Meeting of 1997-5-20 Special Meeting

Williams asked if Fire Station 5 has been identified for repairs. Don Barrington, Fire Chief, said Station 5, 53rd and Gore, was included in the 1995 CIP to be relocated. Williams asked if a new location had been found. Barrington said one suggestion was to move it one-half mile north by the Fairway Villa apartments. Schumpert said that could also help in correcting the off set street at that intersection; Station 5 was set for replacement several years ago although it has fewer problems than other stations.

Williams asked if anything would ever be done and Schumpert said realistically he did not think so, and that would not be the highest priority in use of overall 1995 CIP funds. Schumpert said CIP funds will be needed for the sewer rehab program and the City is awaiting decisions from DEQ and EPA in that regard; $3 to $3.5 million for the first year cost may be needed for sewer rehab; $2 to $3 million may then be applied to several other projects. Total 1995 CIP projects were $75 million. Fire station replacement was item one as it relates to public facilities, but Museum asbestos abatement is needed as well.

Sadler asked if there were structural problems. Schumpert said a determination had not been made by a qualified, structural engineer. Mayor Marley said the building was shifting and some of the bunks were on blocks, and the entrance is bad at such a busy intersection.

Shanklin said he had a problem with $77,000 for a new roof for Fire Station 7. Barrington said Station 7 is at 801 NW 82nd Street and the engineers had recommended the roof replacement. Mayor Marley asked what was wrong with the roof. Barrington said it had been repaired several times in the past and the engineers recommended, after receiving estimates from companies, that it should be replaced within a year or two. It is a flat roof with chat and tar, and composition shingles for the fascia all the way around the structure. Shanklin asked if this is the original roof. Barrington said yes, it was built in the late 1970’s or early 1980’s.

Beller said Account 108 shows $183,000 in overtime and asked what could be done in that regard. Barrington said $183,000 is the 1996-97 figure. Beller said $155,000 is requested for this year, and asked if $183,000 was actually used last year. Barrington said he did not think so and that an effort was made to really watch the overtime. Barrington said part of the reason for the overtime figure was vacancies and minimum manning requirements. Beller asked what required that. Barrington said any time you drop below a certain level, you must call people in to meet the minimum manning requirements.

Beller said Account 197 shows $100,000. Barrington said the educational incentive is built into the bargaining agreement. Williams asked if the firefighters go to school for this. Schumpert said it is an award for having gone to school, you get 6% if you have an associate degree and 10% if you have a baccalaureate, i.e., you get 16% if you have a baccalaureate degree, within a range of about 25 degree programs. Beller asked if there was a way to get out of that. Schumpert said that was suggested this year, and impasse has been reached; the City’s proposal was to freeze it at the current level so it would not be reduced instantly, but as people retired, the same educational incentive program would be provided as the general employees receive, which is tuition assistance for things which relate to your job.

Beller said the citizens are at wits end as far as increases and their cost to live in the City of Lawton. He said Council should do its best to try to lower the cost, and in the overtime and educational incentive program where there is a quarter of a million dollars in those two accounts, that is a lot of money.

Purcell said $28,000 is shown for the suburban, which was due to be replaced in 1997. He asked if it needed to be replaced now. Barrington said yes, one is being moved to replace a 1982 Oldsmobile station wagon, and one is coming in on this year’s budget. Schumpert said the City will have some usable items as a result of capital outlay purchases; if a vehicle is displaced, it must be turned in to Equipment Maintenance for evaluation. If the item is usable, directors will submit requests for equipment to be displaced, with justification, and usable equipment will be allocated appropriately.

Purcell asked what would be deleted from the capital outlay list if funding were decreased by $100,000. Schumpert said he would respectfully request that if Council desired to cut capital outlay by $100,000, he would hope that he would be directed to do that so he could bring back a revised request, but not necessarily take $100,000 from the fire department budget.

