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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 14638 City of Palo Alto (ID # 14638) City Council Staff Report Meeting Date: 8/22/2022 Report Type: City of Palo Alto Page 1 Title: Repeal of a Resolution Adopted on August 8, 2022 and Adoption of a Revised Resolution Establishing Advisory Spending Guidelines for Business Tax Proceeds From: City Manager Lead Department: Administrative Services RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the Resolution at Attachment A which repeals Resolution 11063 adopted by the Council on August 8, 2022, and establishes revised advisory spending guidelines regarding proceeds of a business tax, if approved by voters at the General Election on November 8, 2022. BACKGROUND & DISCUSSION On August 10, 2022, the Palo Alto City Council adopted a Resolution to place a business tax on the November 2022 general election ballot. The business tax is a general tax. The attached resolution (Attachment A) informs residents and community stakeholders of Council’s intended use for proceeds generated by the business tax, if approved by voters. The resolution outlines use equally among three areas: public safety services, train crossing safety, and affordable housing/unhoused services. The City Council adopted a substantially similar resolution establishing advisory spending guidelines on August 8, 2022 (CMR 14639). Subsequently, an ad hoc committee of Councilmembers, meeting with representatives of the City’s business community, determined that the advisory spending guidelines should be amended to add additional commitments to enhance transparency and accountability, in the form of annual reporting of business tax proceeds and expenditures. Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached Resolution, which repeals Resolution 11063 adopted by Council on August 8th and readopts the advisory spending guidelines with additional annual reporting commitments in Section 4 of the Resolution. This is in alignment with the direction from the City Council to staff on August 10, 2022. TIMELINE The attached advisory spending guidelines are effective upon adoption and will apply to business tax proceeds generated in 2023 (to be collected no sooner than 2024) and thereafter, City of Palo Alto Page 2 if approved by the voters at the General Election on November 8, 2022. Allocation of business tax proceeds will occur each year as part of the City Council’s annual budget process. RESOURCE IMPACT Adoption of the attached Resolution will not, by itself, have a resource impact on the City. Discussion of the potential resource impact of the business tax can be found at CMR 14540, packet page 92. The business tax structure adopted by the Council on August 10 is estimated to generate $9.6 million in business tax revenue, annually. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT The attached Resolution reflects discussions with representatives of the business community as well as feedback from community members and stakeholders in the form of an online and mail- in communitywide survey (433 respondents), six focus group sessions, a community listening session, city newsletter and blog posts, utility bill inserts, and three voter surveys. A landing page on the City’s website titled, Fiscal Sustainability: A Community Conversation, was also developed. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This activity is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as defined in CEQA Guidelines, Section 15378, because it has no potential for resulting in either a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. Attachments: • Attachment A: Revised Resolution Regarding Business Tax Advisory Spending Guidelines ATTACHMENT A NOT YET ADOPTED Resolution No. ______ Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Adopting Advisory Spending Guidelines for Proceeds of a Business Tax to be Submitted to the Voters for Approval in November 2022 R E C I T A L S A. The City of Palo Alto is a well-run municipality, with a Triple-A bond rating and a reputation for pro-active fiscal management, strong ongoing investments in public infrastructure, and conservative financial planning. However, the impacts of COVID-19, the subsequent economic downturn, and legal challenges to longstanding historic revenue sources have contributed to a projected budget gap in the City of Palo Alto’s general fund. B. Unlike most communities in California, the City of Palo Alto does not require local businesses to contribute to city projects and services through a local business tax. As Palo Alto looks to the future, City leaders have determined that the time has come to seek voter approval to tax mid-sized and large businesses operating in the City as neighboring communities do. Diversifying revenues with contributions from business will ensure that businesses pay a fair share and contribute to services used by residents, visitors and workers in the community. C. If a business tax is approved by voters, its proceeds will be placed in the City’s general fund for use on general government services. Council Members elected by the voters will determine the uses of those proceeds that best serve the public interest. D. With this Resolution, the City Council informs voters of its intentions regarding the public services and programs that would be supported by business tax revenues. Accordingly the Council of the City of Palo Alto RESOLVES as follows: SECTION 1. This Resolution No. _____ updates and supersedes Resolution No. 10063, which is hereby repealed and shall be of no force or effect. SECTION 2. Council hereby adopts the above Recitals as findings of the Council. SECTION 3. It is the Council’s intention to use proceeds of a business tax—a general tax for general government uses—to fund services and programs that support safety and quality of life. The Council approves the following advisory spending guidelines: One-Third for Transportation and Safe Train Crossings. In the coming years, Palo Alto will need to need to invest substantial local funds in the improvement and safety of train crossings. CalTrain is electrifying and trains are increasing in number. To maintain traffic flow, bicycle and pedestrian mobility, and safety, the City’s four at-grade road crossings must be modified and separated from the train right-of-way. It is estimated that an average investment of $250 million will be needed for the improvements needed at each crossing. City funds will be used as matching funds to secure additional county, state, and federal funds for these investments in transportation infrastructure. ATTACHMENT A NOT YET ADOPTED The Council plans to spend one-third of business tax proceeds on safe and efficient crossings for vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians. One-Third for Housing Affordability and Services for the Unhoused. A balanced and healthy community welcomes families and individuals from all walks of life. In Palo Alto, significant investments are needed to bring housing costs into reach for many moderate earners who work in the City, such as teachers, public safety employees, and workers in the trades and service industries. With few affordable local housing options, these workers must travel long distances between home and work, contributing to green-house gas emissions and traffic congestion. In addition, longtime residents—especially those who rent—are at risk of losing housing and being forced to relocate to other communities or become unhoused. Those who are already living in the City without housing need financial support to transition to stable, safe and clean housing. Substantial funding is needed to advance these goals. The Council plans to spend one-third of business tax proceeds on affordable housing and unhoused services. One-Third for Public Safety. Rising costs and constrained revenues have limited the City’s ability to provide public safety services—including police, fire, 911, and emergency services—at the level desired by the community. Stable long-term revenues from a business tax will put these highly- valued City services on sound footing into the future. The Council plans to spend one-third of business tax proceeds on public safety. SECTION 4. During its regular annual fiscal reporting, the City will separately report receipts from the business tax and that year’s spending from business tax proceeds on transportation and safe train crossings, housing affordability and services for the unhoused, and public safety. SECTION 5. The Council finds that adoption of this Resolution is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act and, therefore, no environmental impact assessment is necessary. INTRODUCED AND PASSED: AYES: NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENT: ATTEST: APPROVED: __________________________ ____________________________ City Clerk Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM: ATTACHMENT A NOT YET ADOPTED __________________________ ____________________________ City Attorney City Manager