HomeMy WebLinkAbout0537.091~o
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November 2,. 1991
THE HONORABLE CI~~ COu~CIL
Palo Alto, California
Attention: Finance committee
APPROPRIATE LEVELS O!, SERVICE PUBLIC BRAINSTORMING SJlS_~_TONS
Members of the Council:
Report in Bril::!_~
This report trans'!!".its a summary of suggestions received during the
public brainstorming sessions held by the Finance Committee vith
the public on October 3 and L'>TOVerncer 13 I 199L
~&ekgroun4
City Council assigned the finance Co~itt~e the priority of
revie~ing appropriate City service levels, given changing economic
conditions and a projected budget deficit for 1992-94. Tr-L€
Committee reviewed is cOrlpreher.5i~"e inventory of dep<!rtmer.tal
services provided to the public, and then solicited input from the
public.
Council held t'Wo public sessions on the service inventory: The
first 'W~s a general meeti::"lg held on October 10, 1991, :In the
Ccuncil Chambers. various co~nunity groups and individuals came to
the session and e~press€d opinior.s on budget reduction and revenue
enhancement st~ategies.
The Finance Committee held a more structured evening of pL:'blic
brainstorming on November 13, 1991. Four concurrent sessions 'Were
held over two 1 1/2 hour $.essions with community groups who 'Were
specifically interested in the subject areas below:
CMR:537:91
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0 Visl..tal Arts
0 Senior'S
0 Libraries
0 Parks
0 Performance JI:rtists
0 Human ServiCE:S
0 Recreation
0 Open Space
Each session ""as cha ired by a
attending .. ere staff from the
Departments.
.1 nil
Finance committee Mernber~ Also
community Services and Finance
Ideas from the public brainstorming sessi~n have b£en categorized
into a matrix, ", .. hich is attached~ The matrix also contains several
ideas generated by staff having to do ""i th employee benefits and
pay classifications, the City policy for placing light duty
~orkers, and the binding arbitration stipulation contained in the
P~lice and Fire bar-gaining unit contracts. The matrix lists either
specific ideas or policy changes the Council could make to make
budg~t decisions. and is broken do~n by the time it ~ould take to
adopt each recommendation: short term {for the 1992-94 budget);
medium term (2-5 years); and longer term (areas for future study).
Respectfully s'..lbadtted,
'~ Sf" , I
~'yIM STEELE
Budge( Manag~r
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EMl cY'RARR I SOli
Directo~ of Finance
;\ll\~h.A'Hl.1 A;
(JU\lE FLEMING . --v r '
AsSistant City Manager
Related Staff Reports: CMR:385:91
CHR:537:91 2
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Comments trom the Appropriate Levels of Service and public brainstorming meetings can be broken down
into-several subject ar~as. 'l'hey are listed below in a matrix format according to the possible
timefr&mes for adoption and by which departrnent(s) the criteria apply to. The timerrame is defined
into three categories: items that could be adopted in the shorter term, ie., for the 1992-94 buaget;
itemt:> that are of a medium term, .ie., would take between 2-5 years to implement; and it.euts that would
take a longer term to adopt and LOhould be studied in the future.
community Public I I Public I I City services Safety Planning Works Admin. I wiele ,
Short term
()
Cmlsicter a more comprehenf{ive policy
towards fee recovery levels tor
reEidents VB. non-residents.
Evaluate the cost benefit of hiring a
citywide professional fundraisp.r. One
goal would be to generate more corporate
donations.
Try to encourage more public
contributions.
Consider a policy that would eliminate
those discretionary fee-for-service
areas that are already being provided by
other agencies or private supplil~rs at
close to the cost to the user that the
City charges (example: aerouics
classes, dance classes, .u:'t classes)
unless the fee area can recover 100\ of
total costs,
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Review those areas wnore the city could
charge for se~vices that are currently
free or charge to Palo Alto residents
that citiZens in m~ny cities pay for
(example: sidewalk repair, tennis court
usage, ~treet tree trimming).
Consider adopt"ing a more aggressive user
fee cost recovery rate, ie., one that
approac;hes 100% total cost recovery
e)(:cept in those are-";l,S or to those Palo
Alto residents for whom the tef;"> would be
a financial hardship. If a 100%
recovery rate wOl)ld price the service
out of the TM_rket, Council would be
asked to re-evaluate the appropriateness
of continuing to subsidize the service.
