During the Oct. 25 city council meeting, Signal Hill officials approved five resolutions necessary to conduct its March 7, 2017 general municipal election. City Manager Charlie Honeycutt said the adoption of the resolutions was an important step in publicly announcing that the election will take place.
The resolutions the City espoused include one that calls for the election, a request for services from the County of Los Angeles to help in the voting polls, the regulations set for candidate statements, provisions for the filing of rebuttal arguments for City measures submitted at municipal elections and a resolution setting guidelines for rebuttals on the City measure concerning the taxation of medical marijuana.
After the meeting, Honeycutt said, “Basically, it establishes the date for the general municipal election, and it’s a formality to lay out the process of the election.”
The city manager said it is important to adopt the resolution pertaining to candidate statement regulations because there are publishing costs on election materials that the City needs to set.
Pay ranges
The council adopted a resolution that amends the part-time salary pay of City employees in an effort to comply with the California Fair Wage Act of 2016, which adjusts the minimum wage for hourly employees. The amendment will only focus on the hourly rates that fall below $10.50. The council approved the resolution in order to satisfy the City’s goal to “promote a transparent and open government.”
According to the City’s report, the minimum wage will rise to $11 per hour starting Jan. 1, 2018. Eventually, by 2022, the State plans to set the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Hannah Shin-Heydorn, Signal Hill deputy city manager, presented to the city council a slideshow that displayed three part-time positions that will be impacted by the amendment, including the City’s maintenance helper, recreational aide and recreation leader No. 1.
Honeycutt said that all Signal Hill part-time employees begin at a certain hourly pay rate. The salary increases by 5 percent after an employee undergoes a performance evaluation. The amendment is in place to make sure the starting amount of income is consistent with the Fair Wage Act.
Disabilities
The city council approved a zoning ordinance amendment to organize reasonable accommodation procedures to ensure equal access to housing for persons with disabilities in accordance with state and federal laws.
The amendment assures the City is in compliance with the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) as well as the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. The FEHA states that new buildings consisting of four or more dwelling units must be designed and constructed in a manner that allows access to disabled persons. The Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 provides administrative housing security and is stricter than its predecessor.
With the ordinance now in place, the City will work with disabled persons and developers of housing for the disabled, to allow them to make modifications to their residence in a manner not normally available under zoning regulations.
SHEA
The Signal Hill Employees’ Association (SHEA) and the City have agreed upon a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will go into effect July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017.
The MOU provides for a one-time stipend, an increase toward health benefit premiums and an adjustment to stand-by pay. Miscellaneous employees will also receive an additional three hours of personal holiday leave under the new memorandum.
According to the City staff report, the City and SHEA negotiated on the agreement to comply with the Myers-Milias-Brown Act, which promotes communication between public employers and their employees by outlining a reasonable method of resolving disputes regarding wages and hours.
With the memorandum in effect, the City will provide a four-tiered sick leave retirement system based on years of service for its employees. For example, an employee that has zero to five years of experience will receive 15 percent of unused sick leave pay, while an employee with 15 or more years will be given 50 percent of unutilized sick leave funds.
Presentations
70th District Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell spoke to the council about a legislative update and his political experiences in Sacramento.
During the meeting, Honeycutt gave a presentation on Measure M, which is a sales tax increase supported by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to fund transportation developments throughout Los Angeles. On Sept. 13, the council adopted a resolution to formally oppose Measure M because it doubles transportation sales tax and makes it permanent.
According to the presentation, 40 of the 88 cities in the County oppose the measure. To find more information on the aforementioned piece of legislation, citizens can visit the Gateway Cities Council Government website at gatewaycog.org. There is a Measure M link on the City website as well, according to Honeycutt.
The next Signal Hill City Council meeting will take place Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7pm in council chamber, 2175 Cherry Ave.
