At the Jan. 23 Signal Hill City Council meeting, Dr. Felicia Anderson (left), principal of Browning High School in Long Beach, speaks after receiving a proclamation from Mayor Edward Wilson (right) in recognition of the school’s opening.
The council also held public hearings on rezoning for a dog park under construction and correcting a clerical error regarding the location of emergency shelters. As the Successor to the Signal Hill Redevelopment Agency, it approved adoption of an annual payment schedule.
CAFR
The council received the City’s comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) for the 2016-17 fiscal year, which indicated a positive general fund balance of about $500,000 that the council agreed to transfer to a newly created economic development reserve fund.
Finance Director Scott Williams explained that the CAFR provides a year-in-review for the City.
“The purpose is to fully understand how the organization has performed over the last fiscal year,” he said, adding that external agencies, such as creditors, also view the document.
Williams said that the audited report shows City revenues of about $20.5 million versus expenses of about $20 million. Though revenues were less than budgeted by $200,000, expenses were also less, by $700,000, resulting in a positive balance of $500,000.
Williams stated that the main source of City revenue was taxes, primarily sales-and-use tax, which accounted for 71 percent of the total. Property taxes accounted for about 9 percent of total revenue.
Of the City’s expenses, Williams said, the police department accounted for 44 percent of the total, with 22 percent going to general government expenses and 21 percent to public works.
Councilmember Robert Copeland praised Williams for his foresight anticipating a revenue shortfall and making efforts to reduce expenses.
Mayor Edward Wilson concurred and praised all departments for their savings efforts.
“Our CAFR is pretty special,” he said. “The City operates well financially, and it is a credit to the finance department, but it’s also a credit to all the department heads keeping track of their funds and making sure that they’re under budget, if at all possible, or very rarely [!] over budget.”
Wilson also shared during new business that he had gone to Sacramento for a state budget meeting and learned that estimated state revenues are above estimates by $4.2 billion (without cannabis-related revenue), and since the State’s debt is dwindling, it too plans to build reserves to support colleges and infrastructure.
Budget workshop
Following the CAFR presentation, the council agreed to May 31 as the date to hold a two-year budget workshop for fiscal years 2018-19 and 2019-20. City Manager Charlie Honeycutt said the budget must be adopted prior to the July 1 start of the next fiscal year.
According to its report, staff will distribute the preliminary budget document with adequate time for the council and public to review before it is voted on at the June 26 council meeting.
Councilmember Lori Woods encouraged the public and appointed commissioners to attend the budget workshop in order to understand where the City’s tax revenue is going.
“It’s the one single meeting of the year to find out what happened in the City all of last year in every department, and what they propose for the following year,” she said. “So if there’s ever a meeting to attend, or to watch online [!], it’s, for me, the budget workshop.”
Public hearings
The council conducted two public hearings, one on rezoning for a new dog park and the other to correct a clerical error in the municipal code regarding emergency shelters.
Senior Planner Colleen Doan said that the half-acre dog park under construction at 3100 California Ave. requires part of that 1.5-acre property’s zoning designation in the General Plan to be changed from “commercial general” to “open space.” Furthermore, the “open space” designation in the plan needs to be amended to include “public dog park” as a permitted use.
The remaining part of that property is used for the Auto Center freeway sign and City warehouse buildings and needs to be rezoned to “public institutional,” Doan said.
Following no public comment, the council approved all three zoning amendments, as well as a “negative declaration” indicating that the dog park would not significantly impact the environment.
According to the staff report, the fenced dog park will include two dog-runs (one for small dogs and one for large), benches, shade sails, a water fountain, outdoor seating and 13 parking spaces.
In another public hearing, the council heard from Doan about the need to correct a clerical error in Title 20 of municipal code 20.20.020 about where state-mandated emergency shelters of up to 16 beds could be built if needed.
The council approved amending the code to indicate that emergency shelters are allowed in the commercial general (CG) zone, where it had been approved, rather than the commercial residential (CR) zone.
Doan stressed that the change was simply to correct an error and not because of the need to implement.
“The City has not received any requests for emergency shelters to date,” she said.
Successor Agency
As Successor Agency to the Signal Hill Redevelopment Agency (SHRA), the council approved a recognized-obligation payment schedule (ROPS) for the fiscal year 2018-19, which requires approval of a budget.
Economic Development Manager Elise McCaleb explained that, though the SHRA was dissolved in 2012, the Successor Agency needs to approve a ROPS as long as it has obligations.
Total ROPS funding is $15.6 million, with the bulk— $11.4 million— for bond payments and reserves.
Presentations
Wilson introduced Matthew Swantek, a new maintenance worker with the Public Works Department. Swantek had worked for the cities of Lakewood and Cypress prior to working in Signal Hill.
“I look forward to serving the community,” Swantek said.
Wilson also presented a proclamation to Dr. Felicia Anderson, principal of Richard D. Browning High School in Long Beach, in recognition of the school’s opening.
Browning’s curriculum focuses on hospitality, tourism, recreation and culinary arts, Wilson read from the proclamation.
“It is an amazing school. It is state-of-the-art,” Wilson said. “I am excited about a small high school of choice.”
Anderson expressed her thanks to the City and her vision for the school.
“The students of Browning— they are your children; they are my children; they are our future,” she said. “Our investment in those children collectively will empower not only the City of Signal Hill and Greater Long Beach, but will empower the future.”
The next Signal Hill City Council meeting will take place Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 7pm in the council chamber at 2175 Cherry Ave.
