Retiring Officer Jerry Peterson and his wife

The tension at the October 9, 2012 Fillmore City Council Meeting was extremely high as parties from both sides of the ticket, incumbents and new candidates accused the other side of tampering with their political signs. All the political drama kept Fillmore’s Police Chief Monica McGrath busy watching and directing some in attendance to their proper place and at times having to check on the foyer to tone down the loud angry talk that could be heard inside the Council Chamber. There was an hour of public comments mostly from one group that sat together on the north side of the chamber. This group would give a loud applause when someone from their group gave a condemning announcement. This seems to have become a common practice since non-incumbents have announced they were running for office.

Through all the political drama, there were agenda items that were attended to. They included a proclamation to retiring Sheriff Jerry Peterson, an award to Fillmore from United Way, discussion of the 2011-2012 year end budget adjustments, uncollectible utility accounts, budget adjustments regarding the Transportation Development Act and a Community Development Block Grant.

Taking the spotlight of the night was whether or not to write off inactive (closed) water/sewer accounts. The proposed water amount to be written off is $56,304 and the proposed sewer to be written off is $73,194; the Source Reduction Fee proposed is $1,219 and a miscellaneous amount of $358 bringing the total to $131,076. It has been suggested a program be implemented to waive water, sewer and source reduction fee penalty and interest charges for delinquent accounts when an authorized payment plan has been approved that provides for the account to be brought current within a 90 day period. If payments are not made in accordance with the payment plan, penalty and interest charges will be reapplied to the account.

There was also discussion on shortening the time to make payments on accounts that are current with their water/sewer bill. Current billing allows 31 days before delinquent then a late notice gives another 15 days, then there is a 48 hour shut off notice. It was suggested that the time be shortened to 19 days before being delinquent. Councilman A. Eduardo Gonzalez suggested having online bill paying, but temporary City Manager Rigo Landeros did not think that suggestion would be of much benefit to the community stating that many Fillmore residents do not have either checking accounts or credit cards. Council Member Brian Sipes added that the public isn’t paying because they don’t have the money, not because the method of payment is inconvenient.

With the original bonds the sewer rate should be over $100 per month, but because residents are paying less than that amount the bonds were downgraded. The interest rate is fixed at below 5% so that is not affected by the downgrade. In 2006-2007 it was known that the sewer rate would be this high and why the Rate Stabilization Fund was put into affect. Citizen Alex Mollkoy suggested asking for a Water/Sewer security deposit and asked why he receives a different payment date from month to month.

There was discussion of selling the outstanding accounts to a collection agency. Council Member Jamey Brooks did not agree with writing off the accounts saying it was too large of a sum to simply write off. Mayor Gayle Washburn then stated she had suggested other ideas when discussing the building of the water treatment plant. There was then a back and forth between Washburn and Council Member Steve Conaway as to the validity of Washburn’s suggestions before the building of the plant which included reactive concrete that degrades. Conaway motioned to get the old bills off the books to which Washburn and Sipes agreed and Brooks and Gonzalez voted No.
A proclamation to honor Officer Jerry Peterson for 31 years of service to Fillmore was presented. Peterson began with the Fillmore Police Department and in 1987 became part of the Sheriffs Department. He was the first School Resource Officer and made a real impact on the students with Police Chief McGrath stating “He made it a safe haven.” Peterson stated, “It’s been an absolute honor to work with the Fillmore Police and Sheriffs.” Through his service Peterson has worn various hats and received a variety of awards that included the 1985 Officer of the Year. He plans to remain active in the community and will be umpiring for the Boys and Girls Club.

