the 5% figure in the draft set of Minutes provided with
the packet. She said she'd gotten some clarification from her colleagues about the
amount of the employee share of the CalPERS contributions previously paid by
employees. Therefore, the corrected sentence would read, "Previously, employees paid
1 %, then 4%, now it will be the full 8% Employee Share CalPERS contribution."
On a motion by Vice Chair Gribow, second by Member Sullivan, and unanimous vote of
the Committee, the Minutes were approved as presented with the correction noted above.
With Committee concurrence, Chair Rover suspended the agenda at this point in
order to take up Sections V/l and Vlll, to accommodate the presenting staff
member's schedule. Please see that portion ofthe Minutes forresulting discussion
and action. Following that presentation, the Committee resumed the agenda as
presented.
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JUNE 6, 2012
V. DISCUSSION REGARDING STIPENDS PROVIDED BY OTHER GOVERNMENTAL
ENTITIES.
Mr. Wohlmuth reviewed the table provided in the agenda packet entitled, "Per Diem Paid
by Various Organizations." He called attention to the fact that there was presently no
Palm Desert Councilmember serving on the South Coast Air Quality Management District
Board (SCAQMD) or on the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG); it
was possible in the future that a Councilmembers could be on either one of these,
however. He noted that the Cove Communities Services Commission was a body
established by Palm Desert and its neighboring jurisdictions, Rancho Mirage and Indian.
Wells, to review and find mutual benefit from the similar Police and Fire contracts each
city had with the County; two Councilmembers are appointed but no stipends are offered.
In response to question about whether or not the City ever considered absorbing the
stipends provided into the General Fund to offset costs instead of being paid to the
individual, since this service was part of their job, he believed it was an interesting idea
but didn't think it had ever been considered. He added that oftentimes the stipend could
cover a representative's mileage to/from a meeting for events, such as the Riverside
County Transportation Commission (RCTC), that are held in Riverside and often extend
past lunchtime. He noted that there were bylaws of those organizations to be considered
as well. Responding to further question, he said that in the case of RCTC Meetings,
CVAG Members can participate in a vanpool of elected officials from this area. He added
that if the per diem was for mileage in addition to service, the City wouldn't allow taking
a City vehicle for the meeting. He explained that payments reflected on the sheet being
discussed came from the named entities and not from the City, possibly as an incentive
for appointed members to attend the various meetings. He said possibly another way to
account for the stipends would be to deduct them from a Councilmember's salary as
opposed to the City telling those outside organizations that Palm Desert's members won't
get a stipend.
Answering the question about whether or not all the various Committees required a
Councilmember, Mr. Wohlmuth said the JPAs (Joint Powers Authorities) that the City
belongs to require Councilmembers to be their participants. This was true for CVAG,
RCTC, and the Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention and Visitors
Authority, in addition to others.
A point was offered that there may be redundancy in the way the City's own advisory
boards are administered. The question was asked if Councilmembers needed to serve
on these bodies if there were already citizen members appointed to make their
recommendations to the City Council for a decision. In order to consider City Council
Salaries, one had to take the workload into consideration.
Mr. Wohlmuth responded that he felt the need developed more as a desire from many
of those Committees/Commissions to have a Council liaison; they were not participating
Committee Members but were there to hear the debate and respond to questions. He
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confirmed that they are not paid separately for this service and went on to say that it was
something the Palm Desert Council had historically done. Committee Members agreed
that some Councilmembers were more active than others with regard to this
responsibility. They also pointed out that some Councilmembers volunteered their time
to serve on various community organization boards, which was a different situation.
Further discussion ensued about the list entitled, "City of Palm Desert - 2012 City Council
Committee Assignments," and Mr. Wohlmuth explained that Councilmembers go through
the list annually, ask for volunteers, and then designate specific Councilmembers to
attend the various meetings. Some appointments require the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem.
He noted that generally speaking, each Councilmember brings with them a specific area
of interest or experience, and that is usually taken into account as the Councilmembers
decide amongst themselves who will cover each assignment. He added that they can
also volunteer in other community activities, but it is up to them to decide (e.g. Shelter
From the Storm Board, College of the Desert Foundation Board). He affirmed that there
is no requirement that a Councilmember be on a specific number of committees; it usually
amounted to personal interest and schedule. Historically, Palm Desert has had a lot of
individuals who have retired from theirfirst profession and then became Councilmembers,
which meant they had time during the day to attend various functions, as opposed to
larger Southern California cities where there were more Councilmembers that had a full-
time career outside their city responsibilities. In answer to further question, he agreed
that the City Council determines its own workload based on its own time — they're not
required to do some of the listed things, but they feel it beneficial to attend committee
meetings. Responding to further comment, he said the City Council asks for and likes
that liaisons be appointed to the City's Committees and Commissions — in keeping with
their interests.
It was pointed out that there was difficulty distinguishing between a Councilmember's true
workload and what they do, because it seemed to be two different things. Comment was
made that If a Councilmember is elected to make decisions relating to welfare of the
citizens, everything related to that is part of his/her workload. A question was asked as
to what a Councilmember contributes to the "welfare of the community" by attending all
of the City Committee and Commission Meetings when they themselves have
appointment power to place people on those bodies.
In response with regard to City Committees and Commissions, it was felt that City
Councilmembers can bring information back to the Council, and they certainly weigh in
with the Council's perspective when they're attending those meetings. Some find that to
be helpful. Staff confirmed that most of the other outside organizations' appointments are
voting positions. Further responding to questions about mileage reimbursement versus
use of a City fleet vehicle to events either within the City, Coachella Valley, or beyond, it
was dependent upon the per diem, if any, and the rules of the organization providing the
per diem. For instance, Mr. Wohlmuth stated he'd not had to sign off on a mileage
reimbursement request for anyone attending the Jacqueline Cochran Airport Meeting, but
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JUNE 6, 2012
he was also aware that a staff person has taken the Councilmember in a City vehicle to
that Meeting. Their travel was then expended by the City for its vehicle and fuel.
Upon question about whether or not certain City Committees and Commissions are
required to have a Councilmember representative, Mr. Wohlmuth answered that it was
a mixture of circumstances. If it is a separate outside entity, they have their own bylaws
that may require representation. For example, the Mountains Conservancy is a State
Agency that has requirement for a Palm Desert Councilmember. Committee Members
suggested using this question for the future Councilmember Interviews.
The point was made that if Councilmembers are attending these meetings, they are
gaining knowledge in areas in which they're possibly going to have to make decisions.
Committee Members then went on to discuss the difference between ceremonial and
official activities, noting that both were important and relevant. However, itwas noted that
City Committees and Commissions make recommendations to the Council, and question
was raised about how much back and forth reporting to the Council was really necessary
before the formal recommendation was considered. Perhaps just having Committees of
the City Council would be more effective and efficient, notwithstanding the value of
communication. After reading all the material provided to the Council Compensation
Committee about Councilmembers' time, a comment was made that maybe the City is
overdoing it in this regard — in wanting to give everybody a fair deal, the process can
become overwhelming for all involved. Maybe more balance was warranted.
Committee Members discussed the difference in the amount of time spent by the Mayor
on specific duties — meeting with the City Manager, Department Heads, etc. — or if it was
strictly a ceremonial position. Mr. Wohlmuth responded that in Palm Desert, it was
primarily a ceremonial role. He added that the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tern conduct a
weekly meeting with the City Manager to review responses to constituent concerns.
Further, he observed that Councilmembers have a number in the telephone book, they
get called at all hours, and they try to get back to those callers about their issues in a
timely fashion. It is definitely part of their responsibility, but he was unable to quantify the
amount of time spent on such matters.
Upon inquiry about a specific City Council job description, Mr. Wohlmuth responded that
the Municipal Code has some information about what matters the Council is to handle,
as there is also a separate. Code for the City Manager. Mr. Erwin didn't think the
Municipal Code went into any detail about what is expected; the Government Code may
have some more information.
Responding to statement about the amount of time spent by the City Manager in answer
or support of the City Council's issues, Mr. Wohlmuth said there were recommendations
to be considered. He offered that his position has certain authorities for procurement or
expenditure of funds up to $25,000. He stated that usually the Mayor -Mayor Pro Tern
Meeting revolves around updates on current issues or projects, including review of about
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20 letters/week to the Mayor/City Council on a myriad of concerns (e.g. Smart Meters,
Desert Willow Resident Cards, Utility Undergrounding, etc.) that require a response.
In answer to question, Mr. Erwin urged the Committee Members to be circumspect about
some of the personal appointment information included on the Councilmembers'
calendars provided to the Committee. Although it is public record by having been
provided here, it was informational relative to the amount of time Councilmembers spend
on their duties.
VI. REPORT ON CITY COUNCILMEMBER ATTENDANCE AT CITY
COMMITTEE/COMMISSION MEETINGS.
Committee Members noted that information considered in Section VI - City
Councilmember Attendance was co -mingled into the discussion for the previous agenda
item, above.
NOTE: With Committee concurrence, Item Numbers VII and VIII were considered jointly.
VII. PRESENTATION ON CalPERS RETIREMENT BENEFITS — Human Resources
Manager Lori Carney.
Vill. PRESENTATION ON CITY HEALTH BENEFITS — Human Resources Manager
Lori Carney.
Ms. Carney provided a hand-out entitled, "City of Palm Desert City Council Compensation
Committee - Pension, Health, and Other Benefits," which she reviewed in detail. Upon
inquiry, she confirmed that City Councilmembers cannot receive any greater benefit than
what City employees receive; however, they can receive a lesser benefit than that of
employees or none at all. Further, the City is required to enroll Councilmembers in either
CaIPERS or Social Security, depending upon the individual's situation. She explained
that State Law allows elected officials (i.e., City Councilmembers, certain Board
Members) to be part of the Retirement System. With regard to modification of the City's
retirement benefits in September 2011 for anyone appointed or elected after that time
from the "2.7% at 55" formula to a "2% at 55" formula, she pointed out that current
California law does not allow the City to reduce retirement benefits for existing employees
or elected officials. In answer to question, she stated that the final salary amount was
based on the average of the highest 12 months' time. Additionally, she answered that
the 50% surviving spouse benefit was available for the life of the surviving spouse. She
noted that CaIPERS is funded from three sources:1) Member Contributions; 2) Employer
Contributions; 3) Investment Returns; and confirmed that the 8% Member (Employee)
Contribution is flat, set by State Law as it relates to the City of Palm Desert's contract.
Ms. Carney went on to review the "Health Benefits" portion of her hand-out. Relative to
Disability Insurance for Councilmembers and the differentiation in said benefit being
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JUNE 6, 2012
available after being unable to work for 60 days or more and a related question, Mr. Erwin
pointed out that by State Law, if a Councilmember does not attend meetings for 90 days
and the absences are unexcused, the seat becomes vacant.
In further response to question about the City only hiring full-time employees, Ms. Carney
answered that the City has had periods in the past with and without part-time employees,
and just this year has established a new part-time employee category to suit a current
need. She said it was possible more of this would be done in the future as well. Upon
further question, she responded that part-time employees in the past received prorated
benefits, commensurate with their service. These were typically half-time employees;
therefore, half benefits were received. They were enrolled in CalPERS for Retirement
Benefits; service credit is received for the amount of work done, so a half -year of service
credit was received for a half -year of work. She added this is the way the current part-
time employees would be treated. Under California Law and the California Public
Employment Retirement System (CaIPERS) for the purposes of calculating a pension,
elected officials are designated as full-time; for every month that they are an elected
official, they receive a month of service credit. She went on to explain that the City has
recently designated part-time employees as those who work more than 20 hours/week
but less than 40 hours/week.
With Committee concurrence, the presentation and hand-out were received and filed.
IX. REQUEST TO SCHEDULE CITY COUNCIL INTERVIEWS AND PUBLIC INPUT
MEETING.
Mr. Wohlmuth noted the next Committee Meeting is scheduled for June 20, and with
certain other unknown variables about this process, he recommended getting the
interviews on the Councilmembers' calendars in the near future. He asked if the
Committee wanted to work on a list of questions that could be provided to
Councilmembers in advance. Secondly, relative to public input, when the Committee was
established, one of the Councilmembers desired that these meetings be televised, which
could only be accomplished from the Council Chamber. Responding to question about
a specific requirement for televising these meetings, Mr. Erwin said there was no directive
given for televising these meetings when the motion was made and acted upon.
Committee Members discussed keeping the process very cordial. There is a volunteer
aspect to Councilmember service; however, they are currently being compensated over
$40,000/year, which diminishes that characteristic and makes it a different situation than
having five great people who completely volunteer their time.
After further discussion of televising the process, Committee Members generally concurred that
they did not wish their Meetings to be televised, given that these were publicly noticed and open
meetings where the public was free to attend and provide input, including the session that will
be scheduled specifically for public comment, followed by the Committee's recommendation to
be provided to City Council for its action.
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Member Leo moved to schedule either City Council Interviews for the next meeting,
June 20, or the Public Input Session be scheduled for that date, followed by City Council
Interviews at a later date.
Motion was seconded by Member Sullivan, indicating his desire that first priority be given
for scheduling the Councilmember Interviews on June 20 in staggered appointment times.
Mr. Wohlmuth agreed to check on Councilmembers' availability for June 20 and asked
to work with Chair Rover on a set of questions submitted by Committee Members. He
proposed each Committee Member providing him with three or four questions, and he
would organize them for similarities in order to provide a list of about 12 questions per
Councilmember. He asked for direction on giving the list of questions to Councilmembers
in advance.
Committee Members deliberated the benefits and disadvantages of providing questions
in advance. A point was offered that it made a difference as to what the Committee was
trying to ascertain from the Councilmembers — justification of what they're doing as
opposed to trying to establish a reasonable compensation. Perhaps the presumption
should be that they are accomplishing the goals as Councilmembers. It was pointed out
that during the last meeting, Committee Members agreed that the process shouldn't
amount to an inquisition but should be away to gather information. It was also discussed
that different Councilmembers utilize different methods of communicating with the public
(i.e., telephone calls, e-mails, face-to-face contact). Further deliberation amongst the
Committee occurred about how to carry the process forward.
Chair Rover called for the vote, and the motion to conduct Councilmember Interviews on
June 20, scheduling as many as possible that day in staggered appointment times, carried by
5-0 vote.
Discussion then followed about the questions that would be asked of Councilmembers
during the interviews. Mr. Wohlmuth offered that staff was accustomed to asking
questions during employee interviews, a standard, non-discriminatory set is applied to
each person, but it does not preclude the panel from asking follow-up or clarification
questions when warranted.
Member Sullivan moved to provide a standard set of interview questions to each
Councilmember in advance of the June 20 Meeting, with the option to ask for clarification or
follow-up as needed during each interview. Motion was seconded by Chair Rover and carried
by 4-1 vote, with Member Housken voting NO.
With Committee concurrence, interviews to be scheduled on 20-minute intervals.
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Public Input Session
JUNE 6, 2012
Committee Members discussed a mutually convenient date and what they envisioned for
a meeting that day, including a dedicated time for public input.
With Committee concurrence, the meeting to follow June 20 was scheduled for Wednesday,
July 18, 2012, beginning at 4:00 p.m. for the regular session, including conducting any
Councilmember interviews that are holdovers from June 20, and Public Input Session in the
Council Chamber from 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., with appropriate advertisement for the event to be
handled by staff on the City website and through press releases.
X. REMARKS AND COMMENTS BY COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
A. In answerto Member Housken's request for clarification about General Law Cities'
versus Charter Cities' Council compensation and the applicable 5% increases
allowed for General Law, Mr. Erwin responded that the base line population figure
and commensurate prescribed salary for the city is that which exists at the time the
decision is made. State Law specifies the amount of Council Compensation that
is applicable for the population of the City. She went on to ask for more
information about how Palm Desert's Council Salary increase came about in 2007,
since minutes of those meetings were rather brief, and staff responded that the
draft Ordinance No. 1139 spoke for itself; there was no staff report. Further, it was
a proposal resulting from that year's Budget Study Session, which was a working
session without minutes, for staff to place on the agenda with the 2007-2008
Budget.
Upon later discussion below, Ms. Housken asked about City Council
compensation when the Redevelopment Agency existed, and staff responded that
Councilmembers received a $30/meeting stipend, which was the amount set by
the California Health and Safety Code.
B. Vice Chair Gribow commended City staff for the organization of this process and
the thoroughness of his colleagues on the Committee.
