Town Council Meeting Notes and Town Hall Hours

Town Council Meeting Notes

At the meeting of Tuesday, July 26, the San Anselmo Town Council took the following actions:

• Cancelled the meeting of Tuesday, August 23 due to vacation schedules. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 9, followed by the meeting scheduled for September 13, both at 7 p.m.
• Approved 2011-12 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the San Anselmo Police Officers Association. The MOU provides for employees to pay 3% of current salary toward the employee share of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) retirement cost. Many thanks to the San Anselmo Police Officers Association for being part of the town’s budget solution.
  
  
• Approved the resolution to tax defer member paid CalPERS contributions pursuant to IRS Code Section 414(h)(2). This resolution will allow employees 3% contribution to their retirement to be tax deferred.
  
  
• Approved the downtown event application for Country Fair Day to be held on Sunday, September 25, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., closing San Anselmo Avenue between Tamalpais and Tunstead Avenues. The day will begin with a pancake breakfast, local booths, a parade, children’s activities, and a BBQ lunch with entertainment over in Creek Park.
• Reviewed the dog use regulations at and s and took public testimony on the hours dogs are allowed in both parks. The Council heard considerable public testimony from people on all sides of the issue. Currently, dogs are allowed off leash at Robson’s lower lawn area Monday through Friday from 7 to 9 a.m. and daily from 4 p.m. to park closing. At Memorial Park, dogs are allowed off leash on the sports fields Monday through Friday before 8 a.m., Saturday and Sunday before 9 a.m. and daily one hour before sunset to park closing. After much discussion, . Staff was directed to return to the council with this issue in the fall.
• Agreed to . Reasons cited include the scheduled Tamalpais High School District parcel tax, the poor economy, the number of other agencies raising rates, the short time frame and the possible impact on the town’s merchants.
• Reviewed . Police Chief Maynard discussed the services that are currently being shared between Twin Cities and San Anselmo, including cross training of dispatchers, sharing a Captain, administrative assistant and project management expertise for the new Twin Cities dispatch center. This matter will be before the town council at the August 9 meeting to vote on a contract to formally institute this sharing of services.
• Reviewed the 2011-12 Preliminary Budget and Work Plan. The preliminary budget reflects a $250,000 deficit caused by static revenues, rising expenditures and uncertainties around state revenues. Staff will come back to the council in September with a balanced budget, made possible by revenue from the state that is being returned to local governments, additional franchise fees, and concessions by all of our employee groups.

Town Hall Office Hours

Town Hall is open to the public Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to noon, and from 1 to 3 p.m. We are closed to the public on Fridays, although we are working. 

There is an important exception to those hours, however. The Planning and Building and the Public Works Departments are available to the public in the mornings only. If you need assistance from Planning/ Public Works/Building, please come to the offices during the morning hours.

The reason for limiting the hours in Planning/Public Works/Building is an important one for everyone to understand. In those departments, staff members spend virtually all their time in the morning assisting customers at the counter with issues around planning requirements, permit questions, plan review and plan checking.  

Limiting the hours that we are open to the public allows our employees to spend their time in the afternoon processing the projects that are submitted for approval. This includes making site visits, writing staff reports, meeting with applicants with special problems and conducting plan reviews. 

The Administration and Finance Department is open to the public from 1 to 3 p.m. to assist customers with business licenses and questions not related to the Planning/ Public Works/Building issues. 

We recognize that it may be inconvenient for our customers to limit these hours as we have and regret any inconvenience it may cause. I’m pleased to report, however, that this schedule has made a considerable difference in our ability to efficiently process projects.