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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/23/2004 - Study SessionCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH City Council Minutes Study Session November 23, 2004 -4:30 p.m. INDEX ROLL CALL Present: Rosansky, Bromberg, Webb, Daigle, Nichols, Mayor Ridgeway Absent: Heffernan (excused) CURRENT BUSINESS 1. CLARIFICATION OF ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR. Council Member Webb noted that he asked for clarification regarding Item 3 (Fats, Off and Grease Control). Acting City Attorney Clauson reported that, if the item is not pulled from the Consent Calendar, she could note the amendments before Council acts on the Consent Calendar. Regarding Item 3, Council Member Nichols asked when the older restaurants had to meet the same standards as newer restaurants. Assistant City Manager Kiff indicated that the proposed ordinance does not require the older restaurants to implement a grease interceptor; however, it requires them to participate in the permit program in order to discharge grease. He reported that, if the restaurant already has an interceptor, they would pay a nominal fee to cover the inspection costs, but if they don't have an interceptor, the fee would cover the cost of increased line maintenance near their restaurant. He reported that they would take the overall cost of the Hotspot Program and divide this by the number of restaurants that don't have grease interceptors but need them. He noted that this equates to about $400 a year. Council Member Nichols stated that he wants people to know that the ordinance does not require older restaurants to put in the grease interceptors that's required for the new restaurants. Mr. Kiff indicated that Council Member Nichols may want to pull the item tonight to make people aware of this. In response to Council Member Nichols' questions regarding Item 4 (Modification Permit Procedures), City Manager Bludau stated that the Zoning Administrator is included in the ordinance, the ordinance is going for second reading tonight, and the Planning Director will determine who the Zoning Administrator will be. Regarding Item 5 (Park Facilities), Council Member Nichols asked whether it's a violation if someone who doesn't have a permit uses a field that can be put under permit. Mr. Bludau stated that this would mean that anyone using the park without a permit would be cited. He clarified that people can use any field without a permit, as long as it's not closed for maintenance purposes and no one else has a permit to use the field. Ms. Clausen added that a person can be cited if they refuse to give up a permitted area to the person with the permit. Mr. Bludau reported that the Park Patrol Officers know who has a permit before they go out in the field. Recreation and Senior Services Director Knight confirmed that, in the previous ordinance and in the proposed ordinance, a person can be cited if they do not have a permit for a facility that requires one, i.e. all park buildings. Further, a permit is required for any ongoing, regular athletic league. She Volume 56 - Page 1332 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes November 23, 2004 confirmed that, if someone were to use any part of the Oasis Senior Center, they also need to go through the permit process. Council Member Nichols asked if a person would be cited without due notice. Ms. Knight reported that the Park Patrol Officers are under the guidelines to always issue written warnings first, unless there is a safety hazard, a repeat violator, or a parking violation. Council Member Nichols requested clarification regarding Item 6 (General Plan Initiation). Assistant City Manager Wood reported that this is the standard procedure when the initiation is a City - initiated amendment. She stated that these are clean -up items to the Housing Element and will be a General Plan Amendment on its own. She clarified that Council's vote tonight is to determine whether to initiate the General Plan Amendment which entails directing staff to do the work to draft it and letting the Planning Commission determine whether it should hold a public hearing on it and make a recommendation to Council. She confirmed that this would be separate from the General Plan Update because it is only clean -up to one Element and there are no land use implications. 2. 2004 DRINKING WATER QUALITY REPORT ON PUBLIC HEALTH GOALS. Utilities Director Davidson reported that these reports are done in three year cycles and all cities have these types of constituents exceeded in the water systems. He reported that provisions of the California Health and Safety Code require that any public water system serving more than 10,000 service connections must prepare a special report to their council if their water quality measurements have exceeded any Public Health Goal (PHG). He noted that PHGs are non - enforceable goals established by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) and they do not have to be met by any public water system. Mr. Davidson reported that the California Drinking Water Act addresses enforceable standards by setting Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) or Action Levels for nearly 200 regulated constituents in drinking water. He pointed out that the City has not exceeded any of these regulated standards. He noted that his report is required to state if a constituent was detected in the City's water supply between 2001 and 2003 at a level that exceeds any applicable PHG. Mr. Davidson reported that the City had four constituents that exceeded the PHG (copper, lead, uranium, and coliform bacteria). He noted that copper and lead are corrosion byproducts, and they do not generally occur in significant amounts in any water source. He noted that the PHG for copper is .17 mg per liter (one part per million) and 2 ug per liter (one part per billion) for lead. He stated that they only had to do one year of testing for copper and lead in the three year cycle, reporting that copper was .3 mg per liter which was above .17, but was below the 1.3 MCL standard. He reported that lead was 9 ug per liter, but was below the 15 MCL standard. Mr. Davidson believed that the City's water system is in full compliance with lead and copper standards. He reported that uranium's PHG standard is .5 pCi per liter and the MCL is 20 pCi per liter. He stated that uranium naturally occurs in groundwater and that it has been detected in all four wells in Fountain Valley with a range of 2.6 to 13 pCi per liter. Mr. Davidson stated that, according to the California Department of Health Services, drinking water that meets the MCL on uranium is considered to have little or no risk, and is considered safe. Mr. Davidson reported that, in 2001, 2002, and 2003, they collected and tested about 4,500 samples