Responding to Chair Rover's comments below, Vice Chair Gribow asked if
Palm Desert could compare itself to some of the other listed cities outside the
Coachella Valley. He pointed out that this City was relatively new; a lot of growth
was experienced in a short period of time — some comparable cities had been in
existence for decades. Palm Desert had spent a lot of time with redevelopment
and improving itself, which led to substantial growth in the last 20 years and which
warranted more attention by Councilmembers in the past than it likely will in the
future.
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JUNE 6, 2012
Mr. Wohlmuth believed that was an insightful observation. He remarked that he
was originally hired by Palm Desert in December 1985 when the population was
around 11,000 permanent residents. At that time, he recalled the City's difficulty
with recruiting qualified staff members; being a small city, it was unable to be
competitive with the rest of Southern California or the State. Therefore, in the
early years, Classification and Compensation Studies were conducted and
included cities outside the Coachella Valley, like Walnut Creek at that time,
because that was the quality of candidates the City was trying to attract. He said
the objective was not to go overboard — it wasn't always going to be the
Monterey's and the Palo Alto's — but several jurisdictions were selected that were
considered to be comparable. He felt that was a starting point, offering to go back
in the City's records to see the cities that were utilized in the former Classification
and Compensation Studies for this process.
C. Member Sullivan noted that currentlythe statutory Council compensation figure for
a city of Palm Desert's population range of 25,000 - 50,000 is $1,133. He was
aware that the City was not tied into that program; however, the increase from
April 2005 through November 2011 is 265%, and increase from July 2008 to
November 2011 is 10.5%. He felt those were quite dramatic changes, especially
when compared to the State Guideline and other cities' populations and Council
pay, such as Palm Springs or City of Riverside. He believed these facts should be
given serious consideration as the Committee goes through its final analysis,
which it appeared to be doing, noting that he felt quite strongly about the issue.
In answer to Member Sullivan's question about how much time specific staff
members, like the City Manager or City Council Secretary, spent one-on-one with
the Mayor, Ms. Klassen noted that not all tasks appear on the calendar. Lots of
telephone calls are received every day by the Council Office from Councilmembers
themselves and the public, and she estimated 75% of the City Council Secretary's
day was spent directly supporting the five Councilmembers. The remaining 25%
of the Secretary's day was spent assisting the City Clerk's Office with tasks, such
as filling in at the Reception Desk, research requests, or agenda packet copying.
D. Chair Rover said he, too, was impressed with the procedure and City staff. He
observed that the Committee was still kind of in a conceptual stage but at some
point would have to move toward a quantify -able view and set a number. He was
open to Committee Member comments and thought about moving the group
forward, while fully realizing that starting was the hardest part — maybe throwing
out a number and working from that spot. He hoped the goal would become
clearer as the Committee continues with its work, and he was enjoying the process
thus far.
E. Mr. Wohlmuth asked Committee Members to provide him with their suggested
Councilmember Interview questions by e-mail as soon as possible.
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XI. SCHEDULE FOR NEXT MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2012, AT 4:00 P.M.
Please see discussion and resulting action that is part of Section IX - Request to
Schedule City Council Interviews and Public Input Meeting, above.
XII. ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Vice Chair Gribow, second by Member Sullivan, and unanimous vote of
the Committee, Chair Rover adjourned the meeting at 5:40 p.m.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2012 - 3:30 P.M. - ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE ROOM
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Rover convened the meeting at 3:31 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Present:
Member Joan Busick (Alternate)
Vice Chair Dale Gribow
Member Kim Housken
Member Bob Leo
Member J. Leo Sullivan
Chair Mike Rover
Also Present:
John M. Wohlmuth, City Manager
David J. Erwin, City Attorney
David Hermann, Management Analyst/P.I.O.
Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —Meeting of June 6, 2012.
Vice Chair Gribow asked for clarification of his statement on page 8, Item B, paragraph
starting with, "Responding to Chair Rover's comments below... " asking that the following
word "he" be replaced with "Vice Chair Gribow asked...".
Further, Vice Chair Gribow had a question resulting from discussion on page 2 of the
Minutes where it stated that there wasn't presently anyone on the South Coast Air Quality
Management District Board (SCAQMD). He asked why Palm Desert didn't have anyone
serving there.
Mr. Wohlmuth replied that membership of the SCAQMD Board of Directors is comprised
of specifically one elected city official from Riverside County, one elected city official from
San Bernardino County, and one elected official each from the Board of Supervisors of
both Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Therefore, it was not necessarily from lack
of potential volunteers in Palm Desert but someone else being appointed. At this time
for Riverside County, he believed the representative was Ron Loveridge, Mayor, City of
Riverside. In further response, he said Palm Desert has nominated Councilmembers in
the past; the last Palm Desert City Council representative to SCAQMD being Roy Wilson.
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On a motion by Member Sullivan, second by Chair Rover, and unanimous vote of the
Committee, the Minutes of the Meeting of June 6, 2012, were approved as corrected/clarified
above.
V. DISCUSSION AND FINALIZATION OF COUNCILMEMBER INTERVIEW QUESTIONS.
Chair Rover noted the list of questions provided with the distributed agenda packet.
Responding to inquiry, Mr. Wohlmuth said there were a total of 12 questions submitted
by Committee Members that were on the list; however, he'd received a couple of a -mails
from Committee Members since, suggesting a combination of a couple of the questions
or other requests about them. Instead of trying to coordinate several amendments based
on everyone's input at different times, he felt it would be best to discuss with the whole
Committee prior to Councilmembers coming for their appointments today. He affirmed
that all Councilmembers had been provided the list of questions at the end of the day
Friday. Further, he didn't recommend adding anything to the list at this time but
reconfiguring the questions, combining, or shortening the list would be acceptable. Staff
agreed that questions for clarification resulting from asking any of those provided would
be appropriate. Committee Members discussed amongst themselves the organization
of questions and how they would be asked.
Member Sullivan stated he wished to recuse himself from any questions for
Councilmember Finerty. He'd recently written a letter to the editor, published by The
Desert Sun, and he felt it may cause some consternation if he were to ask those
questions.
After further Committee discussion and concurrence, the list of 12 questions was synthesized
into the following order.
What is your concept of public service?
2. In your own words, please tell us what a Councilmember does and how many
hours, on average, do you spend per week conducting the duties and
responsibilities of a Councilmember (i.e., all aspects of business at City Hall,
business at Outside Agencies' Meetings, calls and return calls from home, reading
Council agenda packets and reports)?
3. What do you feel is just compensation for a Councilmember and what do you think
are factors most relevant in determining your salary (i.e., size of City, number of
staff, budget, geographic location, time on City Council business)?
4. How do you feel about the number of Committee/Commission Boards you have
been assigned, if you had to give up one activity or function that you now perform
as a Councilmember, what would it be and why? If you could change the role of
a Councilmember, what would you change and why?
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5. What have you seen or experienced as the majorresponsibility difference between
Councilmembers and the Mayor?
6. Do you feel you will have less responsibilities as a Councilmember since the State
abolished Redevelopment Agencies? If so, how much less time will be
committed? How has the role of a Councilmember changed since you were
seated on the City Council?
7. For Councilmembers Benson, Finerty. and Spiegel only:
How was the salary in 2007 determined and why?
(Councilmember Harnik and Mayor Pro Tern Kroonen not on City Council in 2007.)
Committee Members briefly discussed how the process would evolve from this point and
how the Committee would come to make a recommendation as soon as possible
following the next meeting and public input session on July 18.
VI. INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS OF CITY COUNCILMEMBERS.
A. Councilmember Jan C. Harnik — 4:00 p.m.
Al. Public service: She felt it meant protecting everything in the community — to
protect what nature has given, to protect the City's retail, to look forward, and
to do what she's always done in this community. Serving as a Councilmember
was not that different than what she has done otherwise. Found it to be one of
the most difficult questions, but she felt it amounted to serving the public.
A2. Councilmember duties, average hours to perform, etc.: Believed a
Councilmember researches, is accessible to the public; their job is to protect
what we have today — they are stewards of the City and all its assets. One of
the most important things was looking forward and creating a vision (e.g. where
are we going, how do we get there?). Number of hours was difficult to estimate;
she'd chosen to take on the responsibility full time, but it was her choice, not
everyone needs to do that. She easily spent 40 hours with the Committees and
Commissions she sits on, and because she was the newest member on the
Council, she was like "Mikey" on the Life Cereal commercials - "Give it to Mikey,
she'll do it." She participates on the Riverside County Transportation
Commission (RCTC) in Riverside, which takes a little more time, but it was fine
with her. She related that she recently went to lunch with her husband, and
somebody came and sat down with them to talk about an issue they felt was
really important for the City. It was a surprise visit, but it was her job to listen
to the public, and she was accessible for them. Sometimes she spent as many
as 60 hours/week.
A3. Just compensation for Councilmember, determining factors: She felt the
Committee was hereto determine just that. It was a philosophical question and
something that she hoped would provide guidelines going forward to establish
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a policy. She felt it had to be considered that compensation shouldn't be such
that it caused someone to want to be in the position for the compensation, yet
the compensation also shouldn't be such that it excluded someone from being
part of the process. She felt there were a lot of important and valuable
community members that wouldn't be in a position to serve for free. She hoped
the Committee would come up with an idea that would be offered to the entire
City Council so that it could discuss and ultimately vote on. She felt all factors
mentioned in the list of questions were relevant. Recognized the difficulty in
making such a recommendation — there are five people with the same job title
and different job descriptions; they all bring something to the table, which is
what maintains the balance. She felt it was a multi -faceted position.
A4. Number of Committees/Commissions, give any up, change anything about role
of Councilmember: Councilmember Harnik didn't have a ready count of all the
Committees/Commissions she served. She felt they were all relevant and
important. This morning she was at CVEP (Coachella Valley Economic
Partnership), and economic development is a very important issue for the
community, as is education to the future of the community — both are
invaluable. She served on the Transportation Commission — it is very important
to have good functioning interchanges for the City, the future Portola
Interchange that Palm Desert will need at some point as it develops the
educational corridor with ingress/egress for Interstate 10. Additionally, the
City's drive-in market is absolutely critical to its revenue — sales tax revenue,
tourism business is the number one thing it has — maintaining the roads is
important. She works with the Youth Committee because they are fresh, see
things City Councilmembers don't, and see things in different ways. As for
Marketing Committee - it was tremendously important in Palm Desert that is
based on tourism and retail. She felt it was important to keep an open mind for
how business is done in the City and continue to look at the big picture. Further
responding, she said there was not one activity that she would want to give up;
they were all important. Gathering information is the valuable benefit of those
activities — the more information you have, the more valuable you become, and
the more valuable you are to the community. She said after her 18 months of
service, there was nothing she would change about her role, acknowledging
that after a little more time she may look back and see things differently.
However, currently, the role Councilmembers play was important and was the
way it was done.
A5. Major difference between Mayor and Councilmember: She didn't think there
ever should be different compensation for the different roles, because it's a
team approach — everybody brings equal value to the Council. The Mayor
makes presentations, runs the meetings, and how well they run depends on the
Mayor. Further responding, she said the Mayor participates in a few more
required meetings but didn't feel the amount of time was that significant; since
the term was only one year during a four-year Council term, it evens out.
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A6. Responsibilities since Redevelopment Agency abolished: Councilmember
Harnik felt from the moment Redevelopment was in question, Councilmembers'
workload should have increased. When she saw that the City was losing its
greatest economic development tool, she was thinking about what should be
done next. The City has to go out and find other formulas to create revenue to
reinvest in the community without taxing community members. She personally
went to Palm Springs and met with the head of their hoteliers association, and
they have some wonderful formulas in place that don't tax the community but
create incentives for hotels to refurbish themselves, with a separate formula to
attract developers of new hotels. This is the time Councilmembers should be
learning and listening, not a time to regret losing the greatest economic
development tool and take a break. Now was the time to get to work.
Regarding changes since she took office, City Council Meetings are now
televised, which was an issue she supported during her campaign as a way of
engaging the community and believes it has done so. Another suggestion
during her campaign was establishing a committee comprised of neutral,
engaged community members to look at Council compensation, and it was now
being done. She felt the reason this needed to be done was another way to
engage the community, and in order for government to work well, the
community needs the information it will receive from this Compensation
Committee and its process. She noted that the current compensation has been
in place for five years and is now being reviewed during an election year. She
felt it was important to take the politics out of it, be transparent, and it was an
opportunity to establish guidelines for policy going forward. Although, she didn't
think it should be every election year something like this comes up that has an
attention -drawing, self-serving air about it — it doesn't feel right. In further
response to a question of how involved Councilmembers should be in finding
new ways to replace the loss of Redevelopment as opposed to having staff
bring ideas forward, she felt Councilmembers should be as involved as
possible. She pointed out that when she has an idea after one of her meetings,
she goes to the City Manager with it and not subordinate staff, because she felt
it inappropriate. She believed the City Manager could determine how the
process should go after she shares an idea, how information is disseminated
and to whom, but pointed out that she likes to do some of her own research to
see what she can find out. Further, with the reduction in staff that's been
experienced, they have a lot of work to do now. So if she could do some
preliminary research with formulas or other economic reinvestment tools, then
go to Mr. Wohlmuth with them and let him do what he does best, that was the
appropriate way to go.
A7. Follow-up questions: In response to question about possibly being
overwhelmed by changing functions, activities in the future, Councilmember
Harnik said so far she was enjoying this position and found it very energizing.
She pointed out that she didn't run because of the compensation but because
she was amazed by the volunteerism in this community. She felt if we ever
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tried to run the community without volunteers, she didn't think it could be
afforded; people were very willing to step up for whatever reason.
Councilmember Harnik went on to say that she understood there was such a
thing as a healthy "no," and she was trying to work on that; however, she was
enjoying it so much that she didn't see it happening at this point.
Committee Members discussed the need to get information previously mentioned by
Mr. Wohlmuth regarding a Classification/Compensation Study for cities of comparable
size — contract cities, Charter Cities, cities with Parks Programs versus cities without —
as being helpful to this process for making a recommendation.
Mr. Wohlmuth explained that he'd never seen a Classification/Compensation Study
addressing Councilmembers, only staff duties and responsibilities, experience, and
education (i.e., one City Engineer compared to another City Engineer or another similar
job title). He agreed to put something together that would compare certain California
cities by size, budget. However, complicating factor here being that at the time
Palm Desert became a Charter City in 1997, about 20% of California Cities were Charter,
meaning 80% were General Law Cities, and he referred to the list of General Law Cities'
Salaries set by State Code. He asked the Committee to give him a limited number of
factors that he could research. Responding to comment, he agreed that Palm Desert
couldn't be compared to the same cities it was in the 1980s. A
Classification/Compensation Study was truly a snapshot in time and would have to be
current. He proposed cities, possibly outside the Coachella Valley, like Walnut Creek or
Santa Rosa — they have different cultures, geographic sizes — but the factors could be
narrowed to be compared for Councilmember Compensation.
It was pointed out that Palm Desert is a destination resort, relies greatly on tourism, and
there may not be many cities like it. In reply, it was noted that Palm Springs was very
identical but not a Charter City. Another comment offered was that a comparison of five
to 10 California cities would be sufficient.
Mr. Wohlmuth offered that if the factors were specified, he could get comparably sized
cities in population, budget, and provide data back to the Committee.
B. Mayor Robert A. Spiegel — 4:20 p.m.
131. Public service: He felt it was serving the public, which was done through the City's
Fire and Police Departments, its parks, roads, and all the ancillary things made
available to the citizens. It was a matter of taking care of the citizens.
B2. Councilmember duties, average hours to perform, etc.: Replied that to the best of
his/her ability, a Councilmember is responsible for deciding issues that affect
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residents of Palm Desert. This includes the budget and sometimes offering money
to businesses to attract them to the City. For example, Red Lobster was opening
next Monday. He said they were constructing a new building, but their lot didn't
slope properly according to State Law, and they had to spend about $40,000 to fix
it. Palm Desert wanted their business pretty badly, so it agreed to give them
$40,000; it was one of the reasons they're here. He felt it was one of the biggest
openings the City's ever had based on the number of calls he's had about when
it would be open. Responding to comment about the number of obligations listed
on his calendar, he said part of that was due to his being Mayor. The Mayor is
called on to give a lot more speeches and appearances in the community in order
to convey what's happening in the City. He noted that in the summertime, things
are less busy, and there is only one Council Meeting in both the months of July
and August. But on average, he spends around 30 hours/week; some weeks were
more than 40 hours with Saturdays and Sundays — and sometimes he might not
feel like going to an event but does so in order to represent the City of
Palm Desert.
