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Home My WebLink About8.1 FY 2010-2011 Budget Reductions OF Dp~~2 19~~ ~ ~82, AGENDA STATEMENT HERITAGE AND CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION ~~t1FOR~l~ MEETING DATE: May 13, 2010 SUBJECT: Fiscal Year 2010-2011 Budget Reductions Prepared by John Hartnett, Heritage & Cultural Arts Manager ATTACHMENTS: 1. Staff Report to City Council on Fiscal Year 2010-2011 Budget Reduction Recommendations RECOMMENDATION: Receive Report FINANCIAL STATEMENT: The City Council directed Staff to include $1.5 million in citywide budget reductions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010-2011. This includes changes to service levels that will reduce the net operating cost of the Heritage and Cultural Arts Division by $28,062 (8%). DESCRIPTION: The economic recession has greatly impacted the City's budget in the past two years and it is anticipated that the impact of the downturn will continue next year and in the years to come. Staff anticipates a budget deficit of $3.1 to $4.6 million for FY 2010-2011. This does not account for any further takeaways the State may impose to address its continuing budget problems. The City has been dealing with the financial crisis head-on by: • Cutting approximately $1 million in expenses at the 2008-2009 Mid-Year Budget; • Cutting approximately $3 million in expenses for the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year Budget that included: o Elimination of cost of living adjustments and performance pay adjustments for City employees; o A reorganization plan that included significant layoffs and staff cuts; o Decreasing operating budgets throughout the organization; o Reducing the frequency of maintenance services such as street sweeping and landscaping; and o Postponing some necessary street and infrastructure maintenance work funded with General Fund monies. These challenges are not unique to Dublin and are being experienced by almost all California cities and counties. Fiscal Year 2010-2011 Budget Reduction Measures At the Goals and Objectives Budget Study Session in February 2010 the City Council directed Staff to identify reductions in addition to those made in the past two years that would have minimal to no impact on services through an examination of the following four areas: COPIES TO: ITEM NO: 8.1 G:\HERITAGE COMMISSIM.AGENDA_STMTS\201 0\5-13 Budget Reduc[ions 8.Ldoc 1. Utilize Economic Stability Reserve Fund 2. Defer or eliminate FY 2010-2011 General Fund Capital Projects where feasible 3. Reduce operations and hours far City buildings and facilities 4. Reