A Review of the City of Monterey’s Neighborhood Improvement Program

At least 16% of the annual TOT revenue is to be budgeted for capital projects to improve the residential neighborhoods or projects of community-wide benefit; and 2. The Monterey City Council may, by a four-fifths vote, reduce said budget below 16%. A copy of Section 6.6 of the Monterey City Charter is attached as Appendix B The Neighborhood Improvement Program To provide guidance to the NIP Committee on how to conduct its business, the NIP Manual was developed.5 The Council Approved Edition of the NIP Manual, currently in use by the NIP, is dated December 4, 2012. The NIP includes 16 neighborhoods. The Monterey City Charter defines the appropriate use of NIP funds as targeted for neighborhoods and community-wide capital projects. For clarification purposes of the NIP Manual and this report, the Merriam- Webster Dictionary defines “neighborhood” as “the people living near one another” or “a section lived in by neighbors and usually having distinguishing characteristics.” 6 “Community”7 is defined as “people with common interests living in a particular area” and Citywide as “including all parts of the city.” The MCCGJ believes community-wide projects benefit the residents within the neighborhoods and Citywide projects benefit the residents of the entire city. A map of the 16 neighborhoods is attached as Appendix C. Each neighborhood chooses one representative and an alternate to serve on the NIP Committee. Each representative is then approved and appointed by the Monterey City Council. The NIP Committee chooses a Spokesperson and an Alternate Spokesperson to represent the NIP Committee in meetings with the Monterey City Council and other committees. There are no representatives for Citywide. A neighborhood, as defined in the City Charter, has an identified and distinct boundary. Each neighborhood has a base allocation for funding projects. The base allocation8 5 https://monterey.org/Portals/0/Reports/NIP/NIP-Policies-and-Procedures-Manual.pdf 6 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neighborhood 7 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community 8 https://monterey.org/Portals/0/Reports/NIP/NIP-Policies-and-Procedures-Manual.pdf 2019 A REVIEW OF THE CITY OF MONTEREY’S NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (funding allocation) is set by the per capita formula per year and is based on the population of each neighborhood. Citywide has no base allocation. There is a designated City of Monterey NIP Coordinator who is appointed by the City Manager9 and is responsible for coordinating development and execution of the NIP. The NIP Coordinator’s immediate supervisor is the Director of the Public Works Department. Each NIP representative is responsible for submitting resident suggested projects to the NIP Coordinator for review. City staff frequently submit city projects for consideration by the NIP committee at the request of the City Manager, the majority of which are Citywide. These projects are then reviewed by the NIP Coordinator, evaluated as to completion cost, and presented for review by the NIP Committee during Voting Night (as described below). Each year within the first quarter, NIP representatives meet to vote on projects within their own neighborhoods. During the NIP prioritization meeting, NIP members can support other projects outside of their neighborhoods by lending their allocation of monies to other projects. Approved projects are reviewed by the Monterey City Council for approval or rejection. Once the Monterey City Council approves projects, they return the list of approved projects to the NIP Coordinator for scheduling with the City Engineer, Parks and Recreation Department, and the Public Works Department. APPROACH The MCCGJ interviewed several NIP Spokespersons, NIP representatives, and residents of several neighborhoods. The cross section of interviewees included more recently appointed representatives and representatives who have over 15 years of experience on their respective NIP Committees. The MCCGJ also interviewed senior officials within the City of Monterey who had knowledge of the NIP functions and procedures. The interviews included staff members and senior and middle management officials, including elected officials. These interviews provided information that prompted the MCCGJ to research City documents, public meeting minutes, and the finances of the City of Monterey Budget. 9 https://monterey.org/Residents/Neighborhoods/Neighborhood-Improvement-Program 2019 A REVIEW OF THE CITY OF MONTEREY’S NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM Relevant documents, City Minutes, City Agendas, and financial data were collected from the City of Monterey staff and the on-line search engine, I-SEARCH. The I- SEARCH tool allows the user to access on-line activities to review City Public Meetings, including videos and minutes. The search engine allows the user to search by date, month, and year. The MCCGJ also reviewed: • NIP Budgets • City of Monterey Budgets • NIP website information10, and • NIP Projects submitted to the NIP from the Public DISCUSSION NIP Representatives and Term in Office The MCCGJ, in its efforts to address the complainant’s concerns regarding term limits, interviewed a NIP Spokesperson elected from the representatives, several representatives and residents as well as City Staff and senior officials and found: • The position of NIP representative is time-consuming and requires a great deal of work and dedication. • The long serving members reported that they were in their positions due to lack of interest from other neighborhood residents to serve in the position. • Certain NIP representatives had no alternate to assist them with their NIP tasks. • Each year, the NIP representatives are voted in by their respective districts. • Although previous knowledge is valuable, it is not necessary in the position. 10 https://monterey.org/Residents/Neighborhoods/Neighborhood-Improvement-Program 2019 A REVIEW OF THE CITY OF MONTEREY’S NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM • NIP representatives cooperated with each other and voted for, as well as, used funds from their neighborhoods to assist other neighborhood projects. The NIP Neighborhoods and Budget The NIP Manual11 addresses the neighborhoods within the City of Monterey and those neighborhoods are identified by a district name. A map showing the boundaries of each neighborhood is included in Appendix C. There are 16 separate and distinct neighborhoods. The funding allocation of each designated neighborhood is determined by a per capita formula each year and is based upon the population of each neighborhood. The term used by the City of Monterey is “base allocation”. Base allocation is calculated by the number of residents in each neighborhood multiplied by $7.50 per resident. The population numbers are based upon the 2010 United States Census. The number of residents in their respective neighborhoods is included in Appendix D. Each neighborhood can use its base allocation solely at its discretion and does not need NIP Committee approval for projects covered by this allocation. The funds from the TOT not used for base allocations are used for projects in the prioritization process explained above. The MCCGJ found, upon reviewing the City Budget 2017-2019,12 that an entity called Citywide was listed under the heading of Neighborhoods. There is no reference within the City Charter for Citywide. The NIP Manual mentions Citywide projects but does not define them. The MCCGJ reviewed the NIP budgets from 2008-2018 and found that overall, Citywide received substantially more funding from the NIP Budget than any of the 16 neighborhoods. A copy of the 10-Year Budget numbers by neighborhood is attached as Appendix E. Over the 10 years ending in 2018, Citywide received 30.8% of the NIP budget. During the same years, the next highest was New Monterey with 15.7%, then Monterey Vista with 11%. The rest of the neighborhoods were all under 7% of the 11 https://monterey.org/Portals/0/Reports/NIP/NIP-Policies-and-Procedures-Manual.pdf 12 https://monterey.org/Portals/0/Reports/Finance/Budget/Adopted-Budget-2017-2019- Biennium_FINAL.pdf 2019 A REVIEW OF THE CITY OF MONTEREY’S NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM budget. In 8 of the 10 years, Citywide received more than any of the 16 approved neighborhoods. While it is true that Citywide projects were voted on and approved by the NIP Committee, by using NIP funds for Citywide projects, less was left for individual neighborhood projects. It is clear that some of these Citywide projects should have been in the General Fund. City departments are asked to provide project ideas to submit to the NIP Committee. These projects probably have merit but may actually be more appropriately covered by the General Fund. Citywide also appears in the General Fund budget. For example, in Budget year 2014 supplemental Budget requests, there is a line request for Citywide listed under General Fund. Additionally, there is a line item entry during the years 2014- 2015 for Capital Improvement Projects in which “Citywide Street Repair” is listed under the heading General Fund. The NIP budget can be used to fund projects other than improvements in the neighborhoods. The City Charter also allows funds for community-wide capital projects. The City Charter indicates that the Monterey City Council “may, by a four-fifths vote reduce the NIP budget” and further states that this can be done if the “Monterey City Council determines that there are insufficient funds for the ordinary and necessary services in any budget year….”. There are no guidelines for what is meant by “ordinary and necessary services”. Protocols, policies, and procedures to identify instances in which there is an urgent need to use NIP funds outside of what they were intended for do not exist. The MCCGJ wondered how the Monterey residents can be assured that the Monterey City Council is being transparent when they adopt a budget utilizing NIP funds for Citywide projects instead of neighborhood projects. Document review and interviews with City Staff, Senior City Management, and NIP representatives could not provide a reasonable explanation for the Citywide entity. Some NIP representatives and members were not even aware of the existence of Citywide. In the Monterey City Council minutes dated February 6, 2018, Mayor Clyde Roberson stated, “Going forward, the City needs to find another revenue source to continue to fund Citywide projects outside the NIP”.13 Mayor Roberson also stated he is “not comfortable blessing individual projects, and ideas should be coming from the NIP 13 http://isearchmonterey.org/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=3887&doctype=MINUTES 2019 A REVIEW OF THE CITY OF MONTEREY’S NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM Committee and residents.”14 The MCCGJ agrees with this statement. We believe the funding of some projects outside of the pre-described 16 neighborhoods is not abiding by the intent of the City Charter. It appears that funds extracted from the NIP budget for Citywide projects are to enhance the General Fund of the City of Monterey to complete General Fund Projects. Confusion Regarding the NIP Manual The purpose of the NIP Manual is to provide guidance to the NIP representatives on how to conduct its business and provide information to the public. The NIP Committee is currently using a Council Approved Edition dated December 4, 2012. The NIP Committee made numerous attempts to update the NIP Manual as documented below. There are three members from the 16 NIP neighborhoods who sit on the Policy Manual Subcommittee. This Subcommittee is responsible for drafting revisions and additions to the NIP Manual as directed by the NIP Committee. The Mayor represents the Monterey City Council on this Subcommittee. Over a two-year period (2014-2015), several meetings were held regarding changes, revisions, and deletions to the NIP Manual.15 These meetings were attended by the NIP Coordinator and NIP Committee. These meetings yielded no progress. The NIP Manual clearly states, “All revisions and additions are discussed and voted on (and)…. are taken to the NIP Committee for review and approval prior to being taken to the City Manager to be placed on the agenda for Monterey City Council”16. The most currently used edition of the NIP Manual is dated December 4, 2012 and is available for the public on the NIP website17. Between July 2013 and December 2015, issues continued to be raised at NIP meetings regarding changes, deletions, and additions without any actionable outcomes. Discussion related to the revision of the NIP Manual was usually moved to the next meeting. No consensus was reached for any action. 14 http://isearchmonterey.org/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=3887&doctype=MINUTES 15 http://isearchmonterey.org/meetings.html 16 https://monterey.org/Portals/0/Reports/NIP/NIP-Policies-and-Procedures-Manual.pdf 17 https://monterey.org/Residents/Neighborhoods/Neighborhood-Improvement-Program 2019 A REVIEW OF THE CITY OF MONTEREY’S NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM The MCCGJ found that in December 2015 the matter of “Changes to the NIP Policies and Procedures Manual” was placed on the Monterey City Council agenda. The documents to support the agendized item included a strike through version of the NIP Manual. The motion to “approve Policies and Procedures Manual revisions for the Neighborhood Improvement Program for calendar year 2016 (Plans & Public Works 808-01)” was continued on a 5-0 vote to the next Monterey City Council Meeting in January 2016. The issue never appeared on succeeding agendas. As of the writing of this report, the 2012 approved edition of the NIP Manual remains in use. The NIP held 11 public meetings in 2016, 8 public meetings in 2017, and 9 public meeting in 201818. Revisions to the NIP Manual were never brought forward for a vote by the NIP Committee. In spite of frequent comments about the importance of making changes to reflect the current