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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-06-03 City Council (12)BUDGET 1997-98 City of Palo Alto C ty Manager’s Repor TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL ATTENTION: FROM: FINANCE COMMITTEE CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DATE:JUNE 3, 1997 CMR:266:97 SUBJECT:RESPONSES TO FINANCE COMMITTEE QUESTIONS DURING REVIEW OF THE 1997-98 INTERIM PROPOSED BUDGET AND CHANGES TO THE PROPOSED BUDGET This report responds to questions raised by the Finance Committee during review of the Proposed 1997-98 Interim Budget and contains changes recommended by staff and the Finance Committee to the Proposed Budget for Committee review. Staff requests that the Finance Committee review the enclosed information and approve the recommended changes to the Proposed Budget. RECOMMENDATIONS_:_ Staffrequests, after review by the Finance Committee, that changes to the Proposed 1997-98 Interim Budget be recommended to Council. POLICY IMPLICATIONS: This report does not propose any changes to existing City policies. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Finance Committee Questions and Reoyests for Information_ Included in Attachment 1 axe copies of graphs that were presented to the Finance Committee during the Budget Overview on May 13. CMR:266:97 Page 1 of 5 What are the expenditures and revenues per Palo Alto resident? The table below shows Proposed 1997-98 Interim Budget expenditures and revenues per Palo Alto resident, as well as 1997-98 budgeted revenues and expenditures per resident from several nearby cities. While every effort was made to compare similar items across cities, it should be noted that surrounding cities may have included program revenues and expenditures that are dissimilar from Palo Alto’s. City Revenue Per Expenditure Resident Per Resident Palo Alto $1,551 $1,526 Mountain View 872 843 Sunnyvale 620 575 Fremont 536 557 3. What are the number of street trees and park trees in Palo Alto? The City is responsible for maintaining 35,000 street trees and 4,200 park trees -- a total of 39,200 trees. Maintenance of these trees is performed by City staff and by contract. Impact measures in the Public Works Department’s Functional Area, Trees, (pages 328-329 of the budget document) set annual targets for tree maintenance by major activity. The major activities for tree maintenance are divided into 3 categories: In-House Street Tree Maintenance (35,000 trees); In-House Park Tree Maintenance (4,200 trees);, and Contract Tree Maintenance (39,200 trees). Since contract work is performed on bothstreet and park trees, the total trees reflected in this impact measure are 39,200. In addition to maintenance of City street and park trees, the City contracts for line clearing work on trees located on front and rear easements. These trees, which include trees on private property and City streets, total 38,000. This number appears in the major activity Contract Utility Line Clearing (page 320 of the budget document). It is estimated that half, or 19,000, of the 38,000 trees targeted for line clearing are on City streets. CMR:266:97 Page 2 of ~ o What are the additional costs of picking up trash in downtown Palo Alto five days a week? Currently, the Palo Alto Sanitation Company (PASCO) collects trash from 57 receptacles in the 100-500 University Avenue blocks. The service levels vary from three to four days a week, depending on the block. The additional cost for picking up trash five days a week on all 57 receptacles in the 100-500 University Avenue blocks would be approximately $42,000 a year, or $875.50 per week. The Finance Committee requested clarification and changes on a variety of impact measures. Staffwill include changes related to the impact measures that are described below in the package forwarded to the Council for budget adoption. Impact measures that were questioned and require additional work will be addressed during the 1998- 2000 budget process. In the Community Services Department’s Functional Area, Open Space and Sciences Services, the impact measure relating to volunteer usage will be increased from 2,600 to 7,280, given the increase in volunteers at the Arastradero Preserve. b)In the Public Works Department’s Functional Area, Sidewalks, after re- evaluating the impact measure’s target percentage of contracts not exceeding their contingency amount authorized by Council, the measure was increased to 98 percent instead of 80 percent. The Finance Committee requested copies of Community Services’ "New Resident Brochure." This brochure is included in this Council packet. Included in the packet, under separate cover, are the minutes from the Planning Commission review of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The minutes include discussion of the proposed Municipal Service Center (MSC) Master Plan Revision CIP. Staff Ch es to the 1997-98 Interim Pro_~_t Some changes are required to the Proposed Budget. Staff changes are based on new information, and Finance Committee changes are recommended based on its review of the proposed budget. Attachment 2 is a Summary of Requested Position Changes. Position changes in the Utility Funds primarily result from deregulation in the utility industry and the Utilities Department Organizational Review. Many of the changes are designed to enhance positions and responsibilities to respond to a more competitive marketplace and expand the City’s marketing efforts. Also included in this package are adjustments to technology positions resulting from a comprehensive study of the City’s technology staffing. In addition to title changes, compensation plan adjustments are also requested for some positions. These positions include: o o ® Utilities Key Account Representative Manager Telecommunication Resource Planner Utilities Market Analyst Manager Utilities Marketing Services Assistant Director Resource Management The costs associated with these position changes are not reflected in Attachment 3, discussed below. They will be included in the package the Council receives for.budget adoption. Attachment 3 shows changes to the Proposed 1997-98 Interim Budget, such as the adjustment to the Council’s salary and benefits. These changes are based on updated information since the budget document was prepared. Once reviewed and approved by the Finance Committee, changes on Attachment 3, as well as other changes made during Finance Committee reviews, will be forwarded to Council as recommended Amendments to the Proposed 1996-98 Interim Budget. FISCAL IMPACT The fiscal impact of changes on Attachment 3 on reserves are indicated at the end of each fund. The impact of changes from position, changes on Attachment 2 will be included in the Exhibit B package the full Council receives for budget adoption. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: There is no environmental assessment required for this report. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1: Graphs Attachment 2: Summary of Position Changes Attachment 3: Changes to the 1997-98 Interim Proposed Budget CMR:266:97 . Page 4 of $ PREPARED BY: Joe Saccio, Senior Financial Analyst DEPARTMENT HEAD APPROVAL: Emil3 Acting Director Administrative Services CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: Manager CC: n/a CMR:266:97 Page 5 of 5 spu~sno~ !