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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/19/2015AT OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER June 19, 2015 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Alan Tandy, City Manager Subject: General Information Notable News Attached you will find a summary of the budget adjustments being prepared by staff in response to the recent City sales tax decline. This new information is also included in the City Council packet for the June 24th Council meeting. Since the litigation settlement was reached with High Speed Rail staff has had several meetings with the Authority and their engineers. I would say progress on analysis of the locally preferred alternative (along the UP line) is very good. It has fewer properties that are needed - it is lower in elevation, straighter and shorter and allows for higher speeds than the adopted alignment. Within a week we anticipate submitting a grant application to HSR for a station planning grant for the F Street station location. We will also be submitting a reimbursement request to them - at their invitation - for certain staff costs incurred to date. In either July or August they will be holding a public forum to take comments on the UP alignment vs the alignment they have formally adopted - which of course is the one that caused five lawsuits to be filed. They are asking for City participation in that forum. Please call if you have questions or concerns. TRIP  Centennial Corridor Geo-technical Work for the Week of June 22nd Geo-technical surveys for the Centennial Corridor project’s preliminary design continues this week, with work scheduled for the locations listed below. The work entails drilling a small diameter hole within the right-of-way, collecting samples, and restoring the surface to pre-existing conditions. All work is expected to be completed between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Traffic control will be in place as necessary. Monday, June 22nd • Stine Road, just south of Stockdale Highway Tuesday, June 23rd • South Garnsey Avenue, near the cul-de-sac General Information June 19, 2015 Page 2 • Williamson Way, between Stockdale Highway and Elcia Drive Wednesday, June 24th • South Real Road, between Stockdale Highway and Elcia Drive Thursday, June 25th • Elcia Drive, at the eastern end of the street • Alamo Street, near Mona Way • Mona Way, at the eastern end of the street Crews will also be conducting work at the Wild West Shopping Center located on Real Road and Stockdale Highway. This schedule is subject to change. Council Referrals Attached is a response to the following Council referral: • Councilmember Maxwell o Speed Enforcement on 24th Street o Improved Access to Parking Garage, 18th/Eye St • Councilmember Smith o Letter to Governor Brown Requesting Drought Assistance • Councilmember Rivera o Letter in Support of AB 1335 Report For your reference, the following reports are attached:  Streets Division work schedule for the week of June 22nd; and  Letter from At&t U-verse regarding possible programming changes Event Notifications Event Calendar for Rabobank Arena Theater and Convention Center Recreation and Park Announcements: o Friday Night Movies in the Park: This week, “Paddington” will be playing at Greystone Park. This is a free event and be sure to show up early because pre-show fun will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the movie starting at dusk. To see future movies, please see the attached flyer. o Beale Park Band concerts, performed by members of the Bakersfield Symphony, will perform Sunday, June 21st at 7:00 p.m. They are free every Sunday for the month of June. AT:CH:cb:al cc: Department Heads Roberta Gafford, City Clerk SummaryAofAProposedABudgetA djustments FYA2014-15AandAFYA2015-16A Summary of Proposed Budget Adjustments for FY 2014-15 and FY 2015-16 The proposed budgets reflect the funding of the City’s operating cost and the funding of various capital improvements, including street and road resurfacing, park and recreation facilities, and improvements to other City-owned facilities for the 2015- 16 Fiscal Year. The City of Bakersfield budgets total $570,939,194 with the Operating Budget, including transfers, totaling $418,169,369 and the Capital Improvement Budget totaling $152,769,825. In January 2015, City staff began to develop the underlying assumptions to be used as a basis for assembling the FY 2015-16 Proposed Budget. At that time, staff recognized many of the challenges facing the City, including increases in pension and healthcare costs, a