COSTA MESA CITY COUNCIL PREVIEW

Here are some items the Costa Mesa City Council will consider Tuesday:

MEETING RECORDS

Council meeting broadcasts have been available over the Internet for more than a year through the company Granicus, which also provides Web streaming of meetings in Newport Beach.

Staff members are suggesting an upgrade to the city’s contract that would allow planning and parks commission minutes to link to staff reports and video clips of meetings, as council minutes do now.

It would create more storage, so the city could archive more than one year’s worth of meeting broadcasts and minutes that are now available.

The cost of the upgrade is $29,114 this year. The bulk of that is one-time software costs, but it also includes another $400 per month to cover the added services Granicus will provide.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The council probably will approve the expanded Web services, which will provide better public access to city information.

PUBLIC SAFETY SALARIES

If the council agrees, the ranges of pay for top police and fire positions would be increased, allowing the city manager to give merit raises where appropriate. Adjustments would be made to the police and fire chief salaries as well as the offices of battalion chief, deputy fire chief and fire division chief.

The executive pay changes will cost $63,981 this year. The new rules also would make battalion chiefs eligible for overtime, to conform to federal standards.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Council members recently approved a scheduled pay raise for police officers, so they may question the need to spend more money on those employees. But with public safety a hot election topic and some people concerned about competing with other cities for a limited pool of workers, the council probably will approve the spending.

FORDHAM STREET PARKING

Residents on Fordham Drive complained to the city a year ago that people who live elsewhere were parking on their street, leaving them with nowhere to park their cars. They asked then for a resident-only parking restriction, but the city’s analysis showed Fordham didn’t meet the guidelines for restrictions until recently.

Now, staff members recommend resident-only parking on Fordham between Fair Drive and Nassau Road, and the city’s transportation manager could extend the restriction within a one-mile radius to avoid affecting adjacent streets.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Council members have had a tough time in the past deciding on resident-only restrictions, and people who live nearby but not on Fordham Drive may argue that they need parking, too. But residents could make the case that their parking problem got worse after nearby College Drive was given similar restrictions.

— Compiled by Alicia Robinson

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Costa Mesa City Council meeting

WHEN: 6 p.m. today

WHERE: City Council chambers, City Hall, 77 Fair Dr.

INFO: (714) 754-5221 or www.ci.costa-mesa.ca.us