B3. Just compensation for Councilmember, determining factors: Mayor Spiegel felt
definite consideration should be given for loss of the Redevelopment Agency — it
was going to make life tougher for the City. It would be required to figure out new
ways to do business here. He said it kind of started with the new hotel that will,
hopefully, be built on Highway 74, but the City had to give a little bit in order to get
Rosewood here. He hoped it would come to fruition. Additionally, Palm Desert
was trying to locate a hotel at the corner of Larkspur and Shadow Mountain (where
the Fashion Week Tent is placed annually). Things look positive, but the City may
have to give something to get a four- or five-star hotel there. The City also needed
a hotel at Desert Willow and needed to figure out a way to get the Redevelopment
Agency -owned land adjacent to Cal State and UCR (University of California,
Riverside) to those institutions, because it wouldn't make sense to have houses
built there instead. In the long-term, he would love to see a Palm Desert
Cal State. With regard to things the Council has done, he took credit for
establishing Palm Desert's Community Gardens. He brought the idea forward
because there was vacant land along San Pablo that was offered to the residents,
who weren't interested, so it remained vacant. It was turned into Community
Gardens and so successful that another Community Garden was built at Freedom
Park with another on the way there hopefully, as well as one planned across from
the University area as soon as houses are built there. He also brought After
School Programs to the City; $78,000 from the budget every year is put toward the
Middle School and Lincoln Elementary School Programs. First Program offered
was at the Middle School, because that was when kids started to get into trouble.
With the City providing money, the Program's been very successful for the kids,
who get to play part of the time and do academics the rest. Their grades have
improved pretty dramatically and absenteeism has decreased at the school. Then
a program was established at Lincoln Elementary, which is one of the City's poorer
areas, and that took care of the City's available funds for this purpose, but it is an
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important one. Fortunately, most of the other schools have their own money to
offer similar programs.
B4. Number of Committees/Commissions, give any up, change anything about role of
Councilmember. Mayor Spiegel noted that he'd spent a great deal of time with the
Chamber of Commerce over the years. He went on to answer that he likes the
assignments he's been given while serving on the City Council. Members pretty
much have their choice, and his background was in business, noting that he
opened the May Company here. After learning that the City's number one revenue
source was sales tax, he felt it was an important factor and needs to be
maintained. He enjoyed serving at SunLine and is slated to be Board Chairman
next year if reelected to the City Council; he also likes the Parks & Recreation
Commission, as well as the Convention & Visitors Authority to promote the
Coachella Valley and Palm Desert. He also liked being liaison to the City's
Marketing Committee, because without tourists, the City doesn't make much
money; the more that come from the North and the East during cold weather
months, the better off the City is. He couldn't think of any Committees he would
like to give up; but if he had to, it would be one he's been on the longest — College
of the Desert Foundation. He felt they'd come along pretty well, but he felt it
important that one Councilmember be a member there, even though he wasn't on
the Council when he initially became part of the Foundation. The City gave
College of the Desert $2 million a couple of years ago to name the Public Safety
Academy, and it was running pretty well. He added he was also on the Board of
Shelter From the Storm that was outside the City's responsibilities. With regard
to changing anything about the role of a Councilmember, he said after serving the
last 15+ years, there wasn't anything he'd change.
B5. Major difference between Mayor and Councilmember: Didn't think there should be
a different pay scale for the Mayor, realizing there was in Palm Springs, La Quinta,
and Rancho Mirage. He said it was a titular job, you still have only one vote, and
you say less at Council Meetings than your fellow Councilmembers because they
get to talk first, and that's the way it should be. There were many fun things about
being Mayor, adding that next week he would be addressing the Rotary about
where the City's going. He was extremely proud of the great City of Palm Desert.
He encouraged taking a look at the population growth in the City; in 1990 there
were 23,000 residents, and today there are 50,000. With regard to Police and
Fire, Palm Desert has 1.7 Police Officers per 1,000 residents, better than any
other city in the Coachella Valley, and the City was very proud of its Police that do
a good job. He confirmed that the extra responsibilities for being Mayor balanced
out over the remainder of the Councilmember's term of office.
B6. Responsibilities since Redevelopment Agency abolished: He affirmed that there
would be more responsibilities for Councilmembers since the State abolished
Redevelopment Agencies, adding that the City would have to change the way it
did business. Referring back to the hotel being sought for the corner of Larkspur
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and Shadow Mountain, he anticipated the developer would want some
reimbursement of T.O.T. (Transient Occupancy Tax). In a recent split decision,
the City Council approved $1 million to the Marriott Desert Springs in T.O.T. rebate
over and above what they're paying the City currently if they build the pool facility
that will bring families to their hotel. He said the Marriott's business was changing
with the times — it's now more drive-in than convention. Convention was still
important, but guests were now driving here more from the San Diego and
Los Angeles areas. He referred to the Rancho Las Palmas Resort (Rancho
Mirage) that has been very successful with its new pool/aquatic feature. He said
that Marriott Desert Springs General Manager Ken Schwartz, who does an
excellent job, came up with an idea of doing something for children; they already
have attractions for young adults (e.g. Costa's), restaurants (including the new
Fisherman's Landing [a.k.a. Fisherman's Market]), but there wasn't much for kids.
Their new feature would provide a play area for kids and a pool with slides and fun
attractions. That is the reason the City said it would help them out; funding for the
entire project would be about $9 million, and the City offered $1 million as a means
of convincing the people who hold the money with Marriott to go ahead with it.
133-A. Just Compensation Follow-up: Mayor Spiegel said that compared to the City's
Fiscal Year 2011-2012 General Fund and Fire Budget of $53,779,208, the City
Council's total budget of that amount, including Salaries, Supplies, Other Services
(i.e., going to outside meetings, League of California Cities Conference) was
$407,770, or .0076% of the General Fund. From that standpoint, he didn't feel
Councilmembers were paid too much. On the other hand if comparing to other
Coachella Valley Cities, such as Rancho Mirage, it costs them more per person
to run their City Council than Palm Desert's, whether that be right or wrong. He
said it was also true for the City of Indian Wells. He observed that it was fairly
comparable in Palm Springs but didn't feel it was fair to compare Coachella or
Indio because of it being a different market there. But whatever the Council
Compensation Committee recommended would be thoroughly reviewed and voted
upon. He didn't think Palm Desert Councilmembers were overpaid or underpaid,
they get paid for their service.
B7. 2007 Salary Determination: He stated that the proposal came up at a Budget
Meeting, and he believed then -City Manager Carlos Ortega was involved in it
somewhat at that time. He recalled that then -Councilman Jim Ferguson
suggested that since Palm Desert was a Charter City that it increase City
Councilmembers' salaries to the current amount. It then went to the City Council
at budget time, and the vote was 4-1 to approve the amount. Further responding,
he said it was a result of comparable cities all increasing their salaries. He further
answered that there was no deliberation, it was, "Okay, let's do it." And so the
Council did.
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C. Councilmember Cindy Finerty - 4:40 p.m.
JUNE 20, 2012
C1. Public service: Has served the City of Palm Desert since 1995 all the way from
Project Area No. 4 Committee to the Desert Willow Commission, the Economic
Development Committee, Planning Commission, on which she served nine
years before being elected to the City Council, giving her a great concept of
public service. Basically, she felt it was to ensure the betterment of the
residents and their quality of life, always keeping public safety as the number
one issue of government.
C2. Councilmember duties, average hours to perform, etc.: Councilmember Finerty
commented she was sure this Committee would all agree that there was no
shortage of reading material. She found that all Councilmembers do what they
love, find their niche. For her, it was public safety, the environment, and
animals. So she spends her time doing ride-alongs with the City's K9 Team of
Deputy Rivera and Officer Van Snapp, pulling a swing shift and thoroughly
enjoying it. She noted this wasn't something that would appear on her City Hall
calendar, because it was merely something she loved to do. She has also done
the same with the paramedics, riding along on graveyard shift with them. With
regard to helping animals, the City was very successful in getting the Animal
Adoption Coordinator, which everyone was almost ready to give up on and took
an extraordinary amount of time working with other cities, the County, and
Supervisor Benoit's Office to make it happen. She said Committee Members
may already know that the City of Palm Desert donated $20,000 to that effort
and as a result, euthanasia rate at the Animal Campus has gone from
approximately 66% down to 50%. She acknowledged that while not good
enough, it still represented a lot of animals being saved. Relative to the
environment, her concern for preserving the hillsides was well known because
she believed it ensured tourism. Additionally, she worked closely to bring a
satellite Palm Springs Art Museum to Palm Desert, and that also took a lot of
work — telephone calls, meetings outside City Hall, a -mails back and forth. She
went on to say that when she was trying to get "Lucy's Law" passed — a bill
ensuring that groomers have some sort of training instead of maiming animals
as has happened — it involves working with other cities, agencies, Counties,
signing letters, and doing whatever was needed to let everyone know that they
had to do this to save the animals. She said there were a lot of meetings with
people, such as a resident who wanted to provide a bird and animal sanctuary,
and it entailed four hours on a Saturday. She said you do whatever you need
to do to meet the need of Palm Desert's residents. Another important thing that
you wouldn't see on her calendar or her expense report was following
everything in the energy world — from going to the Aspen Accord, up to
San Francisco, Oakland, meeting with Al Pollard, who is in charge of FHFA
(Federal Housing & Financing Agency), which basically destroyed the City's
AB811 Program. She said these meetings were at her own expense just to stay
informed and to do what she felt was in the best interest of the City of
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Palm Desert, because it had a great loan program up until Mr. Pollard stepped
in and took the rug out from under us. Further responding, she felt that when
a Councilmember is serving as Mayor, more time was required. It meant going
to everything, and it was the Mayor's duty to go to everything. She felt the year
after being Mayor is probably the most downtime a Councilmember has after
the long one before. She said if a Councilmember has another job, as she
does, it requires a good deal of coordination. She pointed out that she's
fostered an excellent working relationship with California Public Utilities
Commission President Michael Peevey, along with, at that point in time,
Southern California Edison Vice President Bruce Foster and his counterpart at
The Gas Company, which was really important for the City as far as bringing
"Set To Save" dollars, AB811, and all of those things that have helped generate
a lot of savings of kilowatt and megawatt hours for Palm Desert. Therefore, she
said it was difficult and hated putting numbers on anything because it varies.
She said Council Meeting weeks were very busy for her, because she can start
at 9:00 a.m. and is only done when the Council Meeting ends. She usually has
an Animal Campus Meeting, along with her CVAG Commitments, on the
second Thursday of each month. This is in addition to all the required reading —
it was tough to say, maybe it was 30 hours/week — but largely depended upon
what was going on. She said it is a commitment, but it is a public service
commitment that one makes out of your love for your city, not necessarily a
paycheck.
C3. Just compensation for Councilmember, determining factors: Councilmember
Finerty responded that it didn't much matter if it was a city of 5,000 or 50,000 —
you still have the same amount of work. She felt the biggest factor for the
Committee's decision was the elimination of Redevelopment, because City
Councilmembers would no longer be meeting on things like Desert Willow in the
past, the Aquatic Center more recently, which went through several iterations
at costs of $20 million, $30 million, and finally ended up with about an $8 million
project that gained approval. To get through all of that takes a lot of meetings,
a lot of reading, etc. She stated now that there's no "money tree," although
feeling that elimination of Redevelopment was a huge mistake forthe Governor,
it will cut Councilmembers' responsibilities, as many of the City's public
hearings were driven by those large projects, and the agendas would read,
"Joint Consideration with the Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency." She said
no matterwhether 5,000 or 50,000 residents, Councilmembers are still charged
with parks, streets, public safety, and all those things. She also believed
another thing to be considered was the number of employees and cutting what
she'd termed "the fluff." She felt they've done this very well — the economy
helped with this objective, because when she was elected, there were
approximately 1.75 employees, and now it's been significantly reduced.
Obviously, she said treating employees well was key. She couldn't identify the
specific factor the Committee should base its decision on, because there were
so many. She said maybe it amounted to how Committee Members felt the City
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was run in comparison to other cities and what Palm Desert has been able to
accomplish. For example in the unincorporated Riverside County area, there
was a rate of 0.6 officers/1,000 residents. Whereas, the City of Palm Desert
has 1.5+ officers/1,000 residents. Other examples would be the City's golf
course and what it charges members (residents), the Aquatic Center, response
times of under five minutes for public safety calls (most often three to four
minutes). She felt these results provided the measurable criteria.
C4. Number of Committees/Commissions, give any up, change anything about role
of Councilmember: Councilmember Finerty felt the City of Palm Desert Public
Safety Commission was a key advisory body, and carrying that to CVAG so that
it was Valley -wide was important. However, she felt as one of the City's
appointed representatives to it that the Cove Commission's Meetings were a
waste of time. She explained that it consisted of two Councilmembers from
each Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage, and Palm Desert, and they review material
they've already seen, with the exception of an occasional update from the
Joslyn Center that generally consists of information already commonly known
around town or may have already been conveyed during a presentation at
Palm Desert's own Council Meeting (as was done at the last meeting on June
14). That's why she felt the Cove Commission could be eliminated. Further
responding to the role of a Council member and requirements/commitments, she
felt it was important to come up through the ranks as she did; it was important
to serve on a variety of committees and commissions and learn as much as
possible before assuming a Councilmember position. In response to the
question about eliminating a committee, she offered that one should be added.
It was a topic in today's Desert Sun, and she's been talking about it at Council
Meetings; the City needs to look at employee salaries. She said when she was
elected there were a number of employees making well over $100,000. When
that is combined with the pensions they receive, there is already an
unsustainable pension plan throughout the State. She said even today's Desert
Sun talked about Riverside County moving forward, as was San Diego, and the
City of Palm Desert really needed to add something to look at this issue. She
acknowledged that Palm Desert can't take care of the State's problems, but it
needed to keep its own house in order. For example, when a receptionist is
paid $70,000, she felt there was something wrong with that.
C5. Majordifference between Mayorand Councilmember: She felt when serving as
Mayor, a Councilmember needed to attend everything that they want you to
attend. The demands are extensive, and bottom line if you have a full-time job,
you'd better hope that you have a business partner who is adept at filling in for
that year, because you would need it. She related that if the Committee was
thinking about whether or not the Mayor should receive more money, she
agreed with that. However, at the same time, she felt Councilmembers were
all way overpaid and one of the reasons she brought up the issue;
Councilmembers from other cities have called her a troublemaker for it.
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C6. Responsibilities since Redevelopment Agency abolished: Councilmember
Finerty felt there would absolutely be less responsibilities without
Redevelopment. She commented that the Aquatic Center was one of the best
examples, possibly even the Energy Program to a certain extent because a lot
of those improvements were run through the Redevelopment Agency — loans
would come from the Redevelopment Agency to finance other projects. She
said the City's Housing Programs were also now up in the air; the rules seem
to change in Sacramento all the time. So the elimination of Redevelopment,
along with AB109, which is the early release of prisoners/inmates/parolees, will
put a real strain on public safety and all of our resources. Responding to the
question about how the role of Councilmember has changed since she's been
serving there, she didn't think that it has changed; she got up and did the same
thing all the time, and she read a quote from minutes of a previous Council
Meeting when duties were being reassigned and Councilmember Kroonen
became the Mayor Pro Tem. "He thanked Councilmember Finerty for her
excellence in always studying the issues, knowing the details, and taking notes
to ensure all the facts were considered on every issue." She said that's been
her practice since day one, going back to 1995 when she was involved with the
Project Area No. 4 Committee. She jumped in 150%; it is what she does.
C7. 2007 Salary Determination: She stated that three Councilmembers thought the
body deserved an increase and tried to figure out how much of an increase.