decline in local oil activity and erratic sales tax trending. Out of an abundance of caution, staff lowered the projected sales tax revenue forecast from +3% for the current fiscal year to a +2%. Subsequently, the Proposed Budget presented on May 6th did not contain any additions to the staffing complement, expanded programs and services or a robust capital improvement program. Staff believed the status quo budget to be prudent given the information available at the time. However, on June 10, 2015, the State of California Board of Equalization released the most recent City sales tax data for the first quarter of 2015. The figures indicated a 15.6% drop in sales tax revenue when compared to the same quarter in 2014. This represents the largest percentage decrease in quarterly sales tax revenue since the recession. Sales tax is the largest General Fund revenue source and a primary source of funding for many departments, including many of the core City services such as Police, Fire Streets and Parks. The magnitude of the decrease was not expected and unfortunately required staff to reevaluate both the current fiscal year budget and the proposed budget for next fiscal year. As part of this evaluation staff reduced the projected sales tax revenue forecast for FY 2015-16 from +3% to +2%. The following table shows the estimated budget gap for the current fiscal year and next fiscal year prior to any adjustments: FY 2014-15 FY 2015-16 Total Estimated General Fund Budget Gap ($2,896,700) ($3,693,700) ($6,590,400) 1 Immediate action needs to be taken to address the cumulative total budget gap. The following tables provide a summary of staff’s proposed budget adjustments to balance both the current year and next fiscal year’s budgets. Each item is described in further detail below the table. Summary of Staff Recommended Adjustments/Actions for FY 2014-15 Budget Dollar Value Projected Additional Year End Department Savings $364,374 Revenue Adjustments $703,000 State Pre-2004 Reimbursement $1,829,326 Total General Fund Savings FY 2014-15 $2,896,700 Projected Additional Year End Department Savings At the end of the fiscal year, savings from each department is estimated and used to balance the budget for the subsequent fiscal year. This projection is generally done in March of each year. Staff has reviewed updated projections and determined additional savings of $364,374 will be generated by departments at the end of FY 2014- 15. Revenue Adjustments The Finance Department continuously monitors City revenue sources and has determined various General Fund revenues are projected to exceed current year projections in the amount of $703,000. These revenues fall into various categories, include property tax, utility franchise payments, intergovernmental revenues and various development-related revenues. State Pre-2004 Reimbursement The current FY 2014-15 State budget includes a provision which provides that, should the Governor’s May Revision determine that state general fund revenues exceed estimates, additional reimbursement for pre-2004 mandate costs owed to cities, counties and special districts are to be made. The May Revision determined that sufficient additional revenues have been received and that the entire remaining balance of reimbursements owed may be paid. The State Department of Finance has issued an executive order to the State Controller for these payments, which is estimated at $1,829,326 for the City of Bakersfield. 2 Summary of Staff Recommended Adjustments/Actions for FY 2015-16 Budget Dollar Value Eliminate non-essential reimbursable (Travel and Training) $154,395 Reduce General Fund Overtime $230,000 Reduce Temporary Employee Pay $170,275 Reduce Educational Reimbursement Funds $60,200 Reduce Council Contingency $200,000 Eliminate Transfer to Equipment Fund $839,952 Reduce Parks Water Budget - Spray Parks $162,000 Eliminate East Monument Sign Project $110,000 Adjustments to Department Rental Rates for Computers/Vehicles $273,960 Capital Improvement Project Savings $242,918 Deferral of Potential Future Cost of Living Adjustment $1,250,000 Total General Fund Savings FY 2015-16 $3,693,700 Reduce Non-Essential Reimbursable (Travel and Training) Training and education-based travel opportunities are an important component in maintaining a well-versed workforce. In many cases, staff is able to learn about best practices in their respective fields and new technologies which benefit taxpayers. However, many of these opportunities are not mandatory for training or certification purposes. Due to the current fiscal conditions, staff has directed