Purcell said he was trying to find out the priority ranking in the fire department. Schumpert said the items were submitted to him in priority order so he would take the lowest $100,000 out. Purcell asked that the City Manager provide a list of items that would be deleted City-wide from capital outlay in the amount of $300,000.

Shanklin asked why a suburban was needed. Barrington said it is driven by the deputy chief. Shanklin said it will carry nine people and asked why it is needed. Barrington said to carry materials to be able to respond to different types of incidents. Shanklin disagreed with the purchase of a suburban and with the practice of using a $200,000 plus apparatus to make emergency runs for medical assistance only. Shanklin said a cheaper piece of equipment could be used in that regard, and he knew the manning requirements came in, but the City cannot plan for the optimal in every instance due to the expense. Shanklin said the City buys large pick ups, and a lot are driven to grocery stores.

Beller said response times are important and crews must be able to respond with the appropriate equipment. He said he thought the suburban would be ideal for the medical runs. Shanklin said the deputy chief does not make medical runs. Beller said they would not know until they arrive what they will need.

Green asked if there was a cost to the City per trip back and forth. Barrington said something could be worked up showing cost of fuel, maintenance, salaries, and so forth. Shanklin said a $2,000 ice machine was requested and asked how many people are on duty at a time. Barrington said seven is the maximum crew at Station 4 on Cache Road. Green said two gas range stoves are $1,200.

Schumpert said fire protection has evolved into an emergency run type of operation. Some cities have crews who use a suburban type of vehicle when making emergency medical runs; and if there is a fire, that will be addressed; the other approach is to have a fire department that is fully manned and the recommendation is to have four people on each item of equipment at any given time, which means you need about five people per piece of equipment. Another approach is to have units respond to fires only and get out of the emergency medical business and E911 would contact the ambulance service, and this would cut out a lot of equipment, but right now, we are at three people per piece of equipment and that is about the minimum to maintain the ISO rating which affects everyone’s insurance. We do respond to emergency medical situations in that there is no one in town who can beat us to your house. He said some employees work ten days a month; however, to go to an eight hour shift, at this point in time, would cost more money.

Shanklin said the news media should let people know that there is a cost involved with the emergency medical responses, so they can tell the Council if that is where they want the money spent. Williams said there are two ambulance companies, but fire stations are located throughout the community and this is not a service where a person can assess the dollar value. Williams said the service is available to any resident and they already pay for it. Warren said the citizen has already paid for the fire crews but must pay extra for the ambulance.

Schumpert asked if the $300,000 recommendation was to include only capital outlay items which are not rolling stock. Purcell said last year there was $2 million, and agreement not to cut that, and we added $1.1 million for rolling stock, so there was $3.2 million, not counting E911, so there is $3.1 million this year in capital outlay. Purcell said Schumpert said if $200,000 was needed to balance the budget, if there not a utility rate increase, we should decrease capital outlay by $200,000, so we are even and would not have to raise utility rates. Purcell suggested $300,000 be taken from the $3.2 million shown in this budget for capital outlay and tell us where there would be cuts; he said he hoped we would not cut out three police cars and one fire engine, that does not work, there are other places where we have beefed up capital outlay. Purcell said it would be up to the City Manager to recommend if the cuts are to be in the police cars and fire engines, but he was not expecting it to be reduced in that manner.

Shanklin said in the $3 surcharge put in place last year to generate this money again this year, how much is in the fire department. Purcell said $251,000 comes from rolling stock; the pumper apparatus for $210,00, the air cascade vehicle for $24,000 and the pick up truck for $17,000; the rest comes from the other $2 million. Shanklin said the rolling stock should be absolutely separate from this budget. Purcell said the budget shows how much is coming from rolling stock and how much is coming from the General Fund. Schumpert said page two shows rolling stock at $1,198,823; the budget reference notes break it down further.

