San Carlos City Manager Presents Two Paths to Close Budget Gap.

Two Options Proposed.

Late today, the City of San Carlos issued a press release that outlines the two paths that are now being considered to close the city’s current $3.5M budget gap.   While the two options are quickly outlined in the City Budget Overview from the city website, they will be discussed in much more detail in the upcoming City Council Budget Workshop that will be held next Saturday, March 13 at 12:00 at the San Carlos Library.   But even with few details to draw from, one thing is very evident — both options take radically different approaches to solving the budget deficit.

The City’s “Preferred” Path:  Outsource Fire and Police Services.

You may have heard rumors to the effect that the City was considering outsourcing the Fire Department services to Cal Fire, and the Police Department services to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.  Well, these are no longer rumors –  in today’s press release, City Manager Mark Weiss left no doubt that this is his “preferred path” to closing the budget deficit, since it accounts for $3M-$6M in potential savings.  This proposal also calls for outsourcing park maintenance, and for the installation of parking meters downtown for an additional savings of up to $500K.

The Other Path:  Cuts Across the Board.

The second option that is being considered is essentially an aggregation of the cuts that were proposed earlier in the 10%/20% budget reduction exercises that were conducted a few months back by each of the key departments.   … Continue Reading

City Recommends Police & Fire Cuts, Library Closure. (But it’s not San Carlos…)

…It’s Burlingame.

In a stunning announcement yesterday, the City of Burlingame proposed sweeping cuts in its public safety sector, a library closure, and slashing all department budgets as it wrestles to close a significant budget deficit.   It’s estimated that these cuts will save the City approximately $2.4M in the current fiscal year, which ends in June, and another $4.4M in the coming fiscal year according to this article in the San Mateo County Times.  The public safety cuts call for police department layoffs, and the closure of one of Burlingame’s fire stations.   Hmmmm.

Deja Vu?  Almost…

Wow.   You could just about substitute “San Carlos” for “Burlingame” in this article, and you wouldn’t miss the mark by much.   In some ways, that’s not a surprise because the cities are so similar in many ways — geography, demographics, and even their downtown shopping areas.     Many home buyers often mention the two cities in the same breath when they talk about desirable communities to live in.

Here are some of the cuts that are being proposed by Burlingame.  Note how eerily similar they are to what San Carlos is currently contemplating:

• Close the Easton Branch library
• Close Fire Station 36 on Rollins Road, lay off 3 firefighters.
• Reduce police force from 29 to 25 sworn officers through layoffs and attrition.
• Staff cuts in Public Works, Park and Recreation Departments.

There is one area were the two cities seem to differ in their proposed budget cuts…

City Hall Feels the Pain.

The budget knife that will cut through Burlingame will not bypass City Hall.   In one of the more interesting twists, the proposal calls for a 12% reduction in pay to City Manager Jim Nantell, and a 10% cut in City Council pay.   This is interesting because Nantell, along with Finance Director Jesus Nava, were the ones who unveiled this plan in the first place.

With the current San Carlos City Council stipend of $300/month, cutting 10% out of our City Council pay would barely buy lunch in downtown San Carlos, let alone solve our budget crisis.   And frankly speaking, for the amount of time and effort involved being a Council Member, they are severely underpaid anyway.  It’s worth noting that Councilman Andy Klein has already volunteered to return his entire stipend just to help the cause.

Some will give all, all will give some…

In reality, City Manager Jim Nantell’s $4,310 pay cut is also a “drop in the bucket” in the big picture of Burlingame’s budget woes (although it’s probably a pretty big deal to him, understandably.)  After all, it comes out to a whopping 0.098% of the overall budget cut.  But the symbolism here is huge, and is something that will not be overlooked by residents of San Carlos since it’s an area where the two cities seem to differ in their approach to solving a common problem.

Unless I am mistaken (and I’d be happy to print a correction to this assumption) none of the cuts that are being proposed by San Carlos affect the payroll of the City Manager nor his direct staff.    The perception of many San Carlos residents is that City Hall is coming out of this painful exercise completely unscathed, while in Burlingame at least everyone is giving something to the cause.  Or in other words, they’re ALL putting a few drops in that bucket.

Thoughts?

Lights Out for San Carlos?

Cuts to Public Works

Last night, the Transportation and Circulation Commission held a meeting to discuss the cuts that are being proposed by the San Carlos Public Works Department in order to close their portion of the $3.5M budget deficit in San Carlos.  There’s an excellent article in the Daily Journal that discusses the meeting agenda in great detail, but basically the recommendation that’s being put on the table by Public Works recommends turning off 45% of the City’s streetlights to save the City approximately $75,000 per year.

Ironically, it will initially cost the City $60,000 to make this change.  (Gotta think that would buy quite a few solar panels, no?)

Perhaps lost in all of the recent press about park closures and all-weather turf at Highlands, the meeting last night was sparsely attended.  In fact, only one citizen spoke out against the proposed brown-out, and he got the impression from the commission that “this is what you get for voting against a revenue measure.”    While nothing will be decided until the March 22nd City Council Meeting, it’s hard to imagine that these cuts won’t be approved — especially since there appears to be no “Plan B” on the table to reduce costs.

