San Marino City Council members did not fully understand why certain fees in the Planning Department are so high.
They asked Planning and Building Director Aldo Cervantes and Finance Director Lisa Bailey about tree trimming fees and application fees for design review projects during the latest council meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Bailey said a fee study was conducted three years ago to qualify all the fees in various departments within the city.
No increase for tree removal was requested this year. However, Vice Mayor Richard Sun commented the $245 per application was too high. He asked staff to return to council with a comparison of other city’s tree removal fees.
“I don’t think it’s fair to residents,” he said.
Councilmember Steve Talt also had an issue, but with the fees for a major design review case and a minor design review case.
“It’s only a $100 difference,” Talt said citing the major design review at $865 and the minor design review fee at $725, a change from last year. The major design review in 2015 was $715 and the minor design review was $575.
Talt said it didn’t seem right for a person building a new home to be charged just $140 more than someone changing their windows or building a new fence.
Cervantes said that with new ordinances coming into place, additional staff time is spent with the minor applicants. The increased fee cost covers that. None of the fees are meant for over-the-counter applications, he added.
Talt requested a calculated reason for these application fees be brought back to council.
A few other fees, mainly in the Recreation Department, are being increased as well. Daycare or kindercare, preschool, summer camp, private swim lessons, group swim lessons, Tsunami Swim Team and recreation lap swim will all increase fees by a few dollars. The junior lifeguard program will now range from $270 to $330. It was previously $120 per person for a total of 20 lessons.
Under the Police Department, fees for fingerprinting and police reports are now at $20. A concealed weapon permit has an additional $150 city administrative fee.
Annual Traffic Report
Police Chief John Incontro presented the annual traffic report to council containing information such as the number of traffic accidents, the number of persons killed, the number of persons injured as well as the number of traffic accidents investigated.
There were 246 total calls for service for traffic collisions in 2015; 259 in 2014 and 273 in 2013. Fridays had the highest number of non-injury collisions, while Sundays and Tuesdays had the highest number of injury collisions.
There were 92 injuries and 230 non-injury collisions; no one was killed in a collision in 2015.
Total number of traffic reports were 177. Of the 177 traffic reports, 322 people were involved.
The total number of traffic stops for the year was 4,146, which was down from last year’s 6,095. Nearly 1,745 citations were issued. There were 41 DUI arrests, also down from last year’s 45.
The main areas of traffic complaints from residents included Orlando Road between San Marino and Cameron Avenues; at Winston and California Avenues; Los Robles Avenue between Marengo Avenue and Monterey Road; and El Molino Avenue. Morning rush hour traffic was when the most complaints were filed.
Community Development Block Grant
The city of San Marino has taken part in the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program for several years, using extra funds from the federal government to cover community development needs.
In order to receive funds for the 2016-17 fiscal year, city staff must identify proposed projects, which was presented to city council on Wednesday, Feb. 10 by Paddy Taber, administrative analyst.
Though funds were reduced for the upcoming year due to federal budget constraints, it is expected that San Marino will receive $37,720. The plan is to use $5,658 for a public service program benefitting San Marino seniors, and $32,062 for a housing rehabilitation program, he said.
The senior program helps connect people 65 and older to municipal, recreational and community service programs and special events. Approximately 70 seniors are expected to benefit from this program in the coming year, Taber said.
According to federal regulations, no more than 15 percent of the CDBG allocation may be used for senior services.
The housing rehabilitation program benefits low-income, senior or disabled residents by providing grants for residential repairs such as new roofing, electrical upgrades, paint, new heaters or restroom conversions for handicap accessibility, Taber said. The funding allocated for this program should help one to three people with their homes.
One rehabilitation project is expected to be completed for this fiscal year, he said. The proposed project includes roofing repairs, installation of a new water heater, installation of egress security bars, front entry sidewalk repair, garage door replacement, installation of a new garage door, and minor tree trimming.
Last year, the city completed a Sidewalk Capital Improvement Project, using unspent allocated monies from previous years. It replaced 12,596 square feet of sidewalk and 465 square feet of driveway.
Talt asked if there were strings attached to the acceptance of the money. Taber said no, but the people who can participate in the program have to qualify either in age or income. There is also quarterly and annual reporting as well as an annual audit of the programs.
San Marino is one of many cities who participate in the CDBG program. CDBG began in 1974, and has been working to provide additional help to communities that need it. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development look at community need, population, income and housing information to determine how much money each city will receive.
Annual Audit Discrepancies
Some minor discrepancies showed up in this last year’s annual audit by Lance, Soil & Lunghard with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015.
Still, Rich Kikuchi, a CPA with the company, said the city was given the highest recommendation. Kikuchi said they came somewhat early for the annual audit and the books just weren’t ready. Finance Director Lisa Bailey said she should have asked for an extension, but did not.
To ensure discrepancies don’t happen again, Kikuchi recommended city staff prepare written instructions to be included as part of the city’s accounting policy and procedures manual on the various elements – including procedures for budget input, accruing payroll, prepaid expenses, interfund activity and more.
The inconsistent findings were not done on purpose, Kikuchi said. Bailey just needed to clean up some entries, which she already took care of. The audits are usually clean every year.