status of NIP Committee functioning, the issue was never resolved. All the proposed changes, additions, and deletions to the NIP Manual can be found within the City of Monterey’s I-Search website19. All public meetings, minutes, and videos can be accessed on this website. Over a period of four years, no formal action was taken to change, update, or revise the NIP Manual for Monterey City Council approval. A request by the Mayor dated October 16, 2018,20 to the NIP Manual Subcommittee and City personnel to review and make changes to the current processes for efficiencies was never completed. Public Meetings Notices One of the many important functions of city government is to inform its residents of public meetings. Residents have the absolute right to attend meetings and voice their concerns, approval, or displeasures of action taken or not taken by the city government officials. 18 http://isearchmonterey.org/meetings.html 19 http://isearchmonterey.org/home.html 20 http://isearchmonterey.org/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=3904&doctype=MINUTES 2019 A REVIEW OF THE CITY OF MONTEREY’S NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM The California Brown Act (Government Code Section 54950 et. Sec) requires notice of public meetings and agendas to be posted 72 hours prior to the meeting.21 The NIP Manual 22 states that NIP public meetings will be advertised in “local newspapers”. Notices of NIP public meetings are posted only on the City of Monterey website and the bulletin board outside of City Hall. This meets the letter of the law in the Brown Act but not the spirit of public notice. The MCCGJ requested copies of newspaper postings from the City of Monterey for NIP meetings. None were provided. The City of Monterey is not following the guidelines in the NIP Manual for meeting notice publication. The City of Monterey does not make use of instant technology and messaging platforms for meeting notices. By using the bulletin board at City Hall to post upcoming meetings, citizens must travel to City Hall to see what is posted, rather than using the latest technology. FINDINGS NIP Committee Members F1) NIP Representatives are a reliable and hardworking group of volunteers elected annually by their neighborhoods without term restrictions. F2) NIP Representatives work cooperatively with each other to prioritize and fund projects. There is no evidence of “cronyism” or vote trading. F3) Term limits would likely lead to numerous vacancies on the NIP Committee. NIP Manual F4) The December 4, 2012 Edition of the NIP Manual does not reflect the current processes and practices of the NIP. F5) From 2012 to the present, the NIP Committee has continued to discuss changes to the 2012 NIP Manual without subsequent city council approval, thereby not having up to date practices documented. F6) The NIP Coordinator and the City Manager failed to advance the revision of the NIP Manual over a period of six years. 21 https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/ab-2257-new-brown-act-requirements-for-35346/ 22 https://monterey.org/Portals/0/Reports/NIP/NIP-Policies-and-Procedures-Manual.pdf 2019 A REVIEW OF THE CITY OF MONTEREY’S NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM NIP Projects F7) NIP has a well worked out method of prioritizing neighborhood projects. F8) The City of Monterey gives appropriate procedural support to the NIP projects. F9) The funding of some projects outside of the pre-described 16 neighborhoods is not abiding by the intent of the City Charter. F10) There is confusion about Citywide projects that can be found in both NIP and General Fund budgets. The citizens of Monterey don’t have but need transparency when it comes to the NIP funding of Citywide projects. F11) The practice of City Officials submitting Citywide projects from their respective departments and presenting them to the NIP for approval gives the appearance that Citywide projects belong in the NIP budget but may actually belong in the General Fund budget. F12) Funds used from the NIP budget for Citywide projects are to enhance the General Fund of the City of Monterey to complete General Fund Projects. F13) Citywide has been erroneously identified as a neighborhood and is included in project assignments but has no base allocated budget. F14) Over a ten-year period, the NIP budget shows that Citywide received substantially more funding than any of the true 16 neighborhoods. Public Meeting Notices F15) NIP public meetings are not communicated effectively to the residents of Monterey or to the general public. F16) The City of Monterey is not following the NIP Manual’s guidelines by failing to post public meeting announcements in local newspapers.