She said it was bandied about between $40,000 - $50,000 — reason being if
they were running a corporation with a budget at that time of $54 million and the
time commitment involved, $50,000 wouldn't be out of the question. She
recalled for the Committee that she was first elected in 2006; the salary issue
came up in 2007. She didn't feel it was right, was the lone dissenter and
continues to be. She thought that the Council salary of around $1,750 at that
time is what she knew she would receive if elected. She reiterated that it's not
the love of money but the love of public service that drives one here. She
observed that if you put it into an hourly rate, you would do better in the private
sector, unless you work on the other side for the City. Further responding to
inquiry about what she felt just compensation was for a Councilmember, she
recalled suggesting that the Council take a look at reducing its salary 25% -
50% during this year's budget process. It wasn't met well by her colleagues,
and she had to push the issue. As a result, they didn't have the fortitude to
make the decision themselves, which is the reason this Committee was here
and why she was here today, because it was part of the democratic process —
the majority saying a committee would be formed to review the issue. She felt
if the Council had stayed at $1,750 with cost -of -living increases, it would have
been just fine. Therefore, she felt a 50% reduction would be in order. In
response to comment about there being more work for Councilmembers to find
more businesses in order to bring more money into the City, she didn't agree
with that Councilmember; she'd heard it before, and it wasn't true.
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D. Mayor Pro Tem William R. Kroonen - 5:00 p.m.
JUNE 20, 2012
D1. Public service: He thanked all the Committee Members for their service, noting
it was his suggestion that the group be established, and while it may be a
thankless task, he very much appreciated it. He went on to say he felt very
strongly about public service, having held public elective office continuously
since December 1981 and has done so because of a deep belief that he has
a responsibility to do his part in developing and maintaining the highest level of
opportunity for our fellow citizens and residents. For nearly all of his 30 years
in public service, he felt his talents and experiences lent themselves to working
with schools and other academic institutions; in fact, there has been a strong
correlation between his public service and his own professional, personal
pursuits. More recently, with the encouragement and support of a number of
friends and colleagues, it's been a privilege and a pleasure to work as
Councilmember in service to Palm Desert. He said without seeming to be
overly pious, he wanted it known that he strongly believed in the concept of
service above self.
D2. Councilmember duties, average hours to perform, etc.: Mayor Pro Tern Kroonen
stated that a Member of the Council sits with four fellow Councilors in fulfilling
the governance function of the City. Individual Members of the Council have
formal authority only inasmuch as they work collectively with colleagues at the
Council table. To carry out one's responsibilities as a Councilor, one has to be
knowledgeable of the City Charter and related Codes, Ordinances, etc., the
ongoing issues confronting the Council, the opinions and attitudes of a wide
range of constituents. Further, and perhaps beyond all else, a Councilmember
needs to practice common sense and thoughtful and sensitive decision -making.
He said to the greatest extent possible, an objective approach to decision -
making needs to be practiced. In order to accomplish the above,
Councilmembers need to carefully study the issues, participate in a wide variety
of City and community activities, speak with constituents in a variety of
environments, and read, study, and comprehend a great deal of relevant
information. Virtually all of this is done in a relatively ongoing way from early in
the morning until late at night, and sometimes even in the middle of the night.
He felt Council Meeting weeks are, obviously, the most time-consuming from
the time the meeting agenda is available the prior Friday until the meeting itself,
estimating that he spent some five to 10 hours in direct preparation for the
meeting, dependent on the agenda items. He believed this was the primary,
major responsibility of each Councilmember. Additionally, he estimated
spending something in excess of five hours/week in meetings with residents
and concerned individuals to discuss the various items of importance to them
and to him. He also participated in at least seven standing City
Committees/Commissions: Investment Committee, Art In Public Places
Commission, Cultural Resources Preservation Committee, Sustainability
Committee, Hotel Committee, Public Safety Commission, and importantly to
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him, the Youth Committee. He serves as the informal/formal liaison to the
Historical Society and many other ad hoc things that come up rather regularly.
On Friday mornings, the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tern meet with the City Manager
and City Attorney for about an hour to discuss a wide variety of issues. He
added that interacting in various ways with the Chamber of Commerce was also
an important aspect of service. He noted that the aforementioned meetings
themselves take several hours, in addition to the time spent in preparation for
them, this along with just being available in City Hall and around town can take
up several hours/week. He also serves on the CVAG Transportation
Committee, Mountains Conservancy Board, and is Vice Chair of the Board of
the Jacqueline Cochran Airport Authority. All told, he felt definable duties for
all of this amounted to a minimum of 30-40 hours/week. However, he pointed
out that Council Service really wasn't a job that lends itself to specific hours of
d uty.
D3. Just compensation for Councilmember, determining factors: Mayor Pro Tern
Kroonen felt all of the factors of size of City, number of staff, budget,
geographic location, time on City Council business were all relevant factors to
consider. Although, he felt the Committee should and probably will come to the
conclusion that the duties and responsibilities of Councilmembers cannot be
measured on an hourly basis. He said the situation was much more akin to a
professional contract with so many tangible and intangible factors coming into
play. For example, as President of College of the Desert, his contract, which
was typical of professional contracts, was based on the overall duties and
responsibilities involved, rather than the number of hours put in; so many things
simply cannot be quantified. The prospect of a time clock at City Hall was not
appropriate in his view.
D4. Number of Committees/Commissions, give any up, change anything about role
of Councilmember: In answer to comment about the previously mentioned
seven Committees/Commissions and amount of time they take, he said he
liked being on the Committees and Commissions. It provides a wonderful
opportunity to explore and be involved in a wide range of discussions, and even
more importantly, to meet with large numbers of people throughout the
community and keep an ear to the ground to find out what's going on, which he
felt entirely appropriate. He didn't feel overburdened or under -burdened; it was
a privilege to be able to participate in these activities. In fact, he said if any
Councilmember doesn't like serving on a certain Committee, it was easy to ask
the Mayor or another colleague if they could take up that responsibility. It
wasn't hard and fast, and pretty much Councilmembers played to their
strengths and interests in this role. Responding to question if he were to pick
one to give up, which would it be, he said there were none that he would like to
be away from. Further answering, he said that while it's part of the job, and he
understands, one of the things he didn't like having to spend time on is listening
to people complain about some of the marvelous features of our City and the
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advantages they have in living here. And most distressing of all is listening to
complaints about the dog parks. With regard to the question about changing
the role of a Councilmember, Mayor Pro Tern Kroonen responded that the role
of a Councilmember has evolved over the entire history of the City, dating back
to its founding in 1973. Having had the privilege of knowing virtually every
Member of the Council since that time, he had nothing but respect for each and
every one of them. To the best of his knowledge, evolution of the role has been
always with a view toward doing what's best for our community and with little
regard for self-serving matters. He believed the role will and should continue
to evolve, dependent on the individuals who are orwill become Members of the
Council. He didn't think there is or should be a particular prescription for
change, except that, obviously, change always needs to be for the better and
was very much dependent upon who is involved. He didn't feel one could write
down a job definition that enumerated what a Councilmember had to do (i.e.,
1., 2., 3., 4., 5.), because that wasn't the nature of this business.
D5. Major difference between Mayor and Councilmember: Mayor Pro Tern Kroonen
stated that the Mayor is first among equals during that period of time, keeping
in mind that, traditionally, the job in this community has rotated — everyone gets
a taste of it if he's/she's long enough on the Council. In his prior experiences,
he found that this is really a good thing, because it tends to alleviate the
nagging and complaining about whoever is leading the group during a particular
period of time. If you've been in that job, you have a better idea of what it's all
about, and he thought you tended to be a little more subtle, a little more
reasonable in dealing with people. He went on to say that the Mayor has more
responsibilities involving representation of the City in a variety of events, more
responsibilities in determining the overall current agenda of City activities, of
dealing day-to-daywith constituent concerns, and conducting Council Meetings.
He reiterated that he felt it was entirely appropriate that the position rotated. If
the question was leading to the issue of whether or not the Mayor should
receive a higher salary, he didn't think so; it was in the nature of duty on the
Council, particularly because the position rotates and pretty much everyone
gets a taste of it.
D6. Responsibilities since Redevelopment Agency abolished: He stated that if
anything, the responsibilities of Members of the Council will continue to
increase. With the major source of revenue disappearing, it becomes
incumbent on the Council to plan anew for the future of Palm Desert based on
new experience and, hopefully, new opportunities, and further, to cause new
opportunities to come into play. It will be particularly important for the City to
move forward without cynicism or regret for anything in the past. Palm Desert
has always been a great City and will continue to be so. The fact that
conditions and circumstances will continue to evolve in a variety of ways should
not cause one to believe that the fine traditions of the past are being ignored or
overridden. He felt it will be a bigger job, believing all the Committee Members
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here were very aware of the impact abolishment of the Redevelopment
Agencies has had. It will continue to be challenging for the City to pick up the
various pieces.
D7. Follow-up questions: In answer to comment that after listening to the various
City Councilmembers talk about the job and duties they have to perform
eliminating anyone with a full-time job as a profession from sitting on the City
Council, Mayor Pro Tern Kroonen responded that he would not want the fact
that there isn't significant compensation for the job causing anyone not to be
willing to serve because he/she cannot afford to do it. He acknowledged that
it is a very large job and admitted that if working full-time, he probably would not
be interested in it. That was all the more reason to make it worthwhile for
people to serve. With regard to what just compensation was for a
Councilmember, he felt it should be such that no one is excluded from
participation based on economic circumstances. He related that when he ran
for and was elected to the Desert Sands Unified School District Board in 1981,
he didn't know there was compensation involved until he received a check for
$40 for his first two meetings and asked what the check was for. Over the 12
years he served DSUSD, the compensation rose to $240/month, which was the
rate established in Sacramento based on local school population. For the next
16 years as a Member of the Riverside County Board of Education, he received
something over $400/month, again based on State standard. Therefore, it was
somewhat of a surprise to him when he was appointed to the City Council and
became aware of the compensation. In fact, after a short period of Council
service, he did suggest informally to a couple of colleagues that the Council
Compensation should be reviewed. At that time, the response to that
suggestion was in the negative. As far as what the appropriate compensation
should be, with all the greatest respect and appreciation for each of the
Committee Members, he would leave it to their judgment. He closed by stating
that he thought long and hard about suggesting creation of this group, because
he really wasn't sure if there were people around town who would want to take
on the responsibility and again heartily thanked the Committee for their service.
E. Councilmember Jean M. Benson - 5:20 p.m.
E1. Public service: After some 30 years of public service, she felt it was serving the
public and doing what one could for the betterment of your community. She
added it was working with the people who want to live in the community
because they've chosen to do so, making it the best place it can possibly be,
and doing whatever you can to accomplish this goal.
E2. Councilmember duties, average hours to perform, etc.: Councilmember Benson
thought it depended upon the time of year, because it varies. During the
summer months currently, it was a slower pace; however, she said anywhere
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from two to 40 or 50 hours, depending upon whether or not one is attending
evening affairs to represent the City, how many outside meetings there are, how
much reading there is to do, site visits or meeting with other people with regard
to a project. The amount of time varies; some weeks were slower. For
example, today she's been going since 9:30 a.m., and this appointment was her
last for the day. She referred to the list of the various boards where each
Councilmember serves as a liaison, pointing out that there were also some
County Boards where Councilmembers serve, such as the First Five
Commission she served for 10 years and traveled to Sacramento once/month
for meetings. She also served on Fourth District Supervisor Benoit's Annual
Senior Inspiration Awards that honors Coachella Valley seniors that aren't
recognized in other venues, noting that this was a County instead of City
function. She added that there were also special committees that come up for
certain projects in the City where one or two Councilmembers are appointed to
assist with those processes, and this can vary all year long.
E3. Just compensation for Councilmember, determining factors: Councilmember
Benson believed the main thing to consider is whether or not the constituents
are happy with the way the City functions. In the last 30 years, she estimated
receiving 10 telephone calls at home at the most. She didn't think
Councilmembers got many phone calls at home; people don't complain. When
they do, they come to Council Meetings, and whenever there are more than two
members of the public in the audience for a Council Meeting, it signifies an
issue. She said other Coachella Valley cities have people at their meetings
constantly, and Palm Desert doesn't unless there is a specific concern. Nor
does Palm Desert have anyone specifically monitoring the Council; it did in the
very beginning, she related that people would stand up and cuss and call the
Council names, etc., as some other Councils still have, but Palm Desert hasn't.
She added that they've been thankful not to have had that type of occurrence,
and it lets them know they're doing a good job. She also noted that Palm
Desert has long -serving Councilmembers, which is rare amongst the other
Coachella Valley cities, and she attributed this fact to Palm Desert
Councilmembers all working for the City, for its betterment and not for
themselves. She offered that just recently a lady she didn't know came up to
her at a local tire shop, recognizing her as a Member of the City Council and
commended her and the City for the excellent governance. She said this
happens quite often and was a testament to how the City has operated over the
years to make Palm Desert the very best it could be. In response to question
about what she felt City Councilmember compensation should be, she observed
that when the City first incorporated, Councilmembers didn't receive anything
the first year. Then the compensation went to $250, three years later it went to
$350, and a few years later it went to $500 where it stayed for a long time. She
said in 2006, under the State Guidelines, City Council received $21,700; State
Guidelines allowed 5% per year, but for a few years City Council didn't get the
5%, so it elected to catch up. But again, it stayed within the State Guidelines,
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and only when the City became Charter did it change. She was perfectly happy
with the State Guideline and what other cities get for it. She noted that certainly
one wasn't in this job for the pay or long hours, but for the betterment of your
community. In follow-up response, she answered that Councilmembers got
health insurance from the very beginning of the City, and while that was
surprising at the time, the theory was to keep everyone healthy, and they could
better do that with insurance. She added that they also then were required to
have a mandatory annual health examination. Further with regard to pension,
she said they didn't get into PERS until about 10-15 years after incorporation,
and that was only because somebody in Cathedral City told Palm Desert that
they could belong to PERS; otherwise, they didn't know it. She went on to
explain that City Council got the first $250 compensation because a Rancho
Mirage Councilwoman found out that some city was getting that amount and
wondered why it couldn't be the same here, and they got $250. She added that
all the benefits Palm Desert Councilmembers ever received was because
someone else found out they were available; they weren't out specifically
seeking them.
E4. Number of Committees/Commissions, give any up, change anything about role
of Councilmember. • Councilmember Benson didn't think she would relieve
herself from any of her Committee/Commission assignments. She said it was
part of the discussion when the salary was raised in 2007 that Palm Desert
probably participates in more outside committees than anybody else in the
Coachella Valley. From going to these committee meetings, Palm Desert
Council knows that a lot of representatives from the other cities don't show up,
and Palm Desert has always been a player in the regional aspect of this Valley;
it's not all about Palm Desert. She enjoyed all the committees she serves, and
they are switched around from time to time; although, Palm Desert was
probably one of the few cities that doesn't change them every year. She noted
that some cities change their representatives every year, but to her it was
similar to the ineffectiveness of term limits, the continuity of knowledge is lost.
A different representative every year doesn't know what that committee is
doing, and it takes them a year to find out what, for instance, the Children's
Discovery Museum does and doesn't do for the Coachella Valley, and then
they're gone. She added that when an organization needs help with getting
money, that's the reason Councilmembers are on a lot of the committees, and
then your support is gone from the other cities. Therefore, Palm Desert has
always played a major role in outside activities. Responding to question about
possibly changing the role of a Councilmember, she said if she would have
changed anything, she wouldn't have stayed 30 years; she couldn't think of
anything that she would change. She felt Palm Desert had a very good system,
it works well — probably the only thing to change is people's attitude, which is
hard to do. She said a lot of people are set in their ways and will not change
no matter what. That's why in the past she felt Palm Desert has done so well,
because Councilmembers have all worked well together and believed whatever
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they were doing was the best for the City. She said now they hear that they
can't do things the old way, and it gets more difficult.
E5. Major difference between Mayor and Councilmember: Councilmember Benson
stated that there are a lot of different time commitments because people want
the Mayor to be at certain events. She said there were also a lot of signatures
to affix and handwritten notes to make — there were quite a few extra duties.
However, she didn't think for Palm Desert's five -member City Council that the
Mayor should get paid more, it was part of civic duty; you serve once every five
years, and it wasn't a hardship. Further, if you distinguish between the Mayor
getting more money than the rest of Council, she didn't think it was necessary -
everybody does it for one year. She said whenever necessary as Mayor, you
can also have somebody fill in for you, noting that there have been some that
would take the money and not show up at meetings anyway. The current
system keeps the field even and everybody gets the same. She affirmed that
the time responsibilities and compensation issues balance out over time.