for coliform bacteria. He stated that the Volume 56 - Page 1333 INDEX (100 -2004) City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes November 23, 2004 only sample that tested positive for coliform bacteria but negative for fecal occurred in September 2003. He indicated that they added chlorine to all the water sources to kill the bacteria and ensure that the water is microbiologically safe. Mr. Davidson reported that the drinking water in Newport Beach meets all California Department of Health Services and United States Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards; therefore, there is no action proposed. Council Member Nichols stated that one of his neighbors told him that there were little bugs swimming in her bathtub and asked if this was coliform bacteria. Utilities Operations Manager Antista indicated that coliform bacteria cannot be seen. He stated that the bugs could've been midge fly, but that this was unlikely because the reservoir has been covered. In response to Council questions, Mr. Antista and Mr. Davidson confirmed that they drink the City's tap water. Mr. Antista noted that the Metropolitan Water District tests for perchlorate levels and the City's level is well below the PHG. He confirmed that the City does not put fluoride in the drinking water. Regarding the 4,500 sample sites, he stated that they recently completed a new water quality monitoring plan that was approved by the State Health Department. He reported that they sample 29 house taps weekly that are representative of the distribution system. Mr. Antista noted that the City does not have any lead services from the main storm meters, but reported that lead solder is probably the biggest contributor to the lead in the water and corrosion in pipes is probably the contributor of copper. He noted that new solder is lead -free, so the newer homes do not have this problem. Council Member Nichols reported that it is basically impossible to get lead poisoning from water. Mr. Antista reported that they started the cover project at the Big Canyon Reservoir on Friday and it is now in service. He added that they are disinfecting the water with chloramines which will improve the taste of the water and eliminate any odor problems. He reported that the cover also eliminates airborne contaminations. He stated that the City now has a fully - operational, 220 million gallon reservoir. Mr. Antista reported that, if the City's water were cut -off, the reservoir would last about seven days with normal use and up to 30 days with rationing. He stated that Newport Beach is one of the only cities in California with this type of backup storage. Mr. Davidson added that the City also has generators to move water to every zone in the City. He noted that the hazardous chlorine gas has also been eliminated and they are now using liquid chlorine. 3. NEWPORT BEACH IDENTIFICATION (NBID) PROGRAM [POWERPOINT PRESENTATION]. Revenue Manager Everroad utilized a PowerPoint presentation, reporting that the identification program was conceptualized in 1987 when it was realized that each department had information that other departments could use if there was a way to communicate the information. He stated that the GIS division identified attributes associated with parcels in the City, but they wanted to look at attributes associated with entities in the City. He noted that, throughout the City, databases were created for services like the fire /medic subscription program, Volume 56 - Page 1334 INDEX (100 -2004) City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes November 23, 2004 INDEX the Police alarm system, utilities billings, dog licenses, and business licenses which related to an entity and not a parcel. Mr. Everroad indicated that he wanted to do this program because there was a decentralized data management system, no connectivity between the databases, revenue leakage, poor customer service, and they weren't sure what they knew about the customers. He confirmed that the customer's privacy is protected because they are bound by municipal code and State law that restricts the type of information that can be made public. He reported that this information is not accessible to the public and is only available to certain City staff via the intranet. Mr. Everroad reported that the program was developed because of AB 990 which provided access to Statewide sales tax registration information and AB 63 which provided information about Franchise Tax Board (FTB) filings by business entities located in the City. Further, there were revenue leaks that could lead to additional revenue and there were refunds made by the City without verifying if there were account receivables associated with the entity. He reported that the City has 20 calendar days to respond to a bankruptcy filing to list its claim; however, it takes 20 days to run the interdepartmental mail through the entire organization. Mr. Everroad stated that they compared the 1.4 million State Board of Equalization (SBE) records to the City's 16,000 business licenses and determined that there were 2,578 unlicensed businesses and 536 unregistered sellers in the City. He reported that they also compared the 28,000 FTB records with the City's business licenses and determined that there were almost 14,000 unlicensed businesses in the City. Mr. Everroad reported that this equated to $280,000 in unlicensed businesses, $2 million in misallocating /unregistered sellers, and $470,000 in FTB unlicensed businesses that the City was not receiving in revenue. Mr. Everroad indicated that they asked the vendor who was reconciling the data whether they could take the seven different accounts receivable databases and compare them to each other so like- customers could be identified. He stated that the 380,000 receivable records were compared based on the Federal Employer Identification Number, social security number, name, etc.; they were assigned a unique Newport Beach Identification (NBID) number; and a web- accessible program was created that allows City staff to enter a customer's name or other information so they could review the accounts associated with that particular customer. He indicated that 103,000 customers had similar clusters. He reiterated that MIS provided staff with web access to this information and created search options so staff could look up information using the NBID or a unique identifier associated with the customer. Further, they could also search databases that have not been linked to the system. He indicated that once they made the connections and determined all the accounts associated with the individual, they were able to consolidate the customer's bills with up to 22 different services, rather than send separate billings. Mr. Everroad reported that any customer service representative can look up all the different services a