Lynn Edmonds, with One Step a la Vez, spoke to the Council about the need for better transportation in Fillmore. Edmonds’ concern focused on the extra monies from the Transportation Development Act (TDA) where the agency found that the cost of providing bus service was lower than expected, leaving $51,638 to go to “unmet transportation needs” in Fillmore. Edmonds informed the Council that Fillmore has the highest unemployment rate (14-16%) for young adults in the County and the highest percentage of youth incarcerated. Many of the young adults in college rely on public transportation to get to school; but due to the State budget cuts, fewer and fewer classes are available and the busses in Fillmore only run from 7a.m to 8p.m. leaving the choice of night classes out. Santa Clarita has job opportunities and the College of the Canyons campus, but there is no public transportation traveling east of Piru. Edmonds suggested extending routes out of town and extending the time to 10p.m instead of keeping the dial-a-ride which is the most costly of all transportation. The Council informed Edmonds that the TDA requires the extra funds for unmet transportation needs can only be used for street and road purposes.

Cindy Escoto suggested that the Council come to their meetings and speak with the riders who use public transportation to get a better understanding of their needs. The One Step a la Vez meetings are every Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Alex Mollkoy asked the Council if there had ever been a discussion of having a route to Santa Clarita and commented that one has to ‘walk’ to Moorpark to catch the Amtrak. That produced a number of laughs from those in attendance. Council Member Gonzalez suggested someone in the community take up the problem as a business providing transportation to Moorpark and Santa Clarita.

United Way Community Investment Director Rachel Morales Parsell presented the City of Fillmore with a plaque thanking and acknowledging the town’s support of United Way of Ventura County.

Fillmore’s Code Enforcement Officer Stephen R. Stuart applied and received a California Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Sub-recipient Contract with the County of Ventura Code Enforcement. Only $6,000 was budgeted for code enforcement in FY 2012-2013. Code Enforcement was eliminated due to the elimination of the Redevelopment Agency. Stuart was informed that the County had extra funds and applied for a $35,000 grant which will be used to address the numerous housing code enforcement issues within the City. Stuart said with this money his office will be able to respond to every complaint. The grant will be authorized in less than a month and Stuart said one of the first things that will be addressed is the process of getting the burned out building on the west corner of Orange Grove and Highway 126 torn down and cleaned up.

Finance Director Glenda Jay gave an update on the financial status for the first quarter of FY 2013. There was a decrease in property values of about 5%, therefore a decrease in property tax the City will receive and less than the $408,000 budgeted for FY 2013. Overall revenue in FY 2012 was down 5% which equals about $300,000. Expenditures were down about 3%, about $185,000. In addition to this shortfall of $115,000, the City owes the State Board of Equalization $1,335,617 for tax sharing agreements charges in FY 2012 and there is $1,040,271 of the Sales Tax Advance still on the books (Fillmore previously received tax moneys it wasn’t owed and is having moneys withheld). Filming fees are higher than last year and building activity has increased so permits and plan check fees are likely to be greater than budgeted. The pool continues to operate at a deficit. There is a projected $1.3 million deficit for the FY 2014 but Jay states this is based on estimates and could change due to actual revenues and expenditures; changes in the economy; change in direction and/or priorities; unforeseen events; State actions’ and staffing changes.

Fillmore’s City Attorney Tiffany Israel suggested an ad hoc committee, consisting of two councilmembers who will definitely be on the Council after the election, speak to American Water regarding negotiations of their contract with the City. Sipes was asked and agreed to be on the committee and Conaway volunteered due to his knowledge of the contract and the plant, but Washburn appointed herself as the second person.

Israel also presented the Council with samples of other City’s Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics. Again as at the last Council meeting Brooks did not agree to the need for either codes stating that the City had one before and it was misused. Sipes stated that a Code of Conduct is a compass, but actions speak louder than pen and paper. Conaway agreed with having both a Code of Conduct and Ethics. Gonzalez said he would like consequences added if either are not adhered to and would like a clear definition of what a council member does when representing the City and when they are speaking or conducting themselves as a citizen. Brooks then suggested the issue be continued until after the election so it would not be considered political. Washburn, Sipes and Gonzalez agreed with Conaway stating that a Code of Conduct/Ethics should not be considered political.