Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
A FULL REPORT ON REVENUES RECEIVED BY THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
On January 28, 2019 Mayor Pro Tem Hicks and Councilmembers Davis-Holmes and Dear requested a full report on revenues received by the City Clerk’s Office.
During the discussion, Council requested information related to the revenues generated by the City’s passport acceptance facility; the fully burdened cost for two senior clerk positions (FY 18/19); the city’s operational hours in comparison to California State University Dominquez Hills (CSUDH); how many Carson residents have used the City’s passport services; and a list of all clerical vacancies agency wide.
At the same meeting Mayor Robles requested this item be brought back for reconsideration at the February 5th City Council meeting. On February 5, 2019, the reconsideration request was continued to the adjourned regular meeting on February 7, 2019. The reconsideration motion failed for lack of majority vote.
Furthermore, because direction to return with the requested information was made on January 28, prior to Ordinance 18-1832 becoming effective, the information requested during the January 28 meeting is being provided at this meeting for City Council consideration.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. RECEIVE AND FILE
Body
III. ALTERNATIVES
1. TAKE another action the Council deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
The City Clerk’s Office (CCO) is not typically a revenue generating department for a city. However, the CCO has been collecting fees for operating as a Passport Acceptance Facility on and off since 2013 and with a significant effort since January 2017. The City receives $35.00 per application (plus cost for copies) for verifying that the information presented on the application is true and correct. This fee is established by the Federal government and cannot be raised or lowered by an individual Passport Acceptance Facility. In the event an applicant needs a passport photo there is an additional cost of $9.00.
The CCO also collects fees (cost varies) for administering notarial acts. The fees for these services are determined by the State of California. This is a relatively occasional service and does not generate significant revenue for the City.
To date, the CCO has generated $217,102 related to passport and notary services since 2013. However, the services were discontinued for a short time, then reinstated in January 2017. Since 2017, the CCO has collected $137,207.
This item was initially presented during the January 28, 2019 meeting. Direction was provided to bring back a report with information as follows:
1. Fiscal impact related to the two senior clerk positions in the CCO for calendar year 2018 and fiscal year 18/19, along with the revenues generated for said periods.
In March 2018, the City Council approved the reclassification of a part-time office clerk to a full-time Senior Clerk (SC1) position. In the same City Council motion, an additional full-time Senior Clerk (SC2) position was approved. SC 1 started working full-time in March 2018, and SC2 was not filled until end of August 2018.
Revenue and staff cost comparisons
The benefits and salary cost for both senior clerk positions in calendar year 2018 was $76,663. The Fiscal Year shown below is as of January, 2019.
The fully burdened cost for two Senior Clerks for a full year is $130,179.
2. Hours of operation for CSUDH vs. City; how many Carson residents have used the City’s passport facility; and a list of all clerical vacancies City wide.
City vs. CSUDH
According to the Department of State, CSUDH operates Monday through Friday from 9:00am - 3:00pm (appointments are recommended) and Saturday by appointment only from 9:00am - 1:00pm. The CCO confirmed that walk-ins are accepted until 2:00pm Monday through Friday.
The CCO operates Monday through Thursday from 7:00am - 4:00pm on a walk-in basis only.
Serving Carson Residents
Although the CCO does not receive a fee for processing renewal applications, we still offer assistance to the public. Since we began tracking the passport trends in May of 2017, the CCO has assisted 1,105 individuals with their passport renewals, of which 426 were Carson residents.
The list of clerical vacancies in the City. The 2 staff members in the City Clerk’s Office are Senior Clerk. Currently open positions are:
a. Full Time Public Works Administrative Secretary
b. Full Time Public Works Division Secretary
c. Part Time Public Safety Typist Clerk II
3. Cost associated with operating passport facility.
One of the CCO’s objectives identified in the adopted Fiscal Year 2018-2019 Budget was to continue operating as a Passport Acceptance Facility. The purpose of this objective is to provide yet another valuable serve to the City of Carson residents, the business community and others in the South Bay region who need to apply for or renew their passport.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
Described above.
VI. EXHIBITS
None.
Prepared by: Donesia Gause-Aldana, MMC, City Clerk