MINUTES OF THE METRO COUNCIL BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE

Wednesday, March 14, 2001

Council Chamber

Members Present:  Susan McLain (Chair), Carl Hosticka (Vice Chair), Bill Atherton, David Bragdon, Rex Burkholder, Rod Monroe

Members Absent:  Rod Park

Chair McLain called the meeting to order at 2:12 PM.

1.  Ordinance No. 01-891 For the Purpose of Adopting the Annual Budget for Fiscal Year 2001-02, Making Appropriations, and Levying ad valorem Taxes, and Declaring an Emergency.

Leann Linson, REM (Regional Environmental Management) Manager, reviewed the REM response to the budget questions. A copy is included in the public record of the meeting. Chair McLain asked why REM chose one-year rather than two or three years as the target date to change the fee. Ms. Linson said the question was how fast the undesignated fund balance was drawn down. The intent was to get money back to the rate-payer faster. Councilor Atherton asked if there had been any change in the number of violations issued after going from a part-time to a full-time inspector. Ms. Linson said that at the same time a .5 FTE was hired as an inspector, a program administrator was hired to put together the review process and inspection timelines. The administrator realized that a full-time inspector was required. The number of violations had increased.

Councilor Atherton asked about the Multnomah County Sheriff’s department contract. He asked if REM contracted with any other counties for help. Ms. Linson said no. Chair McLain suggested that this might be a topic for a Solid Waste committee meeting. Councilor Bragdon asked if the auditing program paid for itself in terms of adding revenue from system fees that might otherwise have been under-reported. Ms. Linson said that was one of the intents of the program, but the first report had just been received and had not been analyzed yet.

Jan O’Dell, REM Public Affairs, spoke to under-served populations. John Houser, Council Analyst, asked if any of the $25k in the FY 2000-01 budget was unspent, would that money be used to supplement the under-served population program for FY 2001-02. Ms. O’Dell said that was very likely since the $25k was there for enhancing communication. Chair McLain suggested that this budget line item might be reviewed for clarity. Ms. O’Dell agreed to do so. Councilor Atherton asked how many FTE were assigned to the sustainability program. Ms. O’Dell said there were no new FTE; existing staff was part of a team put together to run the program. Peggy Coats, Council Analyst, noted that REM did not bear all of the expense of the program; it was a cross-department effort.

Chair McLain asked if schools or other public agencies had been contacted regarding excess paint from the Latex Paint program. Jim Watkins, REM Environmental and Engineering Manager, said the department had contacted schools about buying the paint, but had not had a positive response to date. While some paint had been given away, the program’s goal was to sell its product. Chair McLain suggested it might be a policy issue for Council to consider.

Councilor Bragdon asked if Mr. Watkins still felt comfortable with the IGA (Intergovernmental Agreement) on Killingsworth Fast Disposal, and that it was still of commensurate value after the adjustments. Mr. Watkins said yes.

Councilor Monroe asked if the capital improvement project to rebuild Metro’s Transfer Stations would make the stations safer for public use. Mr. Watkins agreed that it would be safer; especially at Metro South, where the extension area would not be a pit operation. Councilor Atherton asked why there was a need for consultation services on the rebidding process on operating contracts. Mr. Watkins responded that the consultant helped with the evaluation process and cost approximately $40k. In this case an expert was useful to give a neutral view on a contentious issue.

Councilor Burkholder asked about the organic wastes program and possible dangers from diseases currently in the news from Europe, e.g. Mad Cow disease. Doug Anderson, REM, Waste Reduction Planning and Outreach Manager, said a consultant had been hired specifically with expertise in this area to oversee the program. Chair McLain asked about the food bank program. Mr. Anderson said the capitol grants were targeted at a program area that agencies had identified as necessary to help them transfer edible food to preparation kitchens. Chair McLain requested further information on how REM would use the reports garnered from this program for evaluation.

Mr. Houser asked if a separate organic tip fee had been set. Mr. Anderson said no fee was in place at this time, but Council would review any fee prior to implementation. Councilor Atherton asked if the City of Portland or any other local jurisdiction took special note of businesses that ground up their organic waste and put it into the waste water system. Mr. Anderson responded that the City of Portland was studying this subject both as a stakeholder-generator and from a technical standpoint. The City had found that the true treatment cost of processing wastewater containing heavy-duty organic waste was $600-$800/ton. He understood that “extra-strength” charges had been or would soon be imposed. It would be a signal to waste generators that this waste must go elsewhere. Councilor Atherton asked if any other counties or cities had done similar work. Mr. Anderson said he would check and let the committee know. Councilor Atherton noted that Metro must be ready to deal with this waste when it was diverted.