Shanklin asked if Public Works was being funded adequately to perform required maintenance. Schumpert said the sewer maintenance program is being addressed, but water and streets are not being addressed in the same manner. Warren said Public Works total got about $560,000 out of rolling stock. Shanklin said their equipment is inadequate. Purcell said $634,000 of the $3 surcharge for equipment is in Public Works. Schumpert said Public Works also got the larger share of this year’s $1 million in rolling stock. Schumpert said televising the sewer mains, purchasing an additional backhoe for the leak maintenance crew, and purchase of mechanical equipment to reduce manpower requirements for stoppage crews is in this budget.

Mayor Marley asked if there were further comments on the fire budget. Williams asked if salaries and wages would be changing or what should be anticipated as an increase. Schumpert said no increase is included, over the last few contracts, we have dealt with that; step increases are included for those who have not reached the maximum step; COLA is not included in the budget.

Purcell said fire department salaries and wages is $3.8 million, but there is also differential for lead man pay, an additional $50,000; sick leave pay in lieu $154,000; EMT differential pay $168,000; overtime pay $155,000; longevity pay $201,000; holiday pay $10,000; uniform maintenance $60,000; firefighter II incentive pay $51,000; educational incentive is additional. Salaries and wages is not just $3.8 million but it is all the other numbers added. Schumpert said that is correct, some get all of it but not everyone. Purcell said those total numbers go to someone in terms of pay in the fire department. Schumpert said last year’s adopted budget shows less than this year due to the overhire authorized last year and we spent less on salaries.

Schumpert said civil defense is part of the fire department budget. He said each year an increase has been requested and it has been funded at the same level for three years; this year a 10% increase is projected making it $30,000 and the director indicated that was acceptable.

Purcell said the vehicles have run down for years and this is an attempt to keep them up; there are 20 vehicles in the budget both from general and rolling stock. He said discussion was held previously on purchasing video cameras and suggested instead of buying 15 full size sedans maybe buying 14 and getting cameras installed in some vehicles. Purcell said placing computers in both police and fire vehicles was considered and a one year increment was $100,000; he asked if some of the $85,000 grant could be used for the computers.

Adamson said he did not have details about the $85,000 grant but understood it was to be used to reduce street crimes either in narcotics or burglaries; more information is to be received in 7-10 days about what the funds could be used for and what strings would be attached.

Adamson suggesting reducing the 15 patrol vehicles to 14 and using the savings to purchase video cameras, hoping to get 8-10 to put in primary traffic units which make the most contact with the most people, which would be a better test of the equipment. He said it would be a year or more before OLETS could take on any more mobile data terminals; before Lawton can get in that system, it must be upgraded.

Williams asked if Account 197, educational incentive, was similar to the fire department. Adamson said he thought it was similar; police is determined by in-service credits and college credits, using a formula, and the more credits a person has, the higher percentage they get, with the maximum being 10%. Adamson said after 17 years of service, an employee can convert and some of the benefits go to their regular pay instead of the educational incentive. Schumpert said that was bought out last year from the police; all those with educational incentive were recomputed and it was placed into their salaries. Schumpert said the program the police are on now is the same as that for the general employees where assistance is provided for tuition, and educational requirements were set for promotion within the police department.

Green said there was a situation where a small child died and other small children were brought to the police station for questioning, and parents were very upset. She said several officers are trained to work with small children but it would have been better to have someone familiar with this area to come in. Green said no one on the department is positively trained or qualified to talk with small children, such as four or five years old; they were frightened. She said there are two local agencies who could provide this.

Adamson said if someone is on retainer, we would have to remember what we want them to talk to the child about; if we are looking for a person to soothe the child, they could do that but they might destroy the case. From a law enforcement point of view, we should be sure the investigators who deal with small children are sensitive to the fact that they are dealing with young people but their goal is to obtain evidence and information from those children. He said we do an adequate job, though not perfect, but we must be careful in those circumstances not to interfere with the investigation. Adamson said if someone were to be paid for this, funding would be from professional services. He said it might be possible that someone from the agencies would like to volunteer for this. Schumpert said it is important to obtain timely and undistorted information from small children and they would have to speak with an officer, but it might be helpful for them to speak with someone from an agency such as Marie Detty after the incident. Adamson said they had also thought about having a program for pastors in the community to assist.