E6. Responsibilities since Redevelopment Agency abolished: Councilmember
Benson didn't think it would create more work, maybe a little less. She said one
of the committees she's served on, Project Area No. 4 Committee (Palm Desert
Country Club area) was a Redevelopment Agency Board that has been
abolished. However, there might come another committee to cover that area
in order to compensate for it. She commented that Redevelopment was more
about money and projects than anything else; projects basically come to the
City Council, along with special committees. Therefore, she didn't think it was
going to cause any more work without Redevelopment; if anything, it would be
less work because there isn't the money to do major projects. She felt
Palm Desert was very fortunate to have accomplished as much it did in the past
30+ years, and there were very few things left to put on the "want" list instead
of the "need" list — the Aquatic Center being one of the last major projects, and
the Carlos Ortega Villas Housing Project that was being planned in the
Palm Desert Country Club area that the City now has to find the money for in
order to finish. Responding to question about how the role of Councilmember
has changed in her 30 years of service, she said it hasn't changed much,
except that Palm Desert has added things and tried to keep the community in
tune with what it's doing. She said having community -based committees of its
residents keeps everyone involved with what's going on, and whenever there
was need for a new one, the City adds a committee to get residents' input and
have them help Councilmembers. She said those have increased from the very
beginning; CVAG was the first extra outside committee in order to try to get all
the cities to work together. Referring to the list of City Committees and
Commissions, she felt it would be evident that Palm Desert probably has more
of them than any other Coachella Valley city, because it wanted to engage the
community in the process, but she added sometimes it was less. In response
to question about the City becoming heavily involved in Redevelopment
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activities following the 1976 flood, she noted that she was on the first City
Council in 1973 at incorporation, off until 1984 and serving ever since, and
when she was off the Council is when more committees were formed. She felt
the change has been just additional things that the community needed.
E7. 2007 Salary Determination: Councilmember Benson said it really didn't start
with Palm Desert but with Indian Wells; somebody said the Council should be
paid $100,000 per year, and everybody said that will never happen. Well,
Indian Wells got theirs raised, so when it came to Palm Desert, it came in to
raise it to $50,000. She said both she and Councilmember Finerty said no and
voted against it at the time. When asked what the both of them would take, she
said, without giving it a lot of thought, she threw out the figure of $3,500/month,
which was interpreted as $35,000/year, which raised it. She said it could have
started a lot higher, but at least they had enough influence to get it down
somewhat and didn't come back to bite them that soon. She thanked this
Committee for their service, noting that she wasn't in support of its
establishment because she was a great believerthat the Councilmembers were
elected to make these decisions; and if you can't make them, something is
wrong with one's thought process. She believed this could have been done just
as easily by the City Council, yet she was very appreciative of everyone's
service here.
With Committee concurrence, Chair Rover recessed the meeting at 5:44 p.m. He
reconvened the meeting at 5:48 p.m.
VII. REMARKS AND COMMENTS BY COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
A. Alternate Committee Member Busick felt some of the comments received were
very insightful, and she was intrigued with the different variations of opinions
regarding abolishment of the Redevelopment Agency.
B. Chair Rover was fascinated by the viewpoints expressed, which he felt were all
made in good faith and not as a result of politicking. Now it was the Committee's
job to digest the information and distill it into something meaningful. He said it was
obvious that there is a huge time commitment involved in being on the
Palm Desert City Council and felt it needed to be recognized. Giving thought to the
matter earlier in the week and comparing it to a case he was working with
regarding award of attorneys' fees, he said there was a list of some 11 items that
a judge can consider in determining what is a reasonable attorney fee. Some of
those items included the particular specialization of an attorney that may be on
point, which he felt was relevant to Councilmembers' comments regarding the City
Committees and Commissions that they sit on representing their own strengths or
specialization. Therefore, he felt that had to be taken into account and as a result,
his view of how this process will develop has slightly changed as he listened today.
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He agreed with comments of his colleagues that it's really not a salary but
compensation for bringing a whole host of life experience, education, intellect, and
time commitment to the job. It will be interesting to hear the public comments, and
then he looked .forward to deliberating with the Committee to make a
recommendation.
C. Member Sullivan was very interested in the different responses and viewpoints
regarding loss of the Redevelopment Agency, some of them being verysimilar and
others at a different level. He thought all of these factors were very important to
the Committee — to hear from all the Councilmembers who do the work, we know
they do the work, and there was no question that we're all proud of our City. His
eyes had been opened somewhat to what they're doing even more so than what
he knew before.
D. Member Leo observed that every Councilmember talked about the number of
hours they give each week, so they have made it a full-time job. Therefore, his
question was whether or not it had to be, and if so, they should be justly
compensated for it.
Chair Rover agreed. He said if someone has 80 hours per week to devote to the
job, they could all be filled; but he wondered if someone only had 10 hours per
week if that would be enough to do the job. He felt that would be the crux of the
Committee's objective - determine what was required to do the job.
Member Busick added that there was a fine line, as Councilmember Benson put
it, because of the fact that Councilmembers are involved in all the committees,
Palm Desert was a very well -run City. Constituents feel this way, citizen
volunteers get involved in these committees, and because Councilmembers are
involved, it is a huge element of the City's success. Although, she did take issue
with the statement that the compensation is fine based upon whether or not
constituents are happy; she didn't think that was a realistic view. She said their
making the responsibilities full-time maybe wasn't essential, but the whole
Community -Committee -City Council collaboration does have a huge impact on the
City's success and cannot be undermined.
Member Leo said one of the reasons he asked the question about someone
having a full-time job is to see if those people were being eliminated from this
process. If what was heard today was the standard in terms of involvement of City
Councilmembers, then he questioned if he could be a Councilmember and still
have a paying, full-time, professional job for survival. Based on what he heard
today, one could not do this and still serve on the Palm Desert City Council
because of the time commitment. By his calculations based on responses
received here, they're not averaging 30 but 40-50 hours per week, and he
wondered whether that was a choice or the way to run the City. At this point, he
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didn't have the answer, and this issue being of concern to him since this process
began.
E. Vice Chair Gribow said he echoed some of the insightful comments of his
colleagues. He thought listening to the Councilmembers opened everyone's eyes
to the extensive amount of time necessary to serve as a Councilmember; and he
didn't think it was possible to be working and be a full-time Councilmember. There
are a tremendous number of meetings, the preparation for them, all the different
committees they sit on, and he believed Councilmember Finerty was the only one
with outside employment. He felt it was almost a thankless job and agreed with
Councilmember Benson that it was something the Council should have decided
rather than placing it in this Committee's lap; but since it is, the Committee will
have to do what it thinks best. He pointed out that the Committee was only giving
a recommendation, the Council doesn't have to follow it. He thought it interesting
that the Redevelopment Agency issue elicited different answers — some thought
it would be more work without Redevelopment, others less, because he never
considered it possibly being more work. It made sense that they will have to do
a lot more to get money into the City to make up for what was lost. He observed
that for the most part, Councilmembers avoided the issue of compensation —
responses ranged from it being fair to it should be cut 25%-50% — big differences
to be considered. He questioned whether or not the Committee has enough
background to make an intelligent decision, not that it hasn't been provided
information, but there was a lot more involved that hasn't been considered. He felt
it was a daunting task ahead.
F. Member Housken commented that she also found the Redevelopment issue
interesting. While some Councilmembers thought it would be more work, some
less, she still questioned whose job it was to generate more revenue for the City
since it already has a capable staff. Relative to comments about whether or not
it's a full-time job and what's required, she noted that at a prior meeting
Mr. Wohlmuth and Mr. Erwin were asked about anything defining what the City
Council does. She recalled the answer being that there really isn't anything; it isn't
in the Code Book— perhaps the State defines the obligations of a Councilmember.
She stated someone offered that first and foremost they attend Council Meetings,
but she again asked if it was quantified somewhere what the base duties are, and
then extra committee and commission responsibilities are added. She
acknowledged it was clear that Palm Desert's City Council is very responsive to
residents.
In response, Mr. Erwin said basically, the only legal requirement is being a resident
of the City. However, if they fail to attend Council Meetings continuously for three
or four consecutive meetings, their seat can be declared vacant; therefore, you
would assume that there is a responsibility to attend Council Meetings and vote.
He went on to say that Councilmembers have a responsibility to declare conflicts
of interest, fill out financial disclosure statements, but other than that, there is little
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or nothing clearly defining their duties once elected. He added that there is a lot
of case law indicating that Councilmembers are supposed to attend the meetings,
they make the decisions to run the Council, but it's all in very, very general terms.
He offered to pull up that information, but he didn't think it would provide a lot of
clarity.
Member Housken referred back to the presentation at last meeting about the
differentiation between full- and part-time City employees and how the part-time
employees receive CalPERS benefits, etc., that the State considers
Councilmembers full-time, and she asked if it mattered whether the
Councilmember served in a General Law or Charter City when it came to being
considered full-time. She went on to ask if the City then had discretion over how
to administer health benefits for Councilmembers on something otherthan full-time
status.
Mr. Wohlmuth first answered Councilmembers were considered full-time
regardless of General Law or Charter City status. Secondly, he said the CalPERS
System gives the City the option of providing that benefit to the Council. He said
in his former position as a County Administrative Officer, it was discretionary for
a Member of the Board of Supervisors to belong to CalPERS, adding that the
City of Palm Desert currently has one Councilmember who is a retired annuitant
of CalPERS and doesn't get those benefits from the City. Therefore, he said it is
somewhat discretionary. However, he pointed out that there is a distinction
between part-time employees being strictly paid on an hourly basis compared to
an exempt employee, and it is complex. He didn't think the organization could
have an exempt employee that wasn't entitled to full-time benefits. He felt the
Committee was struggling with the issues of the legal duties/responsibilities of the
City Council and whether or not some of the salary or benefits can be pulled back
based on hours of work. In his opinion, that was extremely difficult to do. In
further response to question, he and Mr. Erwin confirmed that the General Law
Cities' State Guideline for City Council Compensation did not consider benefits.
Mr. Erwin also confirmed that the State doesn't speak to the issues of any health
and retirement benefits, it strictly dealt with the absolute amount for salary.
Vice Chair Gribow commented that he was at a Lincoln Club Luncheon last week
where several attendees approached him about this Committee's work. He said
the first person told him that a City couldn't pay Councilmembers enough for the
time they spend, while the next person said it is a job where they're devoting
themselves to service for the City and shouldn't make anything. He was amazed
by this diversity of opinion. He hoped that when disseminating this information,
members of the press can give a sense of the amount of time Councilmembers put
in; it was not a part-time job, was not going to one meeting a month and getting
paid all this money. He felt there really was a tremendous amount of time that
each Councilmember provides to the City, and no matter what the Committee
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decides, there will be some who are against it. He hoped residents could be
educated to the vast amount of work Palm Desert Councilmembers put in.
Chair Rover remarked that a couple of meetings ago the question was asked
whether the Committee should start with the present rate and adjust therefrom, or
should it take a zero -based approach and build the compensation from there. At
that time, he felt it was appropriate to start from scratch; however, starting there
may result in a number higher than it is now, with the whole process having been
initiated as an exercise in salary reduction.
VII1. SCHEDULE FOR NEXT MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2012, AT 4:00 P.M.
Committee Members discussed the orderof the next meeting, conducting the public input
session, and how to do as much work as possible that day to formulate a
recommendation.
With Committee concurrence, determined: 1) Next regular meeting to be held Wednesday,
July 18, 2012, at 4:30 p.m. in the Administrative Conference Room with Public Input Session to
commence at 5:00 p.m. in the Civic Center Council Chamber; 2) if necessary due to length of
meeting and amount public input received on July 18, plan to recess the meeting to July 19,
2012, at 4:00 p.m. in the Administrative Conference Room of the Civic Center.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
Upon a motion by Vice Chair Gribow, second by Member Sullivan, and unanimous vote
of the Committee, Chair Rover adjourned the meeting at 6:11 p.m.
,31 A
• • To
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2012
4:30 P.M. - ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE ROOM
5:00 P.M. - CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBER
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Rover convened the meeting at 4:33 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Present:
Member Joan Busick (Alternate)
Vice Chair Dale Gribow
Member Kim Housken
Member Bob Leo
Member Leo Sullivan
Chair Mike Rover
Also Present:
John M. Wohlmuth, City Manager
David J. Erwin, City Attorney
Lori Carney, Human Resources Manager
David Herman, Management Analyst/P.I.O.
Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —Meeting of June 20, 2012.
Member Leo moved to approve the Minutes as presented. Motion was seconded by
Vice Chair Gribow.
Member Housken called attention to a figure shown on page 9. She said while the
Minutes are accurate as to the statement made here at the last meeting, her attention
was drawn to the matter after reading the follow-up story in The Desert Sun regarding
percentage of General Fund Budget. She said the number was off by two decimal points
(it should be .76% or .0076 instead of .0076%). It was noted that the Minutes didn't need
correction, as they reflected the statement made at the last meeting, but the Committee
agreed that it was a misstatement.
Chair Rover called for the vote, and the Minutes were approved as presented on a 5-0
vote.
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V. REVIEW OF COUNCIL COMPENSATION STUDY AND COMPARISONS.
Mr. Wohlmuth recalled for the Committee Member Housken's request for a
Classification/Compensation Study as it relates to City Councilmember Compensation.
He said this was unique because there is no real classification component, just
compensation. Therefore, staff performed a Compensation Analysis, and he hoped
Committee Members had a chance to review the comprehensive report provided with the
packets and that it would be helpful in their deliberations. He offered to answer
questions, noting that The Desert Sun used City of Poway in their story yesterday; but it
wasn't a City he selected when writing the report. He added that either at this time or
under the next agenda item, it would be appropriate to answer Member Leo's questions
submitted in an e-mail, having to do with how the 4% increase in the current Fiscal Year
2012-2013 will be applied and how Councilmembers are categorized as employees.
Ms. Carney stated that with regard to the 4% salary adjustment, when City Council
adopted Ordinance No. 1139 setting the current salary, a provision of it specified that the
Council will receive an increase in salary at the same percentage and rate that employees
do. Since the City had a negotiated salary adjustment with its employees dealing with a
variety of adds and take-aways, a salary increase was negotiated in return for their paying
the equal amount toward their PERS contribution. Therefore, it also applied to the City
Council. Further responding, she confirmed that City Councilmembers contributed to
PERS at the same rate as employees. She added that the 4% was considered a raise,
but there was an offsetting deduction in salary; therefore, the net pay people receive
didn't change.
Mr. Erwin went on to respond that in City Ordinances, Councilmembers are not
considered employees. They are employees primarily for tax and Social Security
purposes and PERS Contracts — these all state that Councilmembers will be treated as
employees in this regard. He noted that it's also specified in IRS Code Section
No. 3401(c).
In answer to question about CalPERS giving the City the option of providing the benefit
to City Council, Mr. Wohlmuth stated that there is currently one Councilmember who is
a PERS annuitant and drawing a retirement. Therefore, that Councilmember doesn't
participate in PERS through the City of Palm Desert, and the City doesn't require him to
do so either, because he's already drawing a retirement through PERS from his previous
employment. Ms. Carney noted that CalPERS is regulated by State Law, and thereunder,
elected officials are optional members. So she said it's not that the City is giving the
option, but the State is giving Councilmembers the option of enrolling in PERS for their
retirement benefits. If a Councilmember chooses not to enroll, and they're also not
already a retired annuitant, the City would then have to put them in the Social Security
System and pay that fee. She explained that because Councilmembers are treated as
employees by the IRS for Social Security, Medicare, and tax purposes, the City would
have to enroll them in Social Security with the 7.65% employer portion of FICA
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contribution. Responding to question about how 7.65% compares to the PERS
contribution expense, Ms. Carney said it was less. She explained that the PERS
employer contribution changes overtime based on their investment returns, which were
recently reported to be low; therefore, employer contributions are higher. Currently, she
believed the City's employer contribution this year is 21 % of salary. Employee
contribution per the current contract is 8%, which is set by statute. The total contribution
was 21 % plus 8% (employees picking up the 8%). Further, Ms. Carney responded that
the City was not part of the Social Security System; it only participates in the Public
Employees' Retirement System (PERS), but it is in Medicare, and everyone has a 1.45%
Medicare deduction.
Upon inquiry about what statutes apply, Ms. Carney said both Federal and State statutes
apply for certain aspects. She said the fact that Councilmembers have to be treated as
employees is in the IRS Code, and on its website there is a helpful guide for public
agencies about how to treat different types of employees. IRS specifically says elected
officials are employees for income tax purposes underthe provision that applies to public
officials, and they're subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes; very few elected
officials could be considered independent contractors. She said that was the part of the
law that says the City has to provide them with a pension benefit or Social Security
benefit. California State Law specifies that Councilmembers have the option of being
members of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CaIPERS). She
clarified that the option was between PERS and Social Security, or in the case of a retired
annuitant already receiving a pension, that person doesn't have to participate in either
system. She also confirmed that the City was picking up a portion of the 8% employee
contribution previously, but it has been renegotiated that employees now pick up all of
that amount.
Ms. Carney responded that she'd have to do some more research about whether or not
the City could elect not to have Councilmembers participate in CalPERS but didn't believe
the City could keep them from it, because it's under CalPERS Statutes that say they have
the option to elected membership. However, she was certain that current
Councilmembers couldn't be taken out of PERS. Because underthe law, once someone
is a PERS Member, a current employer cannot take that person out of the system. If it
could be done at all, it would have to be for future Councilmembers. She added that
some cities are talking about barring future Councilmembers from PERS participation, but
she was unsure any had actually done so. She offered to research the issue while the
Committee was in the public input session and bring it back to the session afterward.
Member Housken pointed out that Councilmember Benson said during her interview that
the City Council hadn't initially participated with the pension plan. It wasn't until about 10-
15 years after the City incorporated that they got in, just because another city had let
them know it was available. Ms. Carney didn't think it was that long of a period after
incorporation but confirmed it was afterthat date, estimating that it was about 1979 or so.
She noted that the costs of benefits were much less at that time.
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Member Housken thanked staff for all the data and asked a question about information
contained on page 7 of the report. She referred to the comparison of Mayor and City
Councilmembers, with regard to Cerritos and Redondo Beach, wondering how the
average per city could be less than the Council and the Mayor.
Mr. Wohlmuth confirmed that there was one Mayor and at least four or more
Councilmembers. He went on to say that there were seven cities looked at that had
different pay for Mayors and Councilmembers. Of those seven, only two had directly
elected Mayors. For instance, La Quinta has a directly elected Mayor, but the Mayor's
compensation is exactly the same as the Council's. Ms. Carney added that in preparing
the reports, the equation factored the four Councilmembers plus the Mayor, divided by
five.
Vice Chair Gribow agreed that staff had provided wonderful information and said that he,
himself, was vacillating about how he felt on the issue. His biggest concern was whether
or not comparison to other cities was appropriate. Palm Desert is a well -run city, .it's a
relatively new city, has a lot of land yet to develop — he just didn't know whether it was a
fair comparison.
Mr. Wohlmuth responded that typically when a salary comparison is performed, it's never
really an apples -to -apples comparison. One just has to do the best job possible in finding
the similarities; every City was different in the workload, community culture, expectations,
and standards. Therefore, staff did its best to provide a comparison, and he'd come up
with certain standards - Charter City (otherwise, there would be a skewed result in
comparing General Law Cities paid under the Government Code), Population of between
40,000 - 80,000, Upscale Communities (very subjective), Contract Cities (some cities
contract for police and fire, some just police), and Tourism -based Economy. He was
unsure that Cerritos met the criteria for tourism -based, but it met a couple of the other
factors.
Vice Chair Gribow acknowledged that the Committee was looking at population, Council
Salaries, but asked how to account for Palm Desert's being the best -run City in the desert
and how this could be weighted in the comparison.
In answer to Alternate Member Busick's inquiry about the total dollar amount of benefits
received by Councilmembers, Ms. Carney provided a hand-out that listed all
Councilmembers and the cost/person. She noted that Mayor Pro Tern Kroonen has
some blanks in the table next to his name, because he doesn't participate in the City's
benefits. She felt it important to point out from her previous presentation to the
Committee where a range of costs was provided, that the cost is dependent upon the
person in the position. For instance, if there is a single person or a person who is a
retired annuitant, it doesn't guarantee that future Councilmembers will be single or
retired — their costs would be dependent on their family situation. Upon inquiry, she said
the difference in the two Councilmembers whose CalPERS Medical Benefit was over
$1,000 each was a result of family size and chosen plan; and the City pays the entire
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amount. She went on to respond that the City has a Cafeteria Plan with four different
plans from which employees and Councilmembers can choose — two HMOs and two
PPOs. The City pays 100% for the two HMOs and one of the PPOs; if a person were to
select it, the other PPO requires a payroll deduction. She added that no one is currently
participating in the PPO that requires a payroll deduction. In answer to the question of
what Councilmembers take with them when they leave the City Council, she said if a
Councilmember retires from their service with the Council and are vested, they can
receive a pension. To be vested, a person has to be at least 50 years of age and served
at least five years, and they can then get a pension based on the formula. If the
Councilmember has served with the City for at least 10 years and is retiring, they are
entitled to a percentage reimbursement for their health care costs in retirement — starting
at 50% and going up to 75%. She pointed out it was dependent on years of service, with
a minimum of 10 years. She explained that if a Councilmember has served the City less
than 10 years, then they are not reimbursed for their health insurance; but they are
eligible to continue the health insurance in retirement by paying the premium directly
themselves. Answering the question of whether or not a vested member receives
supplemental insurance through PERS, she said yes, if they are vested in PERS and can
retire, they can continue with the PERS Healthcare Benefit. However, if they are under
65 years of age, it's just a basic health plan; it can be continued by their paying the
premium, and the City may reimburse the retiree for part of that premium based upon
their years of service. If the person is over 65 years and on Medicare, then the health
benefit converts to a Supplement to Medicare Plan. She said the amount of that payment
depends upon how long they served. At 10 years of service, the City would pay 50% of
the premium — for a single person, she believed the supplement to Medicare for the PPO
Plan is approximately $430, and the City would reimburse 50% of that ($215).
Ms. Carney went on to respond that the City is not required to include City
Councilmembers in its health benefits program, it has included them historically as far as
she knew. She reiterated that in the 1970s when the benefit was granted, health benefits
were considered a "fringe benefit" and very inexpensive; they've increased in cost over
the years. She added it was a choice to offer health benefits to Councilmembers. In
answer to question about how part-time City employees are affected with the health
insurance benefits, she responded thatthe Cityjust started with part-time employees, and
there are two currently. It is set up so that the City provides them with 50% benefits, so
they have a payroll deduction for 50% of the premium for Health, Dental, and Vision. She
said for their retirement benefits, they earn a pension at half-time.
Ms. Carney confirmed that for the purposes of CalPERS and other benefits, City
Councilmembers are considered full-time employees. Further, the City's definition of a
full-time employee is someone who is regularly assigned to work 40 hours/week. She
said CalPERS defines a full-time employee or regular employee as a person who is
regularly scheduled to work more than 1,000 hours/year. However, she said that was for
employees; CalPERS has a separate definition for elected officials, and under the law,
elected officials earn service credit at the same rate as full-time employees. That means
for every month they're a Councilmember, they earn a month of service credit; because
they don't have hours of work. For regular employees, if one works 25 hours, they get
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25 hours of service credit; 40 hours provides 40 hours of service credit, likewise. Upon
question about whether or not any previous Councilmembers received their group
medical insurance through an employer or other self-employment and opted out of the
CaIPERS Health Insurance Program, Ms. Carney said she'd been with the City 15 years
and didn't recall any during her tenure, but it's possible there were before that.
Mr. Wohlmuth said he didn't recall a Councilmember opting out of the City's Health
Insurance. Although, the Cafeteria Plan allows for employee opt -outs; employee has to
first prove to Human Resources that they have insurance. Further, as to whether or not
the employee/Councilmember could then take the money saved by not taking the City's
health insurance benefit to use somewhere else in the Cafeteria Plan, staff said there is
a payment in -lieu of premium; but the Cafeteria Plan isn't one that provides "X" number
of dollars/month with the ability of applying any excess toward a flexible plan. City of
Palm Desert has a Premium Conversion Plan, and there is a $150/month in -lieu benefit.
At this point in the meeting and with Committee concurrence, Chair Rover suspended the
agenda and recessed the meeting to go to the Council Chamber for the Public Input
Session (Agenda Section VII - page 7) at 5:01 p.m.
Following reconvening the meeting after the Public Input Session at 5:30 p.m., Chair
Rover continued with the agenda's Section VI, below.
VI. PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF TO GATHER FURTHER REQUESTED
INFORMATION.
Upon inquiry for a ballpark estimate of how much the City has saved in opting out of
prevailing wage for projects since it attained Charter City status in 1997, Mr. Wohlmuth
said it hadn't been quantified. Furthermore, he said over time, the California Legislature
has added prevailing wage to other types of work that a Charter City must now pay and
cannot opt out of, such as for Redevelopment projects. Therefore, he said it would be
difficult to calculate how much has been saved.
In answer to a question earlier in the meeting about the chart on page 7 of the staff report
entitled, "Comparative Salary Study," under Section V of this agenda, Ms. Carney
explained that two of the listed cities, Redondo Beach and Cerritos, provide auto
allowances to their Council. The auto allowance was included in the total salary but not
in the average, accounting for the difference.
With regard to the query about whether or not the City could exclude Councilmembers
from CaIPERS, Ms. Carney said it is clear that anyone currently in PERS cannot be
excluded in the future. However, she said it was unclear whether or not the City could
exclude future elected officials; in fact, the manual advises contacting CalPERS for a
determination. Further responding, she said the City couldn't limit or change the amount
being paid to PERS on behalf of the Councilmembers, as that amount has to be paid on
every member — you cannot separate out any group in the contract that way in the
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amount that is paid. She again added that whether or not the City could exclude
Councilmembers going forward was unclear to her when reading the CalPERS Manual,
and the advice is to contact them for a determination. She said the contract with PERS
could be amended and certain classifications could be excluded, not all, but working to
do so is a lengthy process that takes several months. She pointed out that the City's last
PERS Contract Amendment took three months' time, offering to call first thing in the
morning to inquire about such a change but didn't know how long it would take to get an
answer.
Member Leo observed that one of the things the Committee was wrestling with was the
definition of a full-time employee. He said when looking at staff, it is easy to define full-
time employment and part-time employment, as the City is now moving toward. He was
quite uneasy about the fact that City Council can be considered full-time for their benefits
and that their benefits are paid at the same rate as staff members. He felt that was
something the Committee should take into consideration when they are trying to put
together a final compensation package for Council, because he was unaware of the full-
time status until tonight's meeting.
VII. PUBLIC INPUT SESSION - CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBER - 5:00 P.M.
Chair Rover convened the Public Input Session at 5:08 p.m. and provided some
introductory remarks to those in attendance.
MR. RICHARD WEINSTEIN, Sandpiper, Palm Desert, understood that there were really
only two functions of a Councilmember:1) Review and considerthe information that they
obtain from staff and from the public; 2) vote. He also understood that the Palm Desert
City Council, to which the Citizens Committee was going to be making their
recommendation, has advised that they expend tremendous hours on their duties —
40+ hours. He said it wasn't necessary and was an insult to the staff, who is requested
to give Councilmembers all the information they need; and from that they should take
their information, make their decision, and cast their vote. That was the job they were
elected for. The fact that they're making money for doing investigation that the staff does
is redundant and improper in his opinion.
MR. KENNETH DORAN, Palm Desert, commented that obviously, this was a very
contentious issue — seeing it being played out in the papers. He had made it clear that
he planned to throw his hat in the ring for this November, and certainly compensation is
of concern. However, he also realized that there has to be some reduction in comparison
to some of the other California cities; it's very clear where Palm Desert is at with that. He
proposed looking at the total compensation package — health care and retirement
benefits — perhaps making it more of a Cafeteria Plan where someone could forego the
health insurance and receive compensation for it instead of having both.
MR. BILL TAYLOR, President of the Terracina HOA, Palm Desert, offered that he was
reasonably neutral on the issue, because he found it difficult to understand the amount
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of time Councilmembers spend holding their positions. He liked to attend the meetings,
so he believed there was some background work that goes into it for them before they
meet. Regardless of what situation the Committee comes to, he felt that any change in
compensation, whether it be creating compensation, changing compensation, or changing
benefits, should be put before the electorate. The people of Palm Desert should have
the right to vote on whether or not they feel those changes should be made, since they
directly elect their representatives. He believed anything having to do with financial
compensation has to come from the people.
MR. CHARLES ASH, Palm Desert, said he didn't intend to speak here today, but after
hearing the first gentleman refer to depending strictly on staff for all input, felt that was
totally ludicrous. He said staff does this, but it looks at things in a certain way. He noted
being involved with the City for some 20 years and very familiar with what
Councilmembers do, but he did think they were overpaid. He wanted to know exactly how
much a City Councilmemberwas compensated, including health insurance and any other
benefits - the total package.
Chair Rover responded that the package varies from Councilmemberto Councilmember,
because the benefit packages cost different amounts for each.
MR. ASH went on to say that this morning's newspaper quoted something like $47,000;
it used to be $36,000, which was changed pretty significantly recently. He referred to the
City of Indian Wells, where they used to throw in the golf package, and there were all
kinds of things, which he considered as pay. Further he stated that the Mayor and
Councilmembers have to represent the City at various functions at other cities; there is
a lot of work that staff members cannot perform. He was supporting the Council in that
area, but he still wanted an accounting of exactly what they're paid. He said there were
a lot of names in the hopper and believed that whenever the ante is increased on
anything, there would be more people vying for such a position, and some shouldn't have
it. He was all for compensating Councilmembers fairly, but there were also the situations
like Bell, Cudahy, and others, and it can get out of hand. He also referred to today's
news where it was reported that a 10% increase was approved at two of the universities,
while they were complaining of having no money and needing to raise tuition, yet they
seemed to have money to provide these raises - there was something wrong with the
system. He noted City staff had been let go and asked how many.
Mr. Wohlmuth answered that in the last three years, the City of Palm Desert went from
170 employees to 107.
MR. ASH pointed out that the City keeps reducing staff because of there being no money,
yet they keep raising salaries of Councilmembers. He supported the City Council 100%,
but the compensation was totally out of control. He again asked Mr. Wohlmuth for a total
compensation package for Councilmembers, because as City Manager, he should have
that information readily available.
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Mr. Wohlmuth stated that compensation for the City Council is a salary of $47,373. With
benefits, which depended on family size, other factors, he said total compensation for all
five Councilmembers ranges from $47,585 to $66,146.
MR. ASH said since these people are considered part-time employees, it was a high
package for what they do and size of City of a population of approximately 49,191. He
said according to the newspaper, Palm Desert is one of the highest -paid in the State and
was out of whack.
MR. HOWARD KLEIN, Palm Desert, said he wanted to ask some questions, because he
was a little bit confused about this Committee's responsibility. Initially, after reading about
the matter in the paper, his assumption was that the Council was going to appear to
whatever decision the Committee came up with. Now he read where the Council "will
consider" what the Committee comes up with. He asked what the Committee was
charged with doing.
Vice Chair Gribow answered that the Committee is just making a recommendation. In
further response, Chair Rover said the Committee hopes that the Council will give strong
consideration to its recommendation, considering each of the Committee Members has
put in several hours toward the task at this point. However, he added that the Council is
not legally bound to follow the recommendation; everyone will probably find out at the
next Council Meeting.
No further public input was offered.
Vice Chair Gribow observed that he had similar concerns to many of the audience
members when this process started many weeks ago. The Committee interviewed each
of the Councilmembers, asking them what jobs they perform, what committees they
attend, what the responsibilities were, how many hours they spend per month on Council
business, and he was staggered by the amount of work they put in. He noted that
everyone here today hasn't heard that information and would probably wonder why they
should get more than a minimal amount of money. But after interviewing
Councilmembers and spending 20-30 hours on this matter, and seeing that
Councilmembers receive packets for each meeting, spending five to 10 hours preparing
for a Council Meeting, said meetings often lasting late into the night, there was a lot more
on the Councilmembers' plates than anyone realized. Further, Councilmembers aren't
part-time employees; he thought only one had an outside job. He didn't think it was
possible to work full-time and be a dedicated Councilmember; it is that demanding of a
job. He noted that he ran for City Council many years ago when he first moved to the
City, and he would never consider doing it again — the amount of time was inordinate, and
it was, apparently, a thankless job.
There being no further public input, at 5:25 p.m. Chair Rover recessed the Committee
Meeting back to the Administrative Conference Room for continuation of the agenda and
Committee deliberation. He reconvened the Committee Meeting at 5:30 p.m. and took up
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Section VI - PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF TO GATHER FURTHER REQUESTED
INFORMATION. Please see that portion of the Minutes for discussion and action.
