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Ojai City Council and Redevelopment Agency
Special Joint Meeting of June 5, 2007, 7:30 pm

ROLL CALL
On a call of the roll the following Council Members reported present: Steve Olsen, Rae Hanstad, Sue Horgan, Joe DeVito, and Carol Smith. Also present were: City Manager, Jere Kersnar; City Attorney, Monte Widders; Chief of Police, Capt. Bruce Norris; and Acting City Clerk, Shari Herbruck.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Pro Tem DeVito

INVOCATION Moment of Silence

PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS

Chief of Police, Capt. Bruce Norris, regarding gravel trucks on Santa Ana Road in the Oak View area, reported that approximately eighteen trucks per day were delivering materials for a flood control project. For safety reasons, the trucks were routed to Santa Ana Road to avoid turning into cross traffic. The project should be completed in about a week.


JOINT MEETING OF THE CITY OF OJAI AND THE OJAI REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY

DISCUSSION

1. Presentation of Proposed FY 2007/08 Budget and FY 2006/07 Revised Budget

FY 2006/07 Revised Budget
City Manager Kersnar presented a report on the Revised Budget for the City’s General Fund for FY 2006/07 which shows an excess of projected revenues over projected expenditures of approximately $1.136 million, which is more than the policy minimum and more than was projected at the third-quarter budget review.

Mr. Kersnar noted that staff was recommending that $348,000 of the projected revenues be reallocated as part of the Revised Budget, either to one-time expenditures (payments to other funds, repairs and equipment, street maintenance) or to be set aside for future capital expenses.

Mr. Kersnar related that Transit and the Cemetery Funds were starting to go into a deficit (FY 2006/07) and must be addressed in the coming year.

FY 2007/08 Proposed Budget
Mr. Kersnar reported that FY 2007/08 Proposed Budget was conservative and staff recommended maintaining the existing levels of service, a “Status Quo” spending plan, without major new service initiatives.

Council Member Horgan asked Mr. Kersnar to look at the changes in property taxes, sales taxes and transient occupancy taxes and give Council some idea of how that translates into what has gone on in the City’s economy overall.

Mayor Smith verified that if salaried employees allocated their time to the various funds which become reimbursable expenditures by the State, the City could document and recapture those expenditures.

Mr. Kersnar stated that staff was recommending the following expenditures:
- A cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 5% for all employees
- 8% increase in healthcare costs
- 8.4% Sheriff’s Department police services increase
- Arts Commission ($1,000) and Historic Preservation Commission ($5,000)
- Office Specialist II position for the Public Works Department

In summary, Mr. Kersnar reported revenues of approximately $8.6 million, expenditures of
approximately $7.9 million, and approximately $753,000 to go to reserves.

At this point, City Manager Kersnar distributed the budget documents.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm.

__________________________________ ______________________________
Carol Smith Shari Herbruck
Mayor of the City of Ojai Acting City Clerk for the City of Ojai