Adamson said four additional officers were requested in a supplemental budget. He said the federal government is willing to provide grant funds for police officer salaries and benefits. Adamson said instead of hiring four all at once, he would like to apply for the grant contingent on if we are given the grant then the Council would be willing to increase the force by the four people; the government will pay $75,000 or 75% of the salaries and benefits of each employee over a period of three years. After three years the City would pick up the whole cost as it is a decreasing amount the government would pay each year. Adamson said it would save money in the short run at least and should be given some thought.

Mayor Marley asked if Council could decide, after the third year, whether to retain the officers. Schumpert said the program requires that you not reduce the number of officers and the Chief is saying that the number of officers would likely increase by four in the next three years with or without the program. Adamson said the positions would have to be in addition to the current manning level.

Shanklin asked what the four officers would be assigned to do. Adamson said street patrol; one patrol officer would be rotated into the detective division every shift change for learning and to provide assistance and one also in the special operations unit every shift change. Shanklin asked how often there is a shift change and Adamson said every four months. Deadline for grant application is August 1. Council encouraged an item to submit the grant.

Adamson said the management record keeping system, to call in reports, is very important and items used now on a temporary basis have proven their worth. He said there are two 4-wheel drive vehicles in Account 66 and suggested one be deleted to fund the dictation system.

Williams asked how many employees are at the lakes. Adamson said three are there all year; two additional are assigned five months of the year full time; the need is supplemented with part time officers during the five months. Shanklin asked if one employee made $2,000 to $3,000 overtime in one pay period last year. Adamson said he did not know but would doubt that amount.

Green asked how many officers are minorities. Adamson said slightly more than 5%, and state wide that is just above average. He said he is interested in receiving minority applications. Schumpert said there are two female lieutenants. Adamson said there is one African American captain.

Williams asked if funds were included to renovate the jail. Adamson said that work is being done now from funds previously approved. Williams asked if the leaking valves were corrected. Adamson said the sewage problem was corrected; there is a water leak and the faucets in the cells are worn out but a bid was received on repairs. Adamson said the ceiling is bad but will not be repaired until the leaks are repaired. Adamson said funds have not been designated for the clean water leaks but a funding source is being sought and it is not included in the budget. Estimated repair amount is $17,000 for 28 cells needing industrial faucets. Schumpert reviewed recent reconstruction in the police station and said plans are to move training back to the station. Williams spoke in favor of having repairs made. Adamson said bids have been received for repairs and funds were not included because he had no idea what it would cost. Schumpert said they would attempt to fund it from this year’s budget.

Cruz said capital outlay includes replacement of a computer and printer, which were scheduled for replacement; funds are included for lease purchase of the existing telephone system. He said $57,484 went to Personnel as part of the transfer of the Safety and Risk Officer with the part-time clerk. Office supplies, safety supplies, dues and memberships, and training were reduced as a result of the transfer. He distributed and discussed information on work load of the office. Cruz requested a full time legal assistant position; cost is approximately $36,000.

Williams asked if the legal assistant position would decrease the number of times outside legal counsel is required. Cruz said most of those cases are referred to outside legal counsel due to conflicts of interest. Williams asked if the position would allow for claims to be processed quicker. Cruz said yes.

Purcell said of the 20 people at the highest step, he understood that four of them are in the City Attorney’s Office. Cruz said all of the attorneys have reached the maximum step. Purcell said the total amount for a 2.5% pay increase for those 20 people is about $20,000, with about $4,000 of that cost being in this budget activity. Purcell said for the 2.5% increase and the additional person, the cost would be around $40,000. Cruz said that is a fair estimate.

Schumpert said there are three ways an employee reaches the maximum step; one is being here a really long time, second is an employee is given accelerated steps during employment for performance, and in the third case, which is the case with the legal staff, when the pay plan survey was done last time, it showed the City’s attorneys are being paid more than the market rate, which is interesting because most practicing attorneys make more money than the City’s attorneys. Purcell said the attorneys suing the City make a lot more than the attorneys defending the City and that should be addressed.

