Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
PROVIDE STATUS REPORT ON THE CITY CLERK’S PASSPORT AND VISA SERVICES
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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.
In response to that request the City Clerk drafted a staff report for discussion and placed it on the February 19, 2019 agenda. The report was given as requested, questions were answered, and the matter of passport revenues was addressed extensively.
The administrative processing for US visa applications is not part of Carson’s passport acceptance function. Applications for visas are not accepted or processed out of the City Clerk’s Office.
To date, the City has generated a total of $251,143 related to passport and notary services since 2013. However, the services were discontinued during FY 15/16, then reinstated January 2017. Since 2017, the City has collected $172,843. The City has recaptured $85,581 in cost recovery for FY 18/19 (as of April 30).
One of City Clerk’s objectives is to continue to operate a Passport Acceptance Facility. The purpose of this objective is to provide a valuable service to Carson residents; the business community and others in the South Bay region that need to apply for or renew their passport. The services have been very successful and well received by the community.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
RECEIVE AND FILE
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III. ALTERNATIVES
None.
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 City 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.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
The status of passport acceptance and revenues generated therein has been requested on five separate special meeting notices. The item was discussed during the Special City Council meeting on January 28, 2019 and at the Regular City Council meeting on February 19, 2019.
During City Council discussion at the January 28, special meeting, the city Council requested information related to: 1) the revenues generated by the City’s passport acceptance facility; 2) the fully burdened cost for two senior clerk positions in the (FY 18/19); 3) the City’s operational hours in comparison to California State University Dominquez Hills (CSUDH); 4) how many Carson residents have used the City’s passport services; 5) a list of all clerical vacancies agency wide; and 6) cost associated with operating the passport facility.
Also, during the January 28 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.
In response to the inquiries during the January 28 meeting, the City Clerk drafted a staff report for discussion and placed it on the February 19, 2019 agenda. A comprehensive report, including a PowerPoint presentation, was given as requested. Questions were asked and answered, and the matter of passport revenues was addressed extensively.
Council inquired on the following:
Revenue and staff cost comparisons
1. To date, the City has generated a total of $251,143 related to passport and notary services since 2013. However, the services were discontinued during FY 15/16, then reinstated January 2017. Since 2017, the City has collected $172,843. The City has recaptured $85,581 in cost recovery for FY 18/19 (as of April 30).
2. Fiscal impact related to the two senior clerk positions in the CCO for calendar year 2018 and FY 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 the end of August 2018.
The cost for salary and benefits for two Senior Clerks is $130,179. The fully burdened cost during calendar year 2018 was $76,663.
The Fiscal Year shown below is as of April 30, 2019.
3. 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.
4. How many Carson residents are being serviced?
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 874 individuals with their passport renewals, of which 554 were Carson residents.
5. List of current clerical vacancies:
a. Full Time Public Works Division Secretary
b. Full Time Public Works Senior Clerk
6. Cost associated with operating passport facility.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
Described above.
VI. EXHIBITS
None.
Prepared by: Donesia Gause-Aldana, MMC, City Clerk