The Perfect Metaphor

Somehow, the prospect of turning out streetlights struck me as ironic.

Yesterday, an officer from the San Carlos Police Department knocked on our front door.   Apparently, someone had burglarized my neighbor’s garage two doors down, and the officer was dutifully interviewing neighbors to see if they had seen anything suspicious, etc..  … Continue Reading

San Carlos City Council Pushes Turf Through – Budget Battle Next on the Horizon.

Turf Contract Awarded.

I attended Monday night’s City Council meeting, which drew a packed house, as pro-turf and anti-turf residents squared off one last time in the Council Chambers.  As I’m sure you are aware, after nearly two hours of discussion, the Council voted 4-1 to award the contract to resurface the athletic field at Highlands Park with synthetic turf, with the start of construction delayed for another 90 days until the pending litigation to block the installation of turf is resolved.  Councilman Matt Grocott was the lone dissenting voice on the Council for this particular vote.

I sat in the front row of the spectator section and listened to Public Works Director Robert Weil’s introduction, as well each and every resident presentation.  If you haven’t taken the time to attend a City Council meeting in person, I highly recommend doing so — especially with the crucial budget discussions right around the corner.  Besides, seeing our government at work is a very interesting experience.  Some impressions I took away from the meeting:

• Funds: Councilman Omar Ahmad, with the assistance of the City Staff, did an outstanding job of defining the different funds were being considered to fund this project.  I wasn’t clear at the outset about the differences between Measure G Funds, Park-in-Lieu Funds, and Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) Endowment Funds — but after that discussion it was very clear.  Well done.
• Public Speakers: Every person who spoke, regardless of which side they were on,  spoke eloquently and effectively on their position.   This takes a lot of guts to do in front of a packed house, a full council,  and a television audience.  I was very impressed with everyone who spoke.
• Representation: I kept an approximate count of the number of speakers and their positions on this issue.  35 speakers total:  20 (or 57%) either wanted a delay in the decision, or were against it entirely.  15 (43%) were in favor of moving forward.   In addition, at the start of the meeting the turf poll that is currently running at the top of the site already had over 100 votes — 86% were against moving forward, and about 11% were in favor (the rest voted “don’t care.”)   Granted, both of these datapoints are highly unscientific, but for all the claims that the pro-turf contingency was the majority, these numbers tell a different story.  Yet the council still voted 4-1…  I will let you draw your own conclusions.

Next Up:  Budgets.

I stated in my previous post (and I remained convinced) I believe the turf contract approval process should have taken place at the same time the City Budget was being decided, not months in advance.   Why?  Not for the hope of using capital improvement funds for like those above to solve our operational issues.  I fully understand that those monies cannot be mixed.  But even though the funds come from different sources — it’s still money…and the Park and Rec Department just got a golden egg — an egg that should be taken into account when the City ultimately decides how and where to make their cuts to balance the budget.

I will be writing more posts as the budget battle starts to heat up in the coming months.    Believe me, if you were looking for a time to get involved in civic issues, there isn’t a better time than now.

How Safe Are We in San Carlos?

San Carlos is known for being a relatively safe community.  It’s one of the big reasons that people choose to settle here and raise families — it’s still very much a “bedroom community” that until recently enjoyed relative obscurity.   When I used to work in Silicon Valley, most people I talked with had no idea where San Carlos was even located!  And that’s fine for most residents of San Carlos — a big part of the charm of this city is that it has been a hidden gem on the Peninsula for many years.

But the public safety of San Carlos isn’t something we can take for granted anymore, especially during this period of financial crisis.    Have you gotten the feeling recently that there are more crimes being reported in San Carlos?  Do you know someone who has been a victim of a crime in San Carlos?  It’s not your imagination that crime is on the uptick — because it is.

“Part 1 Crimes” Increased by 25% in 2009.

In tonight’s San Carlos City Council Meeting, Police Chief Greg Rothaus will present some alarming statistics to the City Council in his Annual Report on Police Services.  In a period of time where our police budget is being slashed, headcount reduced, and services being outsourced, Part 1 Crimes (murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft, arson, and motor vehicle theft) have increased by 25% from 2008.   Here’s the graphic that he will present this evening:

With the huge budget deficit that the Council must resolve this year, there’s no guarantee that police services won’t be slashed further.  To download Chief Rothaus’ complete report, click here:  San Carlos Police Report-2009

Fire Department Update

In tonight’s Council meeting, Fire Chief Douglas Fry will also be presenting his quarterly update to the Council and City Manager.  The Fire Department has fared a bit better in the funding area, as they have recently secured grants that will enable them to upgrade their radio system to be compliant with FCC mandates.  But department staffing and equipment allocation remains a big concern within the Department, because it has a direct impact on speed and quality of their response.

You’re probably aware of the fatal home fire that happened just a few days ago in Devonshire Canyon.  According to a source close to City Hall, Chief Fry will also discuss this incident in detail at this evening’s Council Meeting, with the current budget cuts as the underlying theme.  Should be a very compelling presentation.