Williams asked what the City would gain by having the legal assistant, except that the attorneys who have been doing this leg work will not have to do as much of it and the person who has been doing the investigations will go somewhere else. Cruz said there would be a more concentrated effort on the part of the attorney in preparation for trial, and we would be able to have a docketing system so no deadlines are missed.

Shanklin asked how many para legals there are in Lawton. Cruz said about six or seven. Shanklin asked if any are making $36,000 a year. Cruz said he did not know. Purcell said that amount includes equipment. Cruz said the job description went through the system and received that rating. Purcell said it includes the benefits and medical, etc. Shanklin asked what the salary would be. Cruz said entry level is $28,000 and $32,000 was included in case it is needed.

Williams commended the legal staff on the work produced and supported adding a legal assistant. Purcell said he agreed with Williams, and felt it was possible that some of the attorneys could at some point move on, which would create a problem with training and work load, and you cannot keep working people very long hours with no support or pay raise.

Purcell said he had been seeing paperwork from Municipal Court that had not been signed by the Judge. He asked if there was agreement that the Judge is the department head and Schumpert said that is correct. Schumpert said he understood the Judge had delegated the administrative duties to the Municipal Court Clerk and that many items are signed by that person.

Sadler asked why the arrangement was changed as far as the Judge and how it is working out. Schumpert said it seemed to be working fine, and it was brought out when the State Statutes were changed allowing the Municipal Court to be under the Municipal Judge. This was considered during contract discussion with the Judge and his contract was modified to allow this to occur; the idea is to provide someone on site in that location during working hours to monitor activities and be in a position to make decisions about how the court will be run, which is determined by the Judge anyway. Schumpert said additional personnel were requested and a part of the reason is the number of tickets processed; additional revenue would be generated as a result in an amount sufficient to support the additional personnel, and there is currently a 90 day backlog. Schumpert suggested the Judge be present to discuss the budget in this area.

Steve Livingston, Finance Director, said Administration includes the director and the secretary. Payment is made from this budget for the City’s audit; CDBG pays about $2,000 of the audit costs. Audit is performed by Stanfield & O’Dell, and this will be the last year of their three year contract so bids will be received. Capital outlay is for a computer.

Purcell said if the purpose of the reformatted utility bill is to notify people of how their money is being spent, the entire back of the existing utility bill is blank and information could be printed in that space with no increase in postage or other costs. He said it would be another issue if other information is to be provided. Livingston said the bills can be turned over and general information printed on the back, but it could not be personalized types of information. Purcell said he was not talking about that kind of thing but about what percentage of the utility revenue would be used for police, as an example. Livingston said the existing bills are getting crowded, although he was not supporting a reformatted bill and it would be additional work, but staff would work toward that if that was Council’s desire. Livingston said one concept was to include information on upcoming events or City related items. Purcell said most of the $40,00 increase in postage is for additional postage for the full size envelopes with stuffers, which may increase to $80,000 if a lot of information in included, and the postage would be 55 cents instead of 32 cents. Purcell said information does need to be sent but it could be done in a less costly manner.

Green said Building Development could include things in the spring and fall; Solid Waste could put out information about how the trucks would be running during the snow and about how the City operates when there is snow; and every department would have a designated time frame to provide information.

Williams said he was not as interested in showing the percentage of expenditures for the departments as for the services being provided when that information is not continually reinforced. He said there would be an opportunity every month to let people know what would be happening, such as a special trash pick up or an effort on recycling or something at the Museum. Williams said in lieu of having a public information officer, this would go a long way in getting messages out to citizens, and helps to justify requests for additional help.

Beller said he favored notifying people of licenses expiring and thought that was to be included with this mail out system. Shanklin said if that were his livelihood, he would feel it was his responsibility to see when the license was to expire. Williams said information could be provided regarding expenditure of CIP funds and it would be accurate.