Mr. Houser asked about using Metro funds to develop a site that would be under the control of a private vendor. Mr. Anderson said they would know more when grant applications came in. One example might be a loan or recoverable grant for capitol development. Chair McLain asked about the elements of the commercial outreach campaign. Mr. Anderson noted that the program would be presented at the next Solid Waste and Recycling committee meeting April 4.

Councilor Atherton asked how many citations were issued at the transfer stations on source-separated loads. Roy Brower, REM Enforcement, responded that a couple of actions had been taken in regard to putrescible waste at dry waste processing facilities. He was reviewing some issues, but reminded the committee that it was not always easy to enforce Metro code in the field. Mr. Houser suggested that REM staff might tie toxic waste recycling to the sale of compost bins. Chair McLain suggested that this also could be covered at the April 4 Solid Waste meeting.

Mark Williams, MERC General Manager, spoke to MERC Response to Council Analyst Questions. A copy is included in the public record of the meeting. Councilor Hosticka asked if there was a Metro policy in place to deal with financial gift limits if operational subsidies were not available. Mr. Williams said that any new building project should include support for its operations; however MERC was working on maintaining existing facilities. Chair McLain noted that Parks and Greenspaces had to turn back a $250k grant due to its inability to support the project in the current fiscal climate.

Councilor Burkholder asked which MERC employees received merit pay increases. Mr. Williams said it applied only to full time, non-represented employees. Chair McLain noted her continuing concern about duplication of services between Metro HQ and MERC. Councilor Burkholder asked how recommendation for changes in key actions based on the study would be handled. Mr. Williams said typically, if MERC had to spend more than its budget allocation, it would return to Council with a budget amendment or supplement.

Tony Vecchio and Kathy Kiaunis, Oregon Zoo Director and Assistant Director respectively, reviewed the Zoo’s response to the committee analyst’s questions. A copy is included in the public record of the meeting. Councilor Hosticka asked if any thought had been given to raising the admission fee to manage demand, or if that was needed. Mr. Vecchio said that the long-range goal was to reach 1.5-1.6 million visitors/year within 5-6 years. Ms. Kiaunis added that on the free afternoons the Zoo did reach capacity. Chair McLain asked if there was any differences in the visitor demographics on the free admission afternoon, the second Tuesday of the month, e.g. did they use light rail more. Ms. Kiaunis said light rail use was up on those days. Mr. Vecchio noted that more than 42k visitors attended on those days. Councilor Burkholder wished to explore policy issues regarding the admission philosophy; he hoped to discuss this further in Facilities and Operations committee.

Councilor Monroe stated his hope to encourage greater numbers of Zoo visitors to take advantage of using MAX as part of the Zoo experience; especially since Metro had made a tremendous investment in the tunnel and Zoo light rail station. Councilor Atherton asked how many zoos were government-run facilities. Mr. Vecchio said that there had been many changes in zoo operations in the past few years; 52% were now privately run. Ms. Kiaunis displayed a sample of the in-house exhibit staff’s skilled work – an artificial tree root made from used tires to be used in the flooded forest exhibit. Councilor Burkholder asked about plans for maintenance and repair of existing exhibits. Ms. Kiaunis responded that a 25-year capital replacement plan was in place that included a complete inventory of the Zoo’s infrastructure. It was reviewed annually. Councilor Monroe asked if employee retention was still high. Ms. Kiaunis said it was, but that finding skilled employees for new positions was more difficult. Mr. Vecchio added that staff development was an important part of his program.

2.  Tonnage Report and Pre-Tonnage Solid Waste Excise Tax for FY 2001-02

Tony Mounts, ASD (Administrative Services Department) Financial Planning Manager reviewed Calculating the Rate Per Ton worksheet. A copy in included in the public record of this meeting. Paul Ehinger, REM Engineering and Analysis Supervisor, spoke to the Tonnage Report and Pre-Tonnage Solid Waste Excise Tax for FY 2001-02. Councilor Burkholder asked if the report was good or bad news. Mr. Enger said it depended on perspective; Metro had met its prime objective, to get waste out of the waste stream. Conversely it was mixed news from the budgetary side. Councilor Atherton asked if there might be another explanation for the lower tonnage; and could it be leakage. Mr. Enger said tonnage patterns of haulers were being reviewed and there was no indication that this was a problem. Staff regularly tracked unexplained changes.

3.  Councilor Communications

None

Chair McLain adjourned the meeting at 4:29 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Pat Weathers

Council Assistant

ATTACHMENTS TO THE PUBLIC RECORD FOR THE MEETING OF MARCH 14, 2001

The following have been included as part of the official public record:

i:\minutes\2001\budget&finance/031401bdm.doc