Thursday, June 25, 2020

• City Council Meeting: Budget Meeting June 2020

Another Zoom city council meeting in the books. 
Meeting Recap

3.1.A-B FY 20-21 Budget Amendments
Look around the 20:00 mark of the video below to watch the item 

Due to the Covid19 induced downturn in the economy there is an anticipated shortfall in the budget. There were a couple of ways to approach that. 
Numbers aren't easy to report on when there are rows and rows of them. If you want specific details, please use this link to access the agenda packet. The budget item starts on page 10.
One suggestion was to wait another couple of months to see if the cuts are indeed necessary (when it comes to things like projected sales tax revenues, there is a considerable lag time between an event like the onset of a pandemic, and when the treasury starts to notice a reduction in anticipated moneys)

The other option was to make cuts to the budget now, and if it turns out that they weren't necessary (or as necessary as feared), adjust back as those facts come in. 

It was a 5-0 vote to cut the budget now, but it was originally looking like a 3-2 vote at the start. 

The two newer members of the council (Mayor Nigg and Joseph Morabito) wanted to follow staff's suggestion and "ratify the [existing] budget and take another look in August" to see if changes needed to be made or not.

The three seasoned council members all wanted to make whatever corrections now. They've all gone through difficult budget times in the past, and it didn't take much persuasion on their parts to shift the other two members' viewpoints to make it unanimous. 

Whenever there are budget cuts, there are reductions to services too. The services that take up the lion's share of the budget, such as law enforcement, will be affected. 
Areas that will see a cut

a. *Reduction in law enforcement service level (70 hours of daily patrol to 63 hours of daily patrol,10%) temporarily until City finances recover from COVID-19 effect. A net reduction of $479,700. 

b. Adjustments to Fire Service estimated labor costs. A net reduction of $126,700. 

c. A salary freeze and deferral on staff merit increases as of July 1, 2020. The net reduction is $58,500. 

d. Limiting the use of City Attorney legal consulting to only services covered by the monthly retainer fee and developer-reimbursed work in private development. A net reduction of $213,500. 

e. Reducing attendance at meetings, conferences, travel, and training to cut costs and avoid possible staff exposure to COVID-19. The net reduction is $55,700. 

f. Reduction of $50,000 in the Housing Element Study and delaying of the Landscape Design Guidelines projects ($35,000) in Community Development until later. The net reduction is $85,000. 

g. A reduction in service hours and hourly billing rates from contract staff providers. A net reduction of $113,100. 
I went off the board with a non-baseball analogy to explain that I'd rather take my lumps earlier than later when I mentioned famous people that end up with jail sentences (Michael Vick, Martha Stewart, etc) when they don't have to report to jail for several months. 

If I were in that situation, I'd just report as early as possible so that I'd be able to be finished with it months earlier.

So though I was initially happy to do a two month wait and see on the budget cuts, I was even more happy to see that the council wanted to get the pain out of the way now and if it turned out to be overly cautious, readjust at that time.
*Note: the reduction in law enforcement services won't take effect until after 4th of July, and Lieutenant Kent will be keeping a close eye on the service levels and will make recommendations as needed.

2.1 Capital Improvement Program Status Report – 4th Quarter
Look around the 1:32:00 mark of the video below to watch the item 

The biggest news involved Bundy Canyon Rd and parts of Lemon St. 
If you visit the agenda packet, beginning on page 63 you'll see several graphics like this one that will give you details on the current CIP projects. (Capital Improvement Program) LINK
There are still three "little loose ends" that need to be buttoned up, one includes everyone's favorite state agency, Caltrans, for the right of way. 

The aim is to bring a construction contract to the city council at the September meeting. Construction to begin this year. Remember, this isn't the entire stretch of the road. This is in several parts, but the first part is just about in the chute now. 

The other item that was highlighted was parts of Lemon. There wasn't a start time nailed down, but it's getting near the top of the list and I see it getting addressed within the next year. 

City Manager Report
• Public city council meetings are tentatively set to restart in July, and city hall is slated to reopen July 13th. The situation is fluid, so there could be changes to one or both.

• There is a website for reporting fireworks to the sheriff's department, here's a link to it. 

• A Hospital Heros video was shared. We all made videos with our phones and sent them in. I believe it was early April. I'd been wondering if anything was done with them... and here it is, thanking the local healthcare workers. 

Future Agenda Items
There were two items put forward by Joseph Morabito (that's me)
1. Make Juneteenth an official holiday in Wildomar
2. Revamp the fireworks ordinance.
Call me anything you want to. Go ahead and try and make the asinine comparison to WWII Germany where people were encouraged to inform on their neighbors (we've all heard such ridiculous comparisons before)... because, well, you know, reporting illegal fireworks and 'sending people to death camps' are practically the same thing, right? (Insert combination eyeroll/facepalm here). 


•                •                •

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

– Harriet Tubman

Wildomar Rap hasn't completely mastered patience yet, but is getting closer.


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2 comments:

  1. In response to Council member Karen. I do not think that our city should pay people to do the right thing in reporting law breakers. That is like the participation throphies, which I also disagree with. A question, while people are getting laid off and losing their jobs why is it that no one gets a tiny pay reduction from our city employees? I think it inequitable that everyone but government has to give a little. We all have to give of ourselves but continue to support the whole city.

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    Replies
    1. First point, I agree with the sentiment that people/neighbors should naturally do the right thing without inducements. Unfortunately doing the right thing is often not enough motivation for people. A quick clarification if necessary... any reward would be paid from the fine collected.

      Second point, I agree with your idea about a pay reduction from city employees. Originally I was prepared to suggest such a thing and start with my own monthly stipend (whether it be 5% or 10%). Then in pre-meeting discussions with staff, and the thought that we should wait until August to see if the cuts will actually be necessary or not, I tabled the idea assuming it would pass.

      I was caught somewhat flatfooted that staff's suggestion of 'waiting to make the cuts until August' was rejected. The budget is an issue that is always coming back to city council. If our projected revenues are still headed in the wrong direction, I'll be ready to make such a suggestion at the next quarterly budget review.

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