departments to eliminate all non-mandated travel for FY 2015-16, totaling $154,395. Travel that is required, such as public safety-mandated training or certification-based classes, will continue. Reduce General Fund Overtime Overtime is used in a variety of situations throughout the organization. In some cases, it is an effective tool for addressing special projects that may require work outside of normal hours. In other cases, it is necessary in order to ensure full coverage on public safety shifts. Staff has identified savings opportunities in overtime within the General Fund in the amount of $230,000 for FY 2015-16, which is proposed to be used to partially offset the budget gap. This overtime reduction will not impact shift staffing or other specific public safety needs. However, reduction to overtime will have a notable impact on service delivery and the completion of special projects. Reduce Temporary Employee Pay Various City departments utilize temporary employees for seasonal work or special projects with a finite duration. Staff is proposing to reduce the number of temporary workers hired in FY 2015-16. This action is anticipated to save $170,275. 3 Reduce Educational Reimbursement Funds To promote employee development, the City has a tuition and book reimbursement program available to eligible full time employees. Upon supervisor approval, employees can be reimbursed for costs incurred in acquiring additional training or education that is related to the employee’s present position or potential career development within the City. Each year Departments budget for estimated costs associated with potential reimbursements that may occur in the fiscal year. Staff has reviewed historical reimbursement expenditures incurred by Departments and determined the citywide budgeted amount can be reduced by $105,650, with $60,200 being applicable to address the General Fund budget gap. This action does not eliminate funding for this purpose, but instead reduces the budgeted dollars to coincide with historical expenditures. Reduce Council Contingency Each year, the budget includes funding that the Council may elect to use for a variety of projects or items that arise throughout the year. For example, the City Council recently approved a $3,000 contribution utilizing Council Contingency funds to the Downtown Business Association for tree lighting in the downtown area. During the recession, the Council Contingency was reduced to help balance the budget. For FY 2015-16, staff is proposing to reduce the Council Contingency by $200,000. The balance of $50,000 would remain available for future uses by the Council. Eliminate Transfer to Equipment Fund For a period of time during the recession, certain rates charged to departments by Fleet Services and Information Technology were kept flat. However, replacement costs of equipment have generally risen, which created a gap between the amount collected by the Equipment Fund and the actual replacement costs of the equipment. Originally, the FY 2015-16 Proposed Budget included a transfer from the General Fund to the Equipment Fund to address this gap. Staff is proposing to eliminate this transfer for FY 2015-16. To help alleviate the gap in the equipment fund, staff is proposing to transfer $550,000 of asset forfeiture funds to the Equipment Fund. This transfer will provide approximately 45% of the projected funds needed for various replacement vehicles for the Police Department scheduled in FY 2015-16. The balance will be funded by the Equipment Fund. Reduce Parks Water Budget - Spray Parks Due to State drought restrictions, the City’s nine spray parks will not operate this summer. When the budget was being prepared, it was not yet known to what extent spray park operations would be impacted by potential drought regulations. As such, funds were budgeted for costs associated with estimated water usage at the nine spray parks. Staff now knows these funds will not be utilized in the current year for this purpose and therefore is recommending the reduction of the Parks water budget by $162,000. 4 Eliminate East Monument Sign Project Staff has been working with members of the community to install an entry monument sign on the east side of the City adjacent to State Route 58. The sign would match the existing north and south entry signs located on State Route 99. The project, was originally included within the FY 2015-16 Proposed Capital Improvement Program. Due to the economic environment, staff is proposing to defer the placement of the sign and site improvements to a future fiscal year as part of the proposed plan to address the budget gap. The proposed savings is $110,000. Despite the deferral, staff anticipates being able to progress with certain components of the project in the near future, including obtaining property dedication and an access easement with the property owner of the proposed location. Adjustments to Department Rental Rates for Computers/Vehicles When new vehicles and computer equipment are placed into service, the department utilizing the equipment is charged rent. The rental charge consists of an amount that goes to replace the piece of equipment after a set period of time and also includes estimated annual maintenance costs. Staff is proposing to defer approximately 88 pieces of computer equipment and 12 pieces of fleet equipment that were due for replacement in FY 2015-16. In addition, staff is proposing to extend the life cycle of other equipment already in service. These two actions will result in rental charge savings of approximately $577,468 Citywide and of that total amount, $273,960 in savings is specifically applicable to the General Fund, which in turn will help offset the estimated budget gap. The estimated capital savings associated with these pieces of deferred equipment is $1,339,500. Deferring the replacement will reduce the ongoing impact the increased equipment costs have on the Equipment Fund. The practice of deferring equipment is not ideal and if continued over time would result in an increase in downtime of equipment and maintenance costs. However, this recommended action is intended to be one time in nature and will not have a significant impact to the Fleet operations in the upcoming fiscal year. Capital Project Savings Staff has identified savings in capital projects due to unanticipated revenue that was received to offset the anticipated project costs. In this case, City funds were budgeted for the project, with no expectation of receiving grant dollars to complete the project. As the fiscal year progressed, grant funding became available, which negated the need to utilize City funds to complete the project. The savings realized to address the budget gap is $242,918. Deferral of Potential Future Cost of Living Adjustment As part of the FY 2015-16 budget, staff included funds for potential future cost of living adjustments (COLA) for all labor groups. After receiving the sales tax information, staff received feedback from each of the labor groups that they are amenable to considering deferring discussions on new labor agreements for a period of time. Thanks go to each of the groups for their desire to work with the City during this tough economic period. Should the deferral not be possible, staff may be required to return to the Council to recommend an alternative course of action to address the budget gap. The estimated savings from deferring the COLA is $1,250,000. 5 Council Requested Budget Amendments The following are proposed changes requested by Councilmembers to the budget originally presented. Staff is not recommending the proposed requests at this time. 1. Addition of one Arson Investigator Position - During the Fire Department Budget Presentation on June 3, 2015, Councilmember Rivera made a motion, with the motion carrying 6-1 (Councilmember Weir voting no) for staff to identify funding necessary to hire an additional position in the Arson Division as part of the FY 2015-16 budget. As a result of the most recent sales tax information, Councilmember Rivera has requested staff reexamine adding the position at a future time when fiscal conditions improve. 2. Options for County TRIP Funds – Councilmember Maxwell requested staff look at utilizing the County TRIP contribution on projects other than appropriating $24.5 million to the 24th Street Widening Project, as proposed by staff in the FY 2015-16 budget. Staff provided a response in the General Information memorandum on June 12th. Shifting the funding to other projects which are not yet ready to be constructed would require the City to borrow funds in order to fully fund the two TRIP projects scheduled to move into construction in FY 2015- 16. This would result in additional interest and borrowing costs to the City to complete these projects. As noted earlier, staff continues to recommend the $24.5 million appropriation to the 24th Street Widening Project as part of the FY 2015-16 budget. Future Actions The next quarterly sales tax report will be available in September, should the information necessitate further budgetary adjustments, staff may propose the following items for Council consideration at that time: • Eliminating the retiree healthcare trust payment for one fiscal year • Hiring freeze for all vacant positions • Deferring the remainder of the cost of living adjustment • Further reduction in capital projects • Reduction/elimination of temporary employees, flex positions and reclassifications • Evaluate staffing reductions 6 BAKERSFIELD POLICE MEMORANDUM TO: ALAN TANDY, CITY MANAGER FROM: GREG WILLIAMSON, CHIEF OF POLICE DATE: JUNE 18, 2015 SUBJECT: SPEED ENFORCEMENT ON 24TH STREET COUNCIL REFERRAL NO. 609 (WARD 2) Council Member Maxwell requested that the Police Department provide speed enforcement on 24th Street. The 24th Street corridor referral was open from 6-6-15 to 6-17-15. During that time officers of the Bakersfield Police Department issued 82 citations. This referral is now closed however we will continue our normal enforcement activity in this area. CITY OF BAKERSFIELD PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Nick Fidler, Public Works Director DATE: June 19, 2015 SUBJECT: Improved Access to Parking Garage, 18th/Eye St Referral No. 597 Staff has reviewed the parking structure for vehicle access at the entrance and exits as requested. The parking structure has two vehicle entrances/exits; one in the southeast corner located on Eye Street and the other located in the southwest corner located on 18th Street. To improve access at the exit ramp to 18th Street, two bollards have been removed to give vehicles more room to make the turn to exit. To provide increased access at the Eye Street entrance/exit, City staff will remove a portion of the west end nose of the median island and remove the parking stalls on both sides of the entrance/exit; this work will be completed in coordination with the parking attendant automation project which was recently awarded for construction. Staff has also reviewed the options to restripe the parking stalls at the 18th and Eye parking structure and has concluded that each floor would initially need to be completely painted gray to cover the existing striping prior to re-striping. The existing striping cannot be removed by grinding or sand blasting because the concrete deck is too thin and could be damaged in the process. Currently, there are a total of 509 parking stalls at the 18th and Eye Parking structure; 18 of those parking stalls are pre-designated for ADA parking and Bakersfield Police Department vehicle parking. As a result, there are 491 available parking stalls for general use. The majority of daily parking occurs on floors 1, 2, 3 and 4. The parking stalls in the structure currently range from 7.5’ to 8.5’ wide, while typical parking stall widths are 9’ to 9.5’ wide. The modifications to the striping to increase the width of the parking stalls would result in approximately 8 parking stalls lost per floor, or an estimated total of 56 stalls lost for the entire parking structure. To maximize the available parking, stalls located along the north and south sides of the facility would change from 8.5‘ wide to 9’. The stalls along the west and east sides of the facility would change from 8.5’ wide to 9.5’. The stalls along the interior wall (middle of the structure) would change from 7.5’ wide to 8’-10”; these interior stalls are designated for compact cars due to the limited depth of the stalls. Councilmember Maxwell requested that staff look at the parking garage at 18th and Eye Streets with the goal to provide increased access at the entrances/exits. He also requested that staff consider restriping the parking spaces to make them wider. Referral No. 597 18th/Eye Street Parking Garage Page 2 Staff has estimated the cost for City staff to prep and paint over the concrete deck and then restripe the parking stalls for one floor of the 18th and Eye Parking structure to be approximately $8,150 ($1,350 Material and $6,800 Labor and Equipment). This cost includes paint, additional parking blocks, epoxy, equipment and labor (City staff). Therefore, the total cost to modify the parking stalls for all seven levels is estimated to be $57,050. Funds are currently not identified for this project and due to the current economic circumstances, finding funding to complete the entire structure would be difficult. Staff has identified enough funding to complete the first two floors and will schedule the improvement to coordinate with the parking automation project; modification to the parking striping is required as part of this project as well. Then upon improvement to the current economic conditions, the remainder of the floors could be programed for funding to be completed. Week of June 22_2015_Work Schedule