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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/17/04 B A K E R S F I E L D CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE MEMORANDUM December 17, 2004 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Alan Tandy, City Manager ~T'L,.~/ SUBJECT: General Information 1. If it were not for the "triple flip", our sales tax for the first two quarters of the fiscal year would have shown a growth rate of 9.96%, well over the 6% budget' projection. However, the "triple flip" kicked in, so $3,212,000 was held back, theoretically, to be replaced by property taxes at a later date. We are not. completely sure when it will come in,' or whether it will be reduced by State and/or County processing and collection fees. The bottom line is that the trend should give us some modest budget flexibility. However, we had better wait and see on the amount and time of receipt. 2. December 14th was the deadline for submittals to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on the habitat designation of the Buena Vista Lake shrew and the "2800 Acres". Staff submitted a report entitled "Economic Impacts of Critical Habitat Designation for the Buena Vista Lake Shrew".. Basically, the Service's consultant underestimated the costs and fiscal impacts, saying it was around $1 million per year for pumped groundwater and did not consider the value of the water. Our estimate, based on finding a water supply and operating a 1,000 acre "farm" for irrigating the suitable habitat area is over $20 million in capital costs, plus $3 million annual for operations. Offsite flood damages, if we couldn't spread on our property, was omitted. We previously submitted our "Habitat Management Plan" for the "2800 Acres" and we now wait until January 12, 2005 for the final results of our efforts. 3. In keeping with the all too familiar trend of the past several years, we are starting to receive ominous details about the condition of the State budget. According to a Los Angeles Times article from December 16th, the Governor's proposed budget will reveal that the State deficit has continued to worsen in recent months. Analysts estimate it to currently be at $8 billion, and it could likely increase even more, which will, of course, translate to bigger spending cuts. We are now officially in the annual "wait and see" phase to find out how local government will be impacted by the State budget problems. As we know from past experience, the "safeguards" that have been put into place to "protect" our revenues are no guarantee! Honorable Mayor and City Council December 17, 2004 Page 2 4. As a related item to the afore-mentioned, I have been elected (uncontested) to a position on the Board of the California Redevelopment Association. CRA is an education and legislative advocacy group, similar in nature to what the League of Cities is, only for redevelopment agencies. A brief description of their history and purpose is enclosed. My board position will involve about six day trips a year. The primary benefit to the City is that Proposition lA left redevelopment agency money unprotected, and the next legislative session puts funding for all three of our project areas at risk. I hope to work on defense of that money, as well as on resisting the ever tightening controls imposed on our agency by the legislature. Please give me a call if you have questions. 5. A response to a Council request is enclosed: Councilmember Carson · Increased police patrol at MLK Park during school hours. AT:B cc: Department Heads Pam McCarthy, City Clerk Trudy Slater, Administrative Analyst Los Angeles Times: State May Face Bigger Budget' Gap Page 1 of 3 http ://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-budget 16dec 16,1,615103. story State May FaCe Bigger Budget Gap The shortfall for next year has swelled to.about $8 billion, sources say. That will force Schwarzenegger to seek deeper spending cuts. By Evan Halper and Jenifer Warren Times Staff Writers December 16, 2004 SACRAMENTO -- The state budget Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposes in January will show that the shortfall has worsened substantially in recent months, administration sources say,. and will force him to propose deeper spending cuts than previously expected. · The ballooning gap reflects Schwarzenegger's limited success at reining in spending. State prisons are over budget, Indian casinos are generating less cash than expected and the governor's proposal to raise $460 million by diverting a share of punitive damages from civil lawsuits to the state has fallen flat. And a plan to borrow $800 million to pay the state's contribution into the pension fund for its workers is tied up in court. In all, the projected shortfall has grown to at least $8 billion, say administration officials who asked not to be named. That's $1.3 billion more than was projected last month by the nonpartisan legislative analyst's office, which lawmakers look to on budget matters. Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer declined to discuss specifics. But he confirmed that "the gap we will have to close is higher than what the legislative analyst's office is projecting." Administration officials have been warning lobbyists and activists to brace for even deeper proposed cuts in what was already expected to be one of the most difficult budget years in state history. At a meeting earlier this week, Secretary of Health and Human Services Klm Belshe warned a group of healthcare advocates what was coming. Mike Herald, a legislative advocate with the Westem Center on Law and Poverty, said the message he got from'the gathering was that "the overall budget problem has grown and therefore the cuts to health and human services will be growing along with it .... "I think what she was telling us was the cuts are going to be deeper than we thought because the budget situation has become worse." Fred Silva, a budget analyst with the Public Policy Institute of