Look at creating food and bevorage
Concessions a.t_ City facilities that
could generate revenue from the public,
Review City ordinances to allow private,
for-profit rentals of the Lucje Stern
Theater.
Sell advertising space at playing
fields.
Community
services
x
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x
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Public
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Public I I ci;;y
Planhing I Works Admin. Wide
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Evaluate the coat benetit of hiril'g a
citywide volunt.eer coordinator.
Work t.o encourage community groups with
specialized ey.pertise to volunt.ee~ their
services, e.g., parks landscaping.
For human service contract.s, review
current guidelines and inves'C.igatB t.he
possibility of eit_her rflstriGting and/or
prioritizing funding to those agencies
which U8€ t.he following criteria:
o The City sUbsidizes only lower
income cttizens.
o The City subsidizas only Palo
Alto residents.
Consider develQping a funding critorii'.
which would give priority to human
service agencies which TaiGe matching
funds.
Invest.igate the feasibility of
increasing the real estate transfer tax.
Investigate the option of changing the
city policy for cosponsoring events' and
community
Services
x
x
facility usage so more fees may bt X
charged. Currently, the City does not
charge fees tor events tha~ it co-
sponsors.
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Safety Planning
Public
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City
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Consider changing the current Council
policy to allow utility User Tax funding
to go to non-AtreetB and sidewalks
expenses.
Med.ium Tel.'m
Review as~umpt.ionf! for pJ.-oviding City
services, and consider:
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renegotiation for t.hose
service::; th.'\t are typi.cally
the re&ponsibility o( other
aqencif's, ie., PAUSD,
Stanford.
diEcontinuing those services
that could be providpd for
effectively by the private
sector ie., paramedic
f<ervices.
discontinuing those services
that would be picked up by the
County, eg., animal control.
Look into providing certain Cit_y
services and/or city amenitifls to human
Community
services
service contract providers instead of X
~urrent level of grants.
Explore restructuring hUman servic~ X
contracts on a fee per client basis.
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Planning I Works
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Explore options that would t~~ilit6te
the sharing of resources by human
service providers.
Consider renegotiating the binding
arbitration stipulations in toe Fire and
flollce contracts, which are no't typical
for munici(..lal bargaining unit
arrangementR.
Evaluate the cost. effectivenes~ of
minimum staffing requirements,
especi<;tllY fOr t~hose bargaining unib;
Which utilize it heavily, ie.,
firefighters and police officers.
Consider pursuing a flat a.nnual fee for
paramedic servicAs on property tax
billa.
explore the establishment o.t an
entertainment tax on movie tick~ts.
Investigate t.he feasibility of r.\dopting
a Business License Tax.
Investigate the feasibility of creating
a Landscape and Lighting ASsessment
District.
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Public
safety
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Public I
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Encourage the creation of foundations as
umbrellaS for fund raising Afforts of
smaller, less organized community
groups. The goa 1 would be to decrease
dependence on the Gener~l Fund.
Encourage public/private partnerships.
Analyze current city employee sick leave
and vac3tion accrual policies in order
to make recommpnd~tions for cost
efficiencies.
Investigat~ the possibility of
"down~izinq" staff to lower cost
posItions. Examples would be
civilianizing sworn positions in the
Fire and Police Departments when the
services can b~ provided by non-sworn
staff.
explore the dedication of playing fielda
to specific groups with the
understanding that they will fund all
maintenance.
ASGuming a volunteer coordinator has
been hired in the short term, re
evaluate its succeBS and consider wh~re
City regul~r and temporary staff could
be reduced.
community I Public
services Safety
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lnstitute a ~vre agg~e6sive light duty
job placement. service for City workers
on disability, and in t.urn reduce
t.empor~ry staff.
PerfOrm an organization review of
General Fund staffing.
Investigat.e city regulations and
ordinance!'; with t.he goal of revampinq
criteria in order to reduce non-safety
r('!lated cmforc"~ment activities.
Long Terrtl
Investigate a more econo~ica:l employee
benefits package, especially in those
areas t.hat ~re the most costly, ie.,
health and re1~ireme.nt.
Aggre~siv(>ly pursue consolidation of
services wit.h either neighboring cities,
or with other agencies.
Consider consolidation an(l/or selling
city owned facilit.ies and/or land.
a Parks
o Portions of parKS
o A library branch
o A tire station
a Golf Course
Community
services
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Public
Safety
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Planning
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Public
Works
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Admin.
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Wide
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