HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary 13Finance and Investment Committee Special Meeting
Town of Los Altos Hills
Town Hall, Monday, January 13, 2015
The meeting was called to order at 4:00 pm by Chairman Epstein.
Members present: Courtenay Corrigan, Allan Epstein, John Harpootlian, Kjell Karlsson, Jim Lai,
Frank Lloyd, Susan Mason, Stan Mok, Roddy Sloss and Chris Welborn.
Member absent: Bill Silver
Staff present: Yulia Carter, Administrative Services Director; Richard Chiu, City Engineer
Guests present: None.
Public present: Kathy Evans, Chairperson, Parks and Recreation Committee
Approval of minutes
The prior meeting minutes were approved as corrected by members attending the prior meeting.
Presentation from the floor by Kathy Evans
Ms. Evans stated she is requesting the Town set aside funds for prospective Parks and Recreation site acquisitions
and will be presenting to the Council as well. For example, a covered Barn riding arena or the purchase of a
residence that can be converted to Town use. Ms. Evans is aware of a residence presently owned and occupied by
elderly town residents who may in the future be willing to offer the property to the Town at a favorable price.
There was no discussion as this item was not on the meeting Agenda.
Report on Council Activities of Interest by Courtenay Corrigan
Ms. Corrigan reported that the she met with Los Altos Council member Jan Pepper to discuss the Town’s
participation in the proposed new Los Altos Community Center. Ms. Corrigan stated she currently believed there
was little footing in LAH to financially support the project and has no plans to pursue the matter. Mr. Epstein
noted that the Council approved changes to the Town’s Investment Policy proposed by the FIC.
Report by Richard Chiu on Town Street Maintenance
Mr. Chiu described a two page meeting handout and explained that a professional third party survey to determine
the condition of the Town’s streets has been completed. The survey uses a numerical rating system. The overall
condition of the Town’s streets is 77 which Mr. Chiu characterized as a “good” noting that Los Altos has an 81
rating. He explained that an 80 rating is the goal as that minimizes annual costs. The Town’s repair and
maintenance plan follows the report recommendation which calls for giving priority to “maintaining” over “repair”
as this is the most cost effective approach. The rating only addresses pavement condition and does not address,
drainage, earthquakes, underlying condition of the roadway base, or safety issues such as potholes and low hanging
tree limbs. Safety issues and related priorities are addressed separately and work is performed independent of this
maintenance and repair effort.
The report estimates $600,000 of 2015 spending to maintain the 77 rating. Mr. Chiu will recommend $800,000 of
2015 spending to Town Council which is expected to raise the rating to 80 and reduce future maintenance costs
January 13, 2015 FIC meeting, con’d. page 2.
Separately. Mr. Epstein prepared a one page handout that extracted from the report selected private roads recently
accepted as Town streets. The handout shows the condition of the converted Streets and the estimated pavement
repair cost of $800,000 as compared to the initial unstudied estimate of $3 million. Streets may require drainage or
other work.
Report on Finance department activities of interest by Yulia Carter
Ms. Carter reported that Town June 30, 2014 Combined Annual Financial Report (CAFR) has been published and
the mid year 2015 Budget review is presently underway which will be reported to the FIC at its next meeting.
Generally, although only preliminary work has been performed, there are no large adverse changes anticipated.
Adjustments and refinements to the Willdan CAP (overhead) allocation study will be part of this effort and
presently staff is working with Messrs. Epstein and Sloss on sewer related matters. There is no change in the status
of work on insurance including Workers Compensation, and Grants.
Report on CalPERS June 30, 2013 fiscal year pension actuarial study by Yulia Carter
Ms. Carter presented a one page handout summarizing changes in pension cost and unfunded liabilities noted in the
subject report. Current CalPERS per employee employer contribution rates as a percent of salary have declined in
some cases because 1) charges to fund unfunded past service costs are now billed separately and 2) the Town’s
employees are now in three groups for benefit level purposes in part as required by “PEPRA” a new California
public employee pension law limiting employer costs and employee benefits. However, overall recurring pension
costs are still rising. Tier one employees, the longest serving, are now paying two percent of salary toward their
pension, up form zero two years ago. The unfunded past service cost liability, that will be reported on the Town’s
balance sheet for the first time on July 1, 2015 (June 30, 2016 fiscal year end), is also going up because of adverse
changes in actuarial assumptions and related reporting methods partially offset by favorable investment
performance changes. For the year ended June 30, 2014, the estimated past service liability is expected to be
around $2.0 million, down from $2.3 million at June 30, 2013 due to favorable investment performance.
Report on Sewer Rate Study by Roddy Sloss
Mr. Sloss noted a PowerPoint meeting handout and explained that Sewer Rates will need to be increased beginning
with property tax bills due in November 2015 because sewer capital, repair and maintenance spending has
increased substantially and is forecast to continue at this level indefinitely. The increase, although long anticipated
is now required due in part to higher spending necessary to prevent SSOs (“sanitary sewer overflow”) which
increased sharply last year. SSOs are closely monitored state wide and if not timely addressed can be the source of
expensive third party litigation directed at effective corrective action. The amount of the sewer fee increase
estimated in the handout cannot be finalized until the Town’s midyear budget review is completed and an
independent third party review of the financial projections and proposed rate increase has been conducted. Longer
term, the handout anticipates future fee increases to fund current and future planned Sewage Treatment Plant
renovations.
Proposed topics and dates for future meetings
The next FIC meeting date is Monday, March 2, 2015 at 4:15 pm. Scheduled topic is the midyear budget update.
Topics for future meetings include reviews of written Town policies, procedures and practices; Sewer Rate study, a
Westwind Barn yearend audit, and accounting and reporting insurance grants.
Adjournment - The meeting adjourned at 6:10pm.
Respectfully submitted by Roddy Sloss, Committee Secretary