Livingston said the issue of reminder notices for license renewal and the full size utility bill are two different items and are not connected. Schumpert said utility bills are sent out over a cycle of a month and the same information could not be used in all cases and remain timely. Williams said all utilities stagger their billing so you have an informational sheet that is two to four weeks in advance of when the last group is billed. Williams said information could be included as to when all types of licenses expire so those who are interested would have that.

Mayor Marley asked if a separate mailer could be done, not in an envelope, but a folded piece of paper sent to each account holder. He said he did not think it would cost as much and would accomplish the same goal of providing information, perhaps quarterly.

Williams asked if it was possible to lease equipment. Livingston said one of the companies has a lease program for $5,000 per year for the more expensive equipment items, so that cost could be spread out and maintenance would be included. The on-going cost will be $20,000 additional postage.

Purcell said he would offer a motion to use the back of the current utility bill and print it on that, send that out, and then once a quarter put some piece of paper together, whether it is a fold over or whatever, and send that information out and use that as a way to inform the public on a quarterly basis what is going on; the back of the utility bill, which is blank, can be used to inform everyone how the utility money is being spent in the various departments within the City, not dollar by dollar, but ten percent goes here, ten percent there, twenty percent goes there, in just general terms where their money is going because most people right now do not know that money that we pay for water goes to pay the police department, they just flat don’t know that, that will then explain it, if they never turn it over, they don’t know it. Consensus was to continue discussion.

Livingston said postage costs are approximately $5,000 per month and that could be considered if a quarterly mailing is done. Williams asked if the budget includes all monthly postage for the new bill format and Livingston said yes. Livingston said there would be a cost for a quarterly mailing to 27,000 people.

SUBSTITUTE MOTION by Williams, SECOND by Green, to leave the funds in the budget as it exists now, think about it and as we get closer to the budget time, a decision be made on whether to leave it in or take it out, and further information can be provided on the true total cost of the program to buy and to lease equipment. AYE: Green, Warren, Williams, Sadler. NAY: Beller, Purcell, Shanklin. SUBSTITUTE MOTION CARRIED.

Purchasing Division: Includes the print shop operation. Divisions will be billed for copy costs. Beller asked what that would accomplish. Schumpert said when the City Clerk was paying for all of the postage, people would mail all kinds of things, but when divisions started paying for their own postage, and this has been done, then divisions started looking at what they wanted to mail. Schumpert said if the costs are paid elsewhere, there is not as much attention given to the cost.

Schumpert said discussion had been held before on more effective utilization of the Assistant City Manager. He said he had looked at those areas where the City is served internally, such as Purchasing having a primary function of servicing other operations within the City; Building Maintenance, Equipment Maintenance and MIS are other examples. Schumpert said Equipment Maintenance is working effectively under Public Works and should remain there. MIS has already been moved under the Assistant City Manager. Schumpert said he had discussed with department directors the thought of moving Building Maintenance and Purchasing under the Assistant City Manager and that was acceptable. He said it would be a general service type function to be under the direction of the Assistant City Manager.

Purcell said that was not what he had in mind and this only creates another department and director, and that he did not want the Assistant City Manager to be another department director. He said if entire departments do not report through the Assistant City Manager to the City Manager, and that he would understand if that was not preferred, but this would be a step backward and it would be preferable to leave it alone. Purcell said it was fine to have MIS here, but that he did not see a reason to move the other divisions. Schumpert said he would proceed with having only MIS under the Assistant City Manager.

Livingston said this account handles utilities for City Hall and City Hall Annex, as well as the monthly payment to PSO for usage excluding traffic and school crossing lights. Insurance on buildings is included, as well as some public official bonds. The hotel-motel contract funds are here, estimate is $300,000. He said he may recommend the number be changed as the end of the year approaches, and it may increase slightly.