Vill. CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
Vice Chair Gribow commented for benefit of members of the public who were in
attendance here, that he and Chair Rover were both attorneys; and upon exiting the
Council Chamber following public comment moments ago, an analogy came to him that
fits this situation. Other than those who've been at all the Council Compensation
Committee Meetings and received all the information Aat they've read, and heard
explanation from each of the Councilmembers, everyone else wasn't aware of what the
Committee's learned. He compared it to a jury trial and people here today coming in after
all the evidence has been presented that they haven't heard, saying that the defendant
should be convicted. While the jury (Committee) has heard all the evidence, anyone
coming in at this point in the process was at a disadvantage without having heard or seen
all of it. He hoped audience members would take this into consideration when they hear
Committee Members making comments one way or the other after what they've learned
over these many weeks.
Member Housken remarked that the Committee was going to come up with some form
of recommendation and suggested that findings be part of the report to spell out
everything that's been discovered, followed by the written recommendation.
Chair Rover agreed and felt that may give greater weight to the Committee's
recommendation when the City Council considers it.
Member Leo harkened back to the Committee's first meeting when Member Housken
asked if there was a job description for a City Councilmember: He said the City Attorney
stated that there isn't one. As far as he was concerned, what has happened in
Palm Desert is that City Councilmembers have created their own job description; and it
translates into full-time involvement in the City. Every Councilmember interviewed talked
about the number of hours they put in, and when he kept track of those hours as they
were described, they ranged anywhere from 30-60 hours/week. He believed that was
unconscionable, especially when the City has a qualified staff to carry out a lot of the
functions, except for ceremonial duties. He felt the City Council has to sit down with
somebody to tell them they've got to work smarter rather than harder, and he didn't hear
that from any of the City Councilmembers; they simply said they put in that many hours/
week. This was what made him keep coming back to the definition of full-time, and he
was unclear about what a full-time City Councilmember does. In the cities he's lived in,
City Councilmembers did not spend 30-50 or 60 hours/week; they attended the meetings,
listened to recommendations by the committees or commissions, and made their
decisions. They did not attend committee meetings, which was still a sticking point for
him - why Councilmembers are attending City Committee/Commission Meetings when
citizen members are appointed to those bodies but also have two City Councilmembers
sitting there too. He felt it was redundant if Councilmembers are attending the same
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Committee/Commission Meetings that the citizen members are participating in. He said
that was the point of reference he would be coming from when it's time to formulate and
vote on a recommendation.
Member Sullivan said he agreed almost entirely with Member Leo. He observed that one
of the things that the Committee has to understand was that the Councilmembers have
made their job what it is, and he, too, had asked about a Councilmember job description
or having one made, and the answer was no. After having these various Committee
Meetings, he felt it had become more important that a job description be put together for
Palm Desert's Councilmembers. He said if they want to expand the responsibility, that's
their issue, not the City's. If they want to attend 60 hours/week, that's their issue, not the
City's or the Council's issue. If they want to go in and meet with John Wohlmuth every
day for three hours/day, taking up his entire day, that shouldn't be allowed. He said the
Committee's looking at what is required of City Councilmembers, but it's not defined
anywhere. He felt strongly that this should be given substantial emphasis in this next year
so that the incoming, if any are new, know what is expected of them. He observed that
there is no on-the-job training for them; they just go in, take their seat, and away they go.
To him, that was uncalled for; they should have some guidance and guidance from a
standard that is established for them, maybe even by them. He recalled during
Councilmember Benson's interview her mentioning that during the summer she may only
do five hours/week, leading him to ask how anyone could then be paid on an hourly basis,
because it wouldn't be the case. He stated that there are various people that spend a
tremendous amount of time at their jobs, and it has been their choice all the way along;
it is not something given to them by the City of Palm Desert.
Member Housken remarked that her initial thought was about what has made
Palm Desert the City that it is. She didn't think it was necessarily the Council
Compensation, because, clearly, the Committee heard the first Council was not
compensated. So she felt it was sort of the vision of those early leaders. Then she
thought that subsequent leaders came along, the pay was not really a relevant issue - it
was just what reasonable people felt to be fair - they needed to be paid something. She
said if the City had gotten more bang for its buck since the compensation went up, that
would be one thing; but she didn't believe that was necessarily the case. Therefore,
between the vision of the early leaders, then use of Redevelopment, first to protect the
City from the Whitewater Wash, then as the economic tool that it was, she felt you kind
of got into the time commitment, which she was also struggling with somewhat. From a
standing Committee Member's perspective, she actually appreciated having a
Councilmember sit in on the Parks & Recreation Commission Meetings; it was helpful.
However, she agreed that there were also Committees where there were two
Councilmembers sitting in on the meetings and felt that was overkill. In her opinion,
balancing those two things was important; she could see Councilmembers reducing their
time on that activity. Another thing she thought about, at least with the Parks &
Recreation Commission, is that they've gone from two meetings/month to one
meeting/month, to meeting every other month; and she knew the same applied to the
Planning Commission, even though they don't have a Council liaison. So just from her
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own perspective and the lack of projects going on in the City currently, she saw the time
commitment of the Council going down somewhat. Further, in going through their
monthly and weekly calendars, she wasn't really seeing the 40-60 hours, and she was
aware those reports didn't reflect time spent on the weekends preparing, and she easily
believed Mayor Pro Tern Kroonen when he reported spending five to 10 hours preparing
for a Council Meeting. And she also thought some of the newer members could probably
spend more time getting up to speed on issues. She felt some of the veteran
Councilmembers already have a good grasp for things — knowing right where to go to get
the information they're seeking in the staff reports and not needing to learn about
planning issues, setbacks, etc.; whereas, a newer Councilmember would need to get
educated on those things. She still didn't see it being a full-time position and felt the City
had Councilmembers in the past and presently that have had full-time jobs and were also
able to serve the City. She saw it as a balancing act. She also felt the City had been
fortunate with its demographics that it has had retirees on Council that are able to commit
to this time but believed it was by choice. She pointed out that they all said they like what
they do, wouldn't remove a Committee, and for the most part seem happy with what
they're doing. She also agreed somewhat with the first speaker that staff should be relied
upon. She felt like the Council is setting policy but then needs to get out of the way, turn
it over to staff, and let them do their jobs. She recalled years ago Mayor Spiegel saying
at a meeting that Councilmembers couldn't get bogged down in the minutiae, because
they were charged with looking at the big picture and didn't have time to micro -manage
things. She believed if someone chose to micro -manage and spend 50-60 hours/week,
so be it; but it wasn't a necessity. She definitely would be leaning in the direction of
considering Palm Desert City Council as a part-time job. She added that it was great if
there were multiple people wanting to go to Chamber of Commerce events, but it needed
to be recognized that it was also somewhat self-serving that they're getting out in the
community and not strictly for the benefit of the City. It wasn't necessarily a requirement
of the job to be at every single social event on behalf of the City, other than the Mayor,
which everyone realized has extra duty to pull.
Alternate Member Busick noted the cuts in staff the City had experienced the past couple
of years and asked if it meant having to shift more responsibility to Councilmembers with
less staff to handle certain things.
Mr. Wohlmuth didn't think it had added to Councilmember responsibilities substantially.
He said there were occasions where a Councilmember has a level of interest in a specific
program or project, such as the "Set To Save" or AB 811 Energy Programs that have
been cut pretty substantially. He added that FHFA (Federal Housing & Financing
Agency) was the primary reason for cutting back on that program, because the City no
longer can provide the loans to homeowners that it did prior to the FHFA determination.
Therefore, he said a Councilmember may pay a little more attention to a program like
that, given that there is less staff doing so, but didn't think there was a general correlation
between less staff and Councilmembers having to spend more time on programs.
Further responding about specific things Councilmembers were doing that could be
shifted to staff, other than time and Committee Meetings, he said none really; if a
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Councilmember attends a Committee Meeting, they attend as a Council Liaison. The
Councilmember doesn't do the staff work involved — preparing the agenda and taking the
minutes, etc. — they would not take the place of a staff member. He believed they chose
to do that to stay abreast of the issues more than to support staff and the staff
recommendation.
Member Housken reiterated that for the most part, she personally found it helpful to have
a Councilmember at her Committee Meetings in order to convey input from Council, plus
being able to take information from the Committee Meetings back to the City Council to
report what's going on. While she found it helpful, she didn't think they prepared for the
meetings like the appointed Committee Members do.
Member Sullivan stated that he was a Member of the Housing Commission for over 11
years, and he estimated attendance by Councilmembers approximately 40% of the
meetings. He said staff prepared and handled everything - a Councilmember really
wasn't needed there.
Member Leo said as a Member of the City's Citizen's Sustainability Committee, it meets
quarterly, and that doesn't take much time from the City Councilmembers' calendar if they
attend. He felt this should be remembered in this process.
Vice Chair Gribow said he was reluctant to be in a position of trying to defend the
Councilmembers but felt it was necessary. He referred to a list this Committee was given,
showing 50 Committees that Councilmembers attend, such as Art In Public Places,
California Joint Powers Insurance Authority, Children's Discovery Museum, Coachella
Valley Animal Campus, CVAG, CVEP, Energy Committee, etc., etc. He was on boards
of many desert charities, many City committees and found it helpful when
Councilmembers participated. When Councilmember Benson served on the Children's
Discovery Museum Board with him, she was able to add things that helped move the
organization along, like their new building or getting signage — connections that
Councilmembers have can make things move more quickly. He found Councilmembers'
input invaluable. He believed Palm Desert was the best -run City in the desert and that
most people here would agree; this City was the best -run because it has a Council that
has really shown up for everything. He didn't think the other cities had Councilmembers
who were as involved, and Palm Desert is somewhat unique in this respect; although, he
didn't think he was in a position to say that with any authority without attending all those
other meetings. He felt it was difficult to compare Palm Desert with other cities — it's
unique, attracts tourism, has a lot of vacant land that has to be developed, which isn't the
case in Manhattan Beach or Beverly Hills, because most cities are already developed,
but Palm Desert's only been incorporated since 1973. The City, through its
Councilmembers, has to attract merchants, hotels, businesses, to this land so that it can
increase the tax base. He said the more tax received from hotels and tourism — people
coming here for things like the Coachella Music & Arts Festival — means revenue coming
into the City. Palm Desert and its Council have done an excellent job, and he pointed out
that most of the other cities have done a good job too.
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Member Leo said he could only agree with his colleague about the number of
Committees on that list. Beyond that, first of all, he sat on the City's General Plan
Advisory Committee (GPAC), and there isn't a lot of land left to be developed in
Palm Desert; most of it is spoken for already, recalling comments from that process
being, "...we've got the last 1,000 acres out in the north end," and that's about it.
Secondly, he said there are competent staff members who attend conventions and
conferences, etc., who really go out and get the business for this community; they can
bring the recommendation back to City Council, and Council can then twist the arms. But
for the most part, acknowledging being their defender, he felt very, very strongly that staff
could perform a number of functions the City Council performs. Next, he said when
looking at the compensation package for City Councilmembers and hearing the total for
a Councilmember of salary plus benefits being $66,000, he was shocked. Noting the
range of $47,000 to $66,000, he didn't care how great the City was, that was too much
money for the kind of job that each of the City Councilmembers performs.
Chair Rover commented for the benefit of both his colleagues and especially members
of the public here today, that this Committee has worked very hard and really dug up
some facts, both with help of City staff and independently. He was very impressed with
the hard work that's gone into this process and felt each of the Committee Members has
a deep commitment to the City. He noted that they're all long-time residents (some being
born and raised here), and he felt it was important for the community to know this as the
Committee makes its recommendation — each Member has a vested interest in the
community and in the City doing well. He went on to say that this wasn't a City of
Bell -type situation, and he didn't want to create the impression that the compensation
Councilmembers have been paid is unreasonable in any sense; because he felt if one
broke it down by number of hours they've actually spent (whether or not you think they
should have spent them), it's probably single digits. He agreed it is a well -run City, and
now the Committee is talking about a recommendation to the City Council on a go -
forward basis. Therefore, in his view, serving on the City Council is first and foremost
public service — people don't do it because it's a sweet job with good perks, the salary's
competitive, and you can start getting retirement when you're 50. While there are certain
positions like that, he didn't think this was one of them. He noted that the Committee's
heard from a couple of Councilmembers and others in the public that the salary should
be set such that it's not one where anyone would do the job specifically for the salary, but
it also shouldn't be such to discourage participation because people who can't afford to
run for City Council won't, and he was conflicted on those points. On one hand, running
for City Council in and of itself excludes most people with the financial threshold involved;
therefore, he felt that makes the argument moot about excluding people who can't afford
to run. However, at the same time, as far as offering compensation that encourages
people to run, while not suggesting that any of the current or past Councilmembers were
encouraged to run by the compensation or benefits, he felt at least in concept,
Palm Desert's already past that point — offering full health insurance for the whole family,
aside from the actual salary. He concurred with Member Housken on the idea that many
of the hours spent are not strictly necessary from a City Councilmember position; it is a
political position, and they're constantly running for re-election the next time and are going
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to attend various meetings like Rotary, City Meetings, or fireworks in the park to have their
face before the public as politicians. He felt a lot of time is dedicated to that kind of
activity in addition to time spent on required activities. He felt striking the right balance
should be determined by considering what is required, what is absolutely a waste of time,
and then there's a gray area where one figures out whether or not they need to participate
in a particular activity. Although, he did believe that if one had 80 hours/week to give this
position, it could easily be filled with commitments, both inside and outside City Hall, on
behalf of the city, and so forth. He felt this type of time involvement needed to be
discouraged; and he certainly didn't think the City needed to financially encourage it by
paying Councilmembers a lot so that they can be available 80 hours/week. He didn't
think that's what the community wanted. As far as whether or not a City Councilmember
should be an employee, not speaking legally of how they're compensated ( e.g. W-2 or
1099 status), but strictly about being classified as employees to receive benefits that
other full-time employees receive, they should not in his view. He observed that it was
more like a private -sector corporation. It has shareholders (Citizens of Palm Desert),
Board of Directors (City Council) to make big policy directives - things outside of the day-
to-day operations, and employees (City Staff) of the corporation who run it day-to-day and
are paid to be there. He said in publicly traded corporations, the Board of Directors gets
Directors Fees, a stipend, or a per -meeting stipend on top of a base, and he felt that was
really what a City Council was intended to be doing — not answering the front desk phone
but making the big decisions. Granted, he said, they need to have clear input from the
community and from staff to make their decisions, but he felt it could be done in a
reasonable amount of time, and anything spent on top of that is either politicking or,
frankly, something one would do as a social person even if not on the City Council. He
believed the City Council needed to be encouraged to rely upon its very competent City
Manager and staff, and he didn't think they needed to be financially encouraged to micro -
manage and be at everything all the time. He agreed with Mr. Ash's comments during
public input when he said that the compensation had gotten a little out of hand. He said
while the City could probably continue paying Councilmembers what they're being paid
without causing financial ruin to the City, it still needed to be looked at long and hard. He
proposed seeing some kind of a base fee plus a per -meeting stipend and expenses to
be reimbursed, but no benefits, if that can be done legally — no pension, no health care —
and encourage the City Council to be "citizen legislators" that do something else first and
be on the City Council second, even if their first job is being retired. He said while not
knowing how the rest of the Committee feels about a salary or stipend -type arrangement,
he felt the per -meeting stipend would make it worthwhile and make the amount
worthwhile, not $100, because they do put in many hours preparing for and attending
meetings.
Member Sullivan proposed making a Coachella Valley comparison, noting that initial
reports to the Committee provided the various cities and Councilmember compensation.
The only city that is comparable to Palm Desert is Palm Springs, and their General Fund
Budget is $20 million more than Palm Desert's, yet Palm Springs Councilmembers
receive $1,400 less than Palm Desert. He thought it should all be tied together to be
similar to Palm Springs, but in so doing after hearing the $66,000 figure versus the
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$47,500 figure, he wanted to combine it as a total compensation package, not just salary
plus benefits. He felt the benefits should be included in the total compensation.
Member Leo called attention to City Ordinance No. 1139, when the City Council salaries
made the big jump, noting that Councilmember Benson stated, "...she would vote no, she
appreciated that majority rules but felt the increase was out of line. She thought it took
the public service out of being a public servant." He agreed with Chair Rover, it was
important to understand that this is still a public service, volunteer job. At a previous
meeting, Vice Chair Gribow mentioned that they are volunteers, and he agreed;
volunteers should not be compensated to the tune of $47,000. He pointed out that this
Committee was all volunteering their time and not getting anything close to that. He
added that people volunteer to run for the City Council, there are no cattle prods, and
since it is a volunteer position and based on public service, he felt it really needed to be
restructured.