customer has, when the customer was last billed, when the City received their last payment, what balance is due, etc. He stated that previously, when a customer wanted to change their information, like a phone number, they had to speak to every customer service representative associated with the different services to communicate that information; however, now one person can update seven different databases in the accounts receivable area. Mr. Everroad reported that about 600 customers a month use the Master ID Volume 56 - Page 1335 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes November 23, 2004 system either via the internet or by telephone, and pay their bills online. Mr. Everroad reported that they can now develop business license tax liens, associate closed accounts with active accounts, and connect accounts receivable with accounts payable. He stated that they identified almost $20,000 in accounts payable that would've gone out. He reported that the system can also track how much money they've been able to generate due to the system and create customer reports so the customer service staff can clear outstanding receivables. Mr. Everroad emphasized that the benefits include providing immediate information to the customer service staff and there are billing efficiencies resulting from consolidating the receivables onto a single statement. He reported that they moved $97,000 in debt that they almost wrote off to current customer accounts because they found they were still customers with the City in some capacity. He pointed out that over $100,000 of bills are being paid a month via the internet, $750,000 was found in business license tax, and almost $2 million was found in new sales tax resulting from this program. Mr. Everroad believed that, in the future, the system could flag a customer's account due to outstanding issues with the City, i.e. pending litigation; associate all the revenues generated by an entity; consolidate email addresses; and list customer requests. Mr. Everroad noted that they implemented the system over the last year and a half without adding staff in the MIS or Revenue Divisions. In response to Council questions, Mr. Everroad confirmed that they classify businesses using the Federal Standard Industrial Classification System. He reported that the City pays a discounted fee to the credit card companies for online payments, pointing out that the agreements with the companies prohibits them from passing this fee on to the customers. He noted that the City has been doing this for the last 12 or 13 years. He indicated that they have been asked to provide information related to tax payments, receivables, etc., but reported that sales tax information is prohibited from public dissemination. He added that the personal information about business owners will not be given out. He confirmed that the largest volume of their records came from the State Board of Equalization and the Franchise Tax Board, but noted that most of the information that staff throughout the City has been interested in comes from databases that they maintain within the City. Mr. Everroad explained that the information on the intranet can be accessed by any City staff, but the person would need to request access, the software has to be loaded individually, and MIS will provide them with a- password. He stated that this information is available to staff who provide direct customer service. Mr. Everroad reported that this system was recognized by the League of California Cities this year for its innovation and added that he has made several presentations on the system. In response to Council questions, Mr. Everroad stated that the seven receivable databases are managed by the same department and when a customer wants information changed, it is now changed in all seven databases at one time. However, for the other databases, i.e. alarm system or medic services, a customer service representative can access the system, but it only informs them that the customer's information has been updated and asks them if they want to update their database. They must elect to use this information to update their database. He explained that some of the databases are proprietary and don't have the open architecture that allows them to push the data in and update their records. He Volume 56 - Page 1336 INDEX City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes November 23, 2004 114110 X1:1 confirmed that the cost savings for not mailing several bills to a customer has been huge. Further, they can even eliminate some of the mailing costs because they can email statements to customers. He added that there are 6,000 to 7,000 customers who has the City automatically debit their credit card or checking account. He stated that there are customers who insist on paying their bills at City Hall, but the City could create some type of incentive for them to use the online system. Mr. Everroad reported that it takes four to five days to get the payment into the City's account. Mayor Ridgeway asked the City Attorney's office to work with Mr. Everroad and look at other cities and governmental agencies who are treading into this type of database information to make sure everyone in the database is protected from identity theft. Mr. Everroad pointed out that they have not collected any additional information, but created a system to access the information that they've already collected. He agreed that this type of innovation creates opportunity that they hope will never be acted on. However, the City has an obligation to ensure that it is protecting confidential information because they could lose the opportunity to collect this information from the State if there is any breach of security. He reported that they sign affidavits with the State, identifying the specific entities that will be receiving this information. He confirmed that a staff member cannot pull up an individual's social security number, but they can look up the name and the address. He indicated that MIS would be able to determine how many people in his department and the rest of the City have access to social security numbers and driver's license numbers, but those users typically have access to that information anyway. He stated that he can bring back a report about the security measures that are currently in place. Mr. Bludau reported that the Police Department has internal controls and not everyone has access to driver's license information. PUBLIC COMMENTS - None. ADJOURNMENT - at 5:50 p.m to Closed Session. *t + *xxxxxx * *r * * *x�x *t *xtx * * *xxx The agenda for the Study Session was posted on November 17, 2004, at 2:00 p.m. on the City Hall Bulletin Board located outside of the City of Newport Beach Administration Building. n Recording Secretary A z Mayor City Clerk V �_ e.. C'�L /F00.N�t Volume 56 - Page 1337