Beller said as far as the hotel-motel tax, at one time the City has an economic development trust the City and he asked if it was still in tact. He said he thought the City should be responsible for seeing the funds from the hotel-motel tax are spent in a more prudent manner. Beller suggested the economic development trust be reactivated and have the funds spent more in line with what the Council is trying to accomplish. Livingston said the City keeps books for two industrial authorities, which are inactive, but may be actual entities. He said the Lawton Industries Authority has certain projects, and the Lawton Industrial Development Authority was quite active about ten years ago.

Beller said he thought the City could do a better job with the money. Schumpert said he did not know that the City had any more expertise than anyone else, however, the authorities work quite well depending on their structures. Schumpert said staff could research the documents. Beller said he thought these amounts of money could be spent more prudently by an entity more directly involved with the City.

Shanklin said the group that promoted the tax was the Chamber of Commerce and the vehicle used to get the funds was the City. He said their budget is $500,000 greater than the hotel motel tax, although it may not be separated as they would want it to be, but that he could not say they were not doing so good. Beller said he was not saying they were not doing good, but the economic development authority would be more closely aligned with the Council.

Williams said he would not favor that. He said industries like to come in under secretive situations and the chambers work well in most communities in that regard. Williams said it takes a long time to bring an industry to ground breaking, and there has been a learning experience at Lawton’s chamber. He said he did not think the City could do as good a job as the Chamber, and maybe the groups could assist because the City has been brought in at the eleventh hour to figure out how to do something. Beller said things were promised to the Bar-S plant that could not be delivered in the infrastructure area, and the same thing could happen with the proposed prison. Williams said the County has the CCIDA, which operates well, and the City could have a similar organization to work hand in hand. Shanklin said all of them need to work together and the Mayor should be running it all, and there are five entities working separately, but we need one main group. Beller said that was his idea with the economic development trust.

Warren said the authority could provide funds to the Chamber for a project that would fit the criteria. Mayor Marley said a lot of work goes into industrial development, and the City or an authority could do that, but we are now beginning to see the good that is coming out of this with four or five prospects talking about building multi million dollar facilities in Lawton. Mayor Marley said Altus, Duncan and Ardmore have gone with authorities that are not under the chamber or the city, but they work as a part of the community to conduct the economic development. He said he would hate to see a change right now, however, it is on the horizon and it must eventually be looked at in the light of one, big community effort. Mayor Marley said tourism is part of the tax, as well as economic development, and if you split that in half and give $150,000 to one and $150,000 to another, the money would be spent on personnel costs.

Bob Bigham, City Planner, said the budget submittal is 3% less than last year. The 2000 census is coming up and requests are being received from the Department of the Census for assistance, which is work that is not normally required. A position was lost in last year’s budget review, and there have been two vacancies for the last two years. Due to the pay scale, the department is a training ground for other municipalities in the lower grade positions. The City’s representative with the Federal Highway Administration was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing and a new person has assumed those duties but views the regulations differently. A part of the transportation grant was being charged to GIS development and map review, but the new representative does not allow that to be charged to the federal grant. A request was submitted for an additional person to support this but it was not included in the preliminary budget.

Purcell said he thought zoning for Lawton as a whole should be reviewed, and revamp the entire zoning ordinances. He said you have R-1, R-4, and C-5 side by side all in one block, and that did not make sense. Purcell said requests are received continually to rezone land, and an overall look should be taken throughout the City to determine where commercial zoning would be located. He said it would be a lengthy process and there may be inadequate funding for it now, but it should be started at some point.

Bigham said Planning assumed the zoning responsibilities in October 1996 without manpower being added, and amendments to Chapters 18 and 21 are being worked on in a comprehensive approach. He said with the current manpower and upcoming projects, they would make every effort to work on the text portion, but an additional task to rezone every lot in the City would be a major project.

Purcell said that was not what he was suggesting at all. Deborah Jones, Assistant City Planner, asked if the subject was analysis of land use versus zoning districts. Purcell said he was talking about, as an example, we have an area along Sheridan Road and each lot has a different zoning, and it may be in the Land Use Plan to do something in the future, but we need to change the ordinances so all along Sheridan Road, all the lots are zoned commercial because eventually all of them will be commercial. Jones said land use planning is required every five years by the Charter and includes the broad categories, such as commercial or residential; zoning is a legal application to a specific parcel. She asked if the subject was to examine the zoning, which is the activity that can go on the parcel, and can we administratively come up with what we think is the most appropriate zone, and then apply that.