Alternate Member Busick questioned if it could really be considered a volunteer job given
the complexities of the economy. She said it is a job, with a volunteer element, but it's
not one that somebody can just jump into and hope to give their best shot — looking at
where Palm Desert's come from — it has a stellar reputation. She reiterated that this is
a job, and that element needed to be respected; she felt there was a compensation
necessary to acknowledge that aspect.
Member Leo responded that Councilmembers should be compensated, just not at the
rate they are currently.
Vice Chair Gribow pointed out that during the Councilmember interviews, one thing that
struck him was Councilmember Harnik explaining that she was out to dinner with her
husband, and a Palm Desert citizen came up, sat down while they're having dinner to
share their concern about the City. He believed that happens quite often with City
Councilmembers - their personal life is no longer personal. He worried that Palm Desert
may be setting itself up for failure in that if he was a Councilmember now, he wouldn't
want to be anymore. He didn't like people taking pot shots and would rather let someone
else do it, worrying that this would be the case now.
In answer to request, Member Sullivan reiterated his suggestion of bringing Palm Desert
closer to the level of what the Citizens of Palm Springs pay their Councilmembers, with
a slight adjustment for the idea of making the compensation package include both salary
and benefits, with one flat, unchanged figure. That is, he said each Councilmember has
to make a determination of how much they want to take in the cafeteria package if they
want to do that.
Vice Chair Gribow cautioned the Committee about the comparison to Palm Springs,
noting previous denials of various projects that seemed to have a detrimental effect on
their community. Since Palm Desert was so well run, he urged not touching things that
weren't broken.
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Committee Members went on to debate the remarks each made above. Points were
made about Councilmembers leaving or candidates not coming forward if the
compensation was reduced; whether or not more benefit was received from
Councilmembers' service since the pay jump in 2007, and it being felt that current
Councilmembers were truly in it for the public service and weren't likely to leave because
of a compensation reduction. It was noted on the "Comparative Salary Study" report
under discussion, page 2, table of various cities, column entitled, "Council Salary (No
Benefits)," that the figures shown were purely dollars received in salary; because the
cities were equivalent with regard to health, pension, and life insurance benefits, so they
weren't factored into this report - they are all within a reasonable range of each other in
that respect.
Chair Rover was concerned over the fact that Palm Desert was the 100" percentile in
Mayor and Council Salary, the 401h percentile in population and annual budget, supporting
his belief that it is a little bit out of hand and should be brought back to something more
reasonable.
Member Housken said in her review of the list, even the jump from 1st to 2"d illustrates
Palm Desert as the outlier of the bunch. She did several more calculations, because the
table also shows an Average for Mayor and Average for Council, and when Palm Desert
is factored in among the 11 cities, it is $18,662. When she pulled Palm Desert out, the
figure dropped to $15,790. She also pulled out the lower city (Mountain View) at $6,000,
bumping it up to $16,878, which would put Palm Desert in 5th place of 11. She also went
back to see what Palm Desert was making in 2007 at $20,130, which would put it in 3rd
place with that amount.
Chair Rover harkened back to Mr. Wohlmuth's comment about one manner of
establishing staff salaries was setting them at a certain percentile across a range of cities.
For instance, if one was to set the 75th percentile to pay well above average, in the case
of Council Salaries, it would be $20,000, including the outlier.
Member Housken agreed, adding that when the outlier is pulled out, the next highest is
La Quinta, and 75% of their salary would equal $20,700.
Alternate Member Busick asked if it would be helpful to resolve the benefit issue. She
agreed with the suggestion of making it a total package. On the other hand, if all of the
cities seem to be offering comparable benefits, she asked if that was an appropriate way
to go.
In answer to comment and question, Ms. Carney believed that La Quinta offers a benefit
package comparable to Palm Desert's. She added that most cities have, historically,
provided the same benefits that they provide to their employees; a couple of the listed
cities provide different benefit packages (i.e., health, dental insurance) to their
Councilmembers than to employees. Across the state, she said it really varies from one
community to another, whether or not they provide health benefits or at what level they're
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provided to Councilmembers, pointing out that there are certainly movements now to
change that.
Member Sullivan noted that Palm Desert's gone from benefit figures (rounded off) of
$7,400 on the low side to $19,000 on the high side, which is quite a disparity. He
understood that family members are on the plan, which is the issue for it, but maybe the
benefit can be modified to some extent to provide the low end for all. Alternate Member
Busick observed that amounted to inequitable compensation between the City
Councilmembers and doesn't seem appropriate. Member Housken proposed simply
insuring the Councilmember and not offering family coverage unless they choose to
participate and pay for it, and Member Sullivan noted this was how it was done in
business for along time. Member Housken said another thing to contemplate is whether
or not Councilmembers are considered full- or part-time positions, and if part-time, they
could be given the same type of benefit as the City is giving its part-time employees with
regard to insurance and pension.
Responding to question about combining the compensation -benefit package as one total
amount and electing benefits therefrom, Mr. Erwin said the Committee can make any
recommendation it wishes, there is nothing preventing it from doing so legally.
Member Leo suggested pay per City Council Meeting; he didn't necessarily support this
notion, but it was something to consider. He said a number of major cities, like
Santa Ana and others Statewide, pay their Councilmembers per meeting on the basis of
a month.
Member Housken asked about the concept of the Mayor receiving a different salary than
the rest of Council, noting that four of the five Councilmembers during their interviews felt,
while recognizing it's more work to be Mayor, that the position shouldn't be compensated
more. She pointed out that with regard to Committee/Commission service, the Mayor
specifically has to attend a few more meetings but is compensated about $225/month
from those outside entities.
With Committee concurrence, it was determined that pay for the Mayor should be the same as
for rest of City Council because of the established Mayoral rotation system and everyone having
a turn in the position, the extra time involved that year being balanced out over the rest of the
Councilmember's term in office.
Member Leo proposed paying Palm Desert City Councilmembers no more than $25,000,
with the addition of $5,000 to apply toward any part of the benefits package that they
wish.
Member Sullivan proposed bumping up the $5,000 to the minimum amount, $7,435 for
benefits, letting each individual Councilmember make a determination if they want more
benefit. But he called attention to the current situation where Mayor Pro Tern Kroonen
18
MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE MEETING
J U LY 18, 2012
is not currently receiving City benefits because of being an already -retired annuitant with
benefits.
Responding to question about the static dollar amount for benefits and how it would be
handled if premiums increase, Ms. Carney said if the premium increases, the City would
still contribute $7,500, and the Councilmember would have to pay the difference by way
of a deduction from the stipend. Alternatively, she said in the past the City had in its
Cafeteria Plan a formula that provides compensation equal to the lowest plan for one
person, or the like.
Member Leo moved to recommend to the City Council an annual compensation not to
exceed $25,000 plus a $5,000 contribution toward the benefit package.
Member Sullivan seconded the motion with a modified amount for the benefit package
equal to the current amount for single coverage benefits of $7,500 annually. Member Leo
agreed to the modified second to his motion.
In further response to question about capping the benefit package at $7,500, Ms. Carney
said Councilmember pension could not be capped - it is set by statute, and the City has
to pay the 20% of their salary. However, if their salary is dropped, the 20% would be less.
As far as health benefits, she said it can be set up by different classes, noting that
Councilmembers cannot receive more than employees, but they can receive less. She
affirmed that for tax and Social Security purposes, however, Councilmembers are still
considered employees, pointing out that the City could set up different health benefits
programs and reimbursements for health benefits_ for different classifications of
employees. Further responding to question about adding a caveat to the motion that as
health care benefits increase that the $7,500 figure could be modified upward
accordingly, she felt it would be important to specifically define what that meant. That is,
she said if it's the intention to provide health benefits for the Councilmember for the
lowest -cost plan, that would need to be included in the arrangement.
Chair Rover believed the proposed motion was too much — $25,000 plus $7,500 would
still leave Palm Desert way skewed at the top end of the range. For something of that
type of structure, he felt an amount not to exceed $20,000 plus health benefits not to
exceed $7,500. He noted that they're already getting their CalPERS Pension on top of
that; and on the list of 11 cities, Palm Desert would still be 3rd
Alternate Member Busick pointed out that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, and the other
figures shown on the report didn't include health care benefits.
Chair Rovercommented that in the private sector, compensation would be tied to results,
but he didn't think that was appropriate in this instance.
Vice Chair Gribow stated he felt the proposal would be a slap in the face to
Councilmembers when La Quinta is receiving $27,600 and the suggestion is to reduce
19
MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE MEETING
J U LY 18, 2012
Palm Desert's City Council to $20,000 or $25,000. He believed many Councilmembers
would take umbrage with it.
Chair Rover agreed; however, he stated that if one looks at how these City Council
salaries went up, it was Palm Desert, Indian Wells, one and two, then everybody else
went up as well. Therefore, he believed that we're seeing the reverse, just as was done
with the City Manager Salaries throughout the Coachella Valley. He felt Palm Desert was
at the front end of the trend now; City of Indian Wells has its ballot initiative, which
qualified with almost the double the number of required signatures, and he predicted
more of it. He didn't think Palm Desert would want to come back and reconvene this
committee if, for example, La Quinta changes theirs to $15,000.
Member Sullivan noted that the number of City employees has been reduced from 170
to 107 — 63 people have left either by attrition or lay-off, but no Councilmembers have
been lost during that period of time, while, ironically, their salaries were increased. He
said that didn't make any sense; everybody has to feel the economic downturn, not just
one group being set aside by themselves and not experiencing the same as everybody
else is feeling.
Vice Chair Gribow didn't disagree with a reduction; it was the amount that was concerning
to him. He still didn't think Palm Desert could be compared to these other cities whose
purpose is not to attract tourists — they're established cities, and Palm Desert was still
developing — it wasn't an equal comparison.
Chair Rover reminded everyone of a comment made at a previous meeting - the
Committee is setting a pay grade for a job title. He didn't see it as compensating an
employee as part of a performance review where some are rewarded with a 10%
increase for a good job, and some are rewarded at 5% for doing an okay job. He said the
Committee was looking at a position and saying it should pay "X" amount. He thought
Councilmembers will understand and appreciate that sentiment.
Member Housken agreed, observing that it seemed to be a case of "keeping up with the
Joneses," and a microcosm of the mentality of society — everything got bigger, and we
had to keep up — now we're drawing back. She wouldn't be surprised if La Quinta
residents started reexamining their Council's compensation. She was fine with paying
less than La Quinta, because she thought they were out of line too. Further, she agreed
with Chair Rover that $25,000 and full-time health benefits for even the individual
Councilmember will bump it up to $32,500 for a part-time position, which was pretty rich.
Member Sullivan proposed a compromise - $22,500 for salary and $7,500 for benefits —
totaling $30,000.
Member Housken said it was a struggle to come up with the numbers. After studying the
report and looking at per capita cost, Palm Desert is spending $4.50/constituent for the
Council; whereas, Mountain View was spending $0.50. She the average is $1.50, which,
20
MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE MEETING
JULY 18, 2012
when multiplied by Palm Desert's population, equals $14,841; General Law Cities would
allow $12,949. She noted the great disparity between some of the numbers while
recognizing that Palm Desert became a Charter City with the notion of saving money on
prevailing wages, not to increase Council Compensation. She recalled the first meeting
when the Committee received a list of what compensation was each year and how it
jumped dramatically. She didn't think the City's received more qualified people because
the compensation increased. She was troubled by the classification of City
Councilmembers like full-time employees, because they are public servants who are
elected — no specific background in planning or college degree required — and are not
employees. She noted while the Committee's been calling it a job title, in her opinion it
was more like a responsibility as a public servant; she still didn't see it being full-time.
Therefore, she was open to the idea of ratcheting the amount down even more.
Vice Chair Gribow said if it was ratcheted it down to $30,000 per Councilmember for five
(5) Councilmembers, it amounted to a savings of $150,000, and it didn't seem like much
in the overall Palm Desert Budget. He felt the Committee was being foolish in its
approach.
Member Leo didn't think it was a question of impact on the budget. To him, it was a
question of whether or not Palm Desert was going to continue to pay its City
Councilmembers $47,000 - $66,000 for the job that is required of a City Councilmember.
He felt that it's not necessarily impact on the budget as much as it is a recommendation
to the Council that they should really take a hard look at their salaries, because they are
out of line.
Vice Chair Gribow observed that the Council knew that fact before the Committee was
established and passed the buck to them to make the decision. He said it's going right
back to them, and they're going to have to make the same decision they would have
made before the Committee ever met.
Chair Rover restated the further amended motion by Member Leo, second by Member
Sullivan to set Palm Desert City Council Compensation at $22,500 plus a $7,500 contribution
for insurance benefits.
Further vigorous deliberation occurred regarding the motion and previous comment.
Point was made that the Committee is not yelling or screaming at the Council, not putting
them down for their position — they have done a wonderful job with the City. However,
compensation was dramatically increased in 2007 and just went up another 4%; by and
large, this is not common amongst other industries nationwide.
Member Sullivan offered a substitute motion, setting Palm Desert City Council
Compensation at $20,000 plus a $7,500 contribution for insurance benefits. Motion died for lack
of a second.
21
MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE MEETING
J U LY 18, 2012
Member Housken felt a whole element was being missed without addressing the pension
benefit, because right now the City was paying 21 % of Councilmember salary into a
pension for them, which was significant.
Ms. Carney reiterated that Councilmembers cannot be defined as part-time for pension
purposes. Under the law, Councilmembers earn pension benefits at a full-time rate; for
every month they serve as a Councilmember, they earn a month of service credit.
Further, the pension is based on their salary; the City doesn't have the power to redefine
them as part-time employees for purposes of pension. Additionally, she said their
pension costwould be reduced because the salaries are reduced. She noted that current
Councilmembers' actual pension amounts wouldn't be reduced, because they have
service at the higher salary. However, future Councilmembers' pensions would be based
on the salary earned, which will likely be significantly reduced.
Member Housken countered with the notion that pension is optional. Again, originally,
they didn't receive a pension benefit, and she was troubled because this is not a full-time
position, yet Councilmembers are getting the benefit thereof with regard to a pension.
She said when combined with troubles at the State and in cities with unfunded pension
liabilities, she felt the Committee at least needed to acknowledge the issue in some
fashion.
Chair Rover said he completely agreed; he didn't think there should be any benefits for
a position such as this. Although, it sounded to him like the City was handcuffed to it
because the law says they have to get the pension, and it's 21 % of salary. If the salary
is reduced, the pension liability is reduced.
Ms. Carney noted that Councilmembers are optional members of PERS - they elect to
join, and if they don't, the City would have to put them in Social Security. So the
difference is really about 13% of salary with the cost of Social Security. She offered that
Council could direct staff to research whether or not the City could exclude future
Councilmembers, because at the present time, she was unsure about it. She knew that
it could not be changed for anyone currently on the City Council.
The Committee discussed and deliberated further, and upon request, the motion was restated:
Member Leo moved to set Palm Desert City Council Compensation at $22,500 for each
Member annually plus a $7,500 contribution for insurance benefits. Motion was seconded by
Member Sullivan and carried by a 4-1 vote, with Vice Chair Gribow voting NO.
IX. REMARKS AND COMMENTS BY COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
Committee Members referred to all comments provided throughout the meeting, which
are reflected in detail in these Minutes.
22
MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL COMPENSATION
AD HOC CITIZENS' COMMITTEE MEETING
J U LY 18, 2012
X. ADJOURN TO THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012, AT 4:00 P.M. ADMINISTRATIVE
CONFERENCE ROOM.
- If necessary due to time constraints, adjourn this meeting to Thursday, July 19,
2012, at 4:00 p.m.
With Committee concurrence: 1) Determined it unnecessary to adjourn to Thursday, July 19,
given that it was able to formulate a recommendation at this meeting ; 2) directed that a report
of findings and formal recommendation be crafted by Chair Rover to be placed on an agenda
for the final City Council Compensation Ad Hoc Citizens' Committee Meeting to be held on
Wednesday, August 1, 2012, at 12:00 p.m.
XI. ADJOURNMENT
Upon a motion by Vice Chair Gribow, second by Member Leo, and unanimous vote of the
Committee, Chair Rover adjourned this meeting at 6:47 p.m. to Wednesday, August 1, 2012,
at 12:00 p.m.
23
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