If You’re Interested…

Tonight’s City Council meeting starts at 7:00 PM at the San Carlos City Hall, 600 Elm Street.    The meeting is open to the public.

Local TV News Features San Carlos Budget Problems.

This week KTVU, one of the predominant bay area news channels, picked up on the story about the ongoing budget battle in San Carlos.  They did a nice job touching on the main issues.  But I find it a little surprising that the local merchant featured in this article doesn’t mind if there were a few less police officers patrolling the streets!   If you’re one of the growing number of residents who has had their car or home broken into, I’m sure you’ll agree that we do have a growing crime problem here in San Carlos that’s not going to be fixed with cutbacks to the police department.

Click here —> KTVU News Feature On San Carlos

(Thanks to Ken Castle and the White Oaks Neighborhood Organization for the tip on this article!)

———————————————————–

San Carlos Contemplates Deep Cuts in Police, Fire, and Park Services.

Is all of this talk about budget cuts giving you indigestion?

Unfortunately, it’s only just the beginning.  In tonight’s San Carlos City Council meeting, the “new” Council (welcome aboard Andy Klein!) will vote on the proposed operating budget reductions that were the decided on earlier this year.   These cuts in service and personnel are estimated to save the City nearly $707,000 in the upcoming fiscal year.  For more details on what will likely face the axe in tonight’s vote, download this file:

San Carlos Proposed Budget Cuts

As tough as these cuts are to take, they shouldn’t come as a surprise. They’ve been on the chopping block since May/June of this year in anticipation of a budget shortfall,  and now with the failure of Measure U it’s highly likely that the Council will vote to enact these cuts.  But if you think this is the last you’ll hear about cuts in services, think again — these cuts only address the expected shortfall for the ‘09-’10 fiscal year.
———————–

Looking ahead to 2010-11.

In anticipation of an additional budget shortfall, the City Manager has tasked all of the department heads with providing details on how their department would handle budget cuts of 10% and 20% in the 2010-11 budget year.   That information has been made public, and it’s pretty scary stuff.  (Note that these proposals are only the starting point for debate and discussion, so they are not being voted on in tonight’s meeting.)

Here are the reduction reports from four of the bigger city departments that could greatly impact the enjoyment and safety for ALL San Carlos residents: … Continue Reading

Life in San Carlos in the Aftermath of Measure U… and a New Poll.

Life will be very different next year in San Carlos…

Such is the sobering reality of life in the City of Good Living.  Regardless of how you voted, the failure of Measure U ensures that changes will be taking place in San Carlos next year that will impact each and every one of us in some way.    Whether you’re one of the unfortunate souls who may lose your livelihood, or you simply can’t get into your favorite park because it’s now closed, residents of San Carlos will need to adjust to doing more with less next year.   There’s no question that City Hall needs to bridge the budget gap — we can’t deficit spend indefinitely (unlike our federal government.)  But how that gap will be closed is still very much up in the air…

Raise Taxes, or Cut Services — Is That It?

It seems that City Hall has a black & white mindset on solving the budget gap — either raise revenue, or cut services.   Now that the former is off the table with failure of Measure U,  the effort is solely focused only on cutting services.  The following is just a portion of what the City Manager is proposing for the new budget:

1.     Eliminate Healthy Cities Program
2.     Eliminate .7 Rec Coordinator and Special Needs Program
3.     Eliminate 1 Rec Superintendent Post.
4.     Eliminate Admin Assistant in payroll
5.     Reduce employee events like picnic, holiday luncheon, etc
6.     Reduce Planning contractor hours .6FTE
7.     Eliminate full-time Bldg Inspector
8.     Eliminate Park & Rec weekend maintenance.
9.     Reduce expenses in Finance operating budget
10.   Eliminate Police Diversion (Youth Offense) Officer
11.    Reduce Youth Center part-time staff
12.   Eliminate 25% of Police CSO staffing
13.   Eliminate full-time Park & Rec maintenance worker

Is the cutting of positions and services the only way to close the budget gap?  Have we truly looked at everything?

Are Wages and Benefits Off Limits?

That very question became ground zero for in many of the 136 comments from my original post about Measure U, because it appears that the wages and benefits of City employees are off limits in solving the budget deficit.  I know that the City recently instituted a tiered pension scale which is less for new employees, and that they have contractual obligations which makes changing compensation a pretty involved process.

But another San Carlos institution that is coping with job cuts and budget deficits has shown that they can share in the pain of their constituents — San Carlos School District Superintendent Dr. Craig Baker will likely delay or forgo an $11,000 bonus this year as part of the budget process.  Sure, it’s a drop in the $1.4M bucket, but that kind of gesture shows that everyone that’s involved in the process indeed has some skin in the game now.   I can’t say we’re quite there yet with City Hall.

A New Poll: Closing the Budget Deficit.

So what do you think is the best way to close the budget gap?   Should we take another run at raising taxes again, or should we just resign to the fact that a reduction in services is inevitable?  And what about wages and benefits?     It will be interesting to see the results of this poll:

 Loading ...

If you have other suggestions on how City Hall should best resolve this crisis, don’t be shy about leaving a comment!

—————————————————-