Purcell said a lot of time is spent both in Planning Commission and Council trying to rezone every lot along a street, but if we would redo the Land Use Plan and/or zoning ordinances to state in this area it is commercial, and once that ordinance is passed, everything in an area would be commercial. He said if a house is there, it would stay and people could live there, but you would not have this process every time someone wants to rezone a lot.

Bigham said there are 27,000 parcels in the City and such a process would not cut down totally on rezoning requests. Purcell said he was not suggesting that 27,000 parcels be rezoned. Purcell said he was saying to look at both sides of Sheridan Road and designate it as commercial. Mayor Marley said five years from now someone may want to put a store in a house and that will be the problem. Mayor Marley said the neighborhood residents would like to be able to voice their opinion about a proposed use. Schumpert said many parcels contain non-conforming uses and once something is done with the property, it reverts to another use.

Bigham said the Land Use Plan states 38th and Cache Road will remain residential as long as there are houses there; you have the scenario with Sheridan Road and the land use policy of the City is that it will remain residential. Cruz said the Land Use Plan can be changed but the property owner has the right to request rezoning.

Schumpert said a person can move into a house in an area that is zoned R-4, and he should be able to have a reasonable expectation that it is a R-4 area. He said an application may be filed for the lot next door to be rezoned commercial, and the person in the house will be mad because he expected it to be a R-4 area. Schumpert said if the area were zoned commercial, the person buying the house would know it would be a commercial area, but under current conditions, there is always a fight.

Mayor Marley said the planners look at undeveloped properties and make such judgments so these situations do not come up. Bigham said the Land Use Plan sets policies and that should be reviewed, although the private market always changes, along with the ownership, and requests will always be coming. Purcell said other cities have found ways to tell citizens how they can reasonable expect their area to develop. Cruz said that is set forth in the Land Use Plan. Mayor Marley said he did not think it was common practice for realtors to tell prospective buyers what could be expected.

Green said she favored having commercial in areas separated from residential, and that is common in other cities. Bigham said the main function of zoning when it was originally established was to protect single family residences, and the Land Use Plan contains protections and an attempt to have buffers between commercial and single family. Bigham said the current Land Use Plan calls for certain areas along major arterials to remain residential because there is not a way to create a buffer between commercial and residential. He said Duncan has cut off all of the minor arterials going onto the main street creating the non-mix between single family and commercial, but rezoning all the lots along Sheridan Road is not protecting the single family, which is necessary.

Shanklin said everything that comes before Council on the rezoning is 40 years old and it is not the new developments. Schumpert said in ten years it will be old but we do not ever fix the problem because it is the next generation that deals with the problem. Shanklin said there is a difference also between home ownership and rentals.

Williams said taking care of the infrastructure has been a need for years, and the budget funds only a certain number of feet of streets, water lines and sewer lines, but there are a whole lot of repairs and breaks. One idea was an additional $2 capital improvement surcharge on the utility bill to be earmarked specifically for streets, water line and sewer lines. He said he wanted citizens to know about this since we are not making any head way on infrastructure improvements and we may find ourselves in the same shape with streets and water lines as we are on the sewer system. Williams suggested public input be received in that regard and that other ideas may be put forward to make these improvements. He said the idea truly was that this $2 would remain in effect until the 1995 CIP ended and then the citizens would be asked to support a permanent one cent sales tax earmarked for infrastructure needs, with taking the $3 and the $2 off. Williams said a permanent one cent is about $6 million a year. Schumpert said one-half cent could be for capital outlay and one-half cent for capital improvement. Williams said past councils could not bring themselves to do this but we need a proactive approach to taking care of the infrastructure needs, and citizens see that need.