California, says the growing projected gap makes balancing the budget much more challenging. Federal mandates, state constitutional funding formulas and debts the state must repay leave little flexibility for the http://www.latime§.com/news/local/la-me-budget 16dec 16~ 1,722266,print.story 12/16/2004 Los~.Angeles~:~ Times: State May Face Bigger Budget Gap ~ Page 2 of 3 go'Vemor and legislators to make cuts in a budget that this year reached $105.4 billion. Each $1 billion added to the shortfall, Silva said, "is twice as tough to deal with as the one before it. It's geometric .... It's not like we can just say we'll cut 10% across the board and be done with it." The news that spending on state prisons is $210 million over budget, contributing to the increase in the projected deficit fOr next year, came as a disappointment to legislators. State Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), chairwoman of a special Senate committee on the correctional system, said she was outraged, particularly because the disclosure was coming "during the holidays when legislators are out of town. "I am not pleased, and I've asked for answers," she said. Romero said "credible sources" within the department had told her that an unexpected increase in the prison population and costs associated with a new prison in Delano had caused the deficiency. A spokesman for the Department of Corrections confirmed that the prison system was over budget, but said the department had not yet determined by how much. Another factor Cited for the overspending was the department's slow progress on its new parole reform initiative. Announced with fanfare earlier this year, that initiative had been eXPected to subStantially .reduce the inmate population by cutting the number of ex-convicts sent back to prison for parole violations. Instead, after an initial dip in the re-incarceration of such violators, progress has stalled, in part because of hiring freezes, budget cuts and trouble negotiating contracts with operators of halfway houses, which serve as alternatives to prison for some. "As far as I can tell, they have just not moved on parole reform," Romero said. This month, thedeputy director in charge of the parole division was removed from his job and given a different post. Many budget analysts say that ·because of problems such as those in the prison system, they would not be surprised to see the budget shortfall grow even more in the coming months. ' "The odds are the problem will get even bigger," said Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project. And if it does, so does the political problem for the governor. Republican political analyst Dan Schnur said the more the state's budget gap grows, the harder it will be for the administration to move on with the rest of its agenda. "The real danger is allowing had budget news to overwhelm everything else the administration is trying to accomplish,', he said. Times staff writer Dan Morain contributed to this report. If you want other stories on this topic; search the Archives at latimes.com/archives. T~SReprints Article licensing and reprint options http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-budget 16dec 16,1,722266,print.story 12/16/2004 HISTORY & PURPOSE Incorporated in 1979, the California Redevelopment AsSOciation (CRA) is a statewide, nonprofit corporation. CRA represents over 340 redevelopment agencies and 260 private sector companies such as financial institutions, redevelopment consultants, developers, and law firms. Originally incorporated as the Community Redevelopment Administrators, the name was changed to the California Community Agencies Association in 1980. The name was simplified to Califomia Redevelopment Association in 1990. CRA is governed by an eighteen-member Board of Directors elected by agency members. All Board members must serve as the Executive Director of a redevelopment agency, or be his/her designee. On July 1, 2002, CRA become a self-managed operation with its own employees and with John F. Shirey-serving as the Executive Director. Previously, the management of CRA was administered through a contract with Willi~am A. Carlson, Inc. CRA's purpose is to provide: 1) Legislative Advocacy CRA sponsors, supports, opposes, and monitors redevelopment-related legislation and provides advocacy services in the State Capital. 2) Professional Development CRA provides education and networking opportunities for redevelopment practitioners sothey can effectively apply California redevelopment law and regulations. CRA conducts seminars and conferences through the year and' publishes workbooks and documents regarding various aspects of redevelopment. 3) Public Education CRA supports redevelopment agencies in educating the public, the members of the press,, public officials, and legislators about the benefits and accomplishments of redevelopment in California. 4) Member Services CRA publishes a monthly Redevelopment Journal, periodic legislative analyses, a membership directory, and other publications. It also conducts regional briefings on current issues and maintains a clearinghouse for information pertaining to redevelopment. RECEIVED TO: ALAN TANDY, CITY MANAGER DEC 1 0 2004 FROM: W.R. RECTOR, CHIEF OF POLICE Uu/~ CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE DATE: DECEMBER 10, 2004 SUBJECT: POLICE PATROL AT MLK PARK COUNCIL REFERRAL NO. 998 (WARD 1) JCouncil Member Carson requested increased police patrol at Martin Luther King Park during I school hours to prevent children from being harassed when traveling to and from school.. I On November 21, 2004, Council Member Carson's referral was assigned to the Operations Division. Notice was given to the day watch commander and traffic sergeants to increase police presence in and around the MLK Park and Bessie Owens School area. Extra patrol has been provided as much as possible over the last two weeks and little activity has been observed. Staff will continue to provide extra patrol in the area.