Page 1 of 2 STREETS DIVISION – WORK SCHEDULE Week of June 22, 2015 – June 23, 2015 Resurfacing/Reconstructing streets in the following areas: Sealing streets in the area north of Panama Ln between Ashe Rd & Stine Rd Reconstructing streets in the area south of Wilson Rd west of So. “H” St Maintenance Grind & Pave on Wible Rd between Pacheco and Panama Ln Reconstruction of streets in the Auto Mall area East of Wible Rd and north & south of Pacheco Preparing Panama Ln. between Freeway 99 and Stine Rd for a Maintenance Grind & Pave Miscellaneous Streets Division projects: Video inspection of City owned Sewer & Storm lines to evaluate condition of pipes Repairing damaged sewer line found during video inspection Miscellaneous concrete repairs throughout the city Dirt work and storm line installation at Sports Village Working on Brick repairs at Centennial Plaza Grading for new parking lot at Mesa Marin Sports Complex NOTE: If raining, there will be no street sweeping service and all street cleaning personnel will be assigned to cleaning plugged drains and part circle culverts. This also applies when a large number of street sweeper are in Fleet for repairs. Areas that have been missed during this time will be swept at the end of the month only when possible. THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Week of June 22_2015_Work Schedule Page 2 of 2 STREETS SWEEPING SCHEDULE Monday, June 22, 2015 Between Coffee Rd. & Verdugo Ln. – Brimhall Rd., south to the Kern River boundary. Cul-De-Sacs, west of Windsong St., between Brimhall Rd. & Thistlewood Ct. City areas between Rosedale Hwy. & Stockdale Hwy. – Verdugo Ln. to the west City Limit. Between Jenkins Rd. & Allen Rd. – Stockdale Hwy. & Birkenfeld Ave. Between Hosking Rd. & Astro Ave. – So. “H” St. & Union Ave. Tuesday, June 23, 2015 City areas between Olive Dr. & Downing Ave. – Coffee Rd. & Knudsen Dr./Mohawk St., including Patton Wy. From Weldon Ave. to Meany Ave. Between W. Columbus St. & 34th St. – Chester Ave. & San Dimas St. Beween Union Ave. & Madison St. – Casa Loma Dr. & White Ln. Between Westwold Dr. & So. Laurelglen Blvd. – Gosford Rd. & Woodglen Dr. Wednesday, June 24, 2015 City areas between Snow Rd. & Rosedale Hwy. – Jewetta Ave., west to the City limit. Between Ming Ave. & So. Laurelglen Blvd. – Coffee Rd. & El Portal / Laurelglen Blvd. Thursday, June 25, 2015 Between Snow Rd. & Olive Dr. – Jewetta Ave., east to the canal boundary. Between Olive Dr. & Hageman Rd. – Jewetta Ave. & Calloway Dr. Between Niles St. & Sumner St. – Union Avenue & Beale Ave. Between Sumner St. & E. Truxtun Ave. – Beale Ave. & Brown St. Between Brundage Ln. & E. Belle Terrace St. – Union Ave. & Kincaid St. Between Camino Media & Kroll Wy. – Coffee Rd., west to the PG&E easement. Friday, June 26, 2015 Between Etchart Rd. & Pavilion Dr. -- Calloway Dr., west to the canal boundary. Between Norris Rd. & Olive Dr. – Calloway Dr. & Coffee Rd. Between Olive Dr. & Noriega Rd. – Calloway Dr. & Verdugo Ln. City areas between Coffee Rd./Riverlakes ext. & Allen Rd. – Hageman Rd. & Rosedale Hwy. City areas between Pacheco Rd. & Harris Rd. – Stine Rd. & Wible Rd. BOX OFFICE HOURS Mon-Fri 10 AM - 5 PM Closed Saturday & Sunday (Excluding Event Days) TICKETMASTER LOCATIONS Walmart - 2601 Fashion Place Walmart - 6225 Colony Street Walmart - 8400 Rosedale Hwy CHARGE-BY-PHONE 1-800-745-3000 GROUP SALES INFORMATION 661-852-7309 SEASON TICKET INFORMATION Bakersfield Condors 661-324-PUCK (7825) www.bakersfieldcondors.com Bakersfield Symphony 661-323-7928 www.BSOnow.org Bakersfield Community Concert Association 661-589-2478 661-663-9006 www.bakersfieldcca.org UPCOMING EVENTS May 29 – Adrian Uribe 8:00 PM $65, $35 On Sale Now June 2 – Theresa Caputo Live 7:30 PM $89.75, $69.75, $49.75, $39.75 On Sale Now August 27 - Florida Georgia Line 7:30 PM $54.75, $34.75 On Sale Now June 2-3 – Sesame Street Live $30, $22, $15 On Sale Now June 4 – YG & DJ Mustard 8:00 PM $200, $120, $85, $65 On Sale Now June 5 - Freestyle Explosion 7:30 PM $40.50, $35.50, $30.50 On Sale Now July 11 – Intocable 8:00 PM $85, $70, $55, $45, $35, $25 On Sale Now July 14 – Dancing With The Stars Live 8:00 PM $74, $48, $34 On Sale Now July 28 – Juanes 7:30 PM $73.50, $48, $38, $28 On Sale Now August 12 – Fifth Harmony 7:00 PM $47.50, $27.50 On Sale Now September 25 – Wild Kratts Live!7:00 PM $43.75, $37.75, $27.75 On Sale Now October 20 – J Balvin with Becky G 7:30 PM $73, $47.50, $37.50, $27.50 On Sale Now September 18 - Firefall 8:00 PM $15 On Sale Now October 2 - Hotel California 8:00 PM $15 On Sale Now www.rabobankarena.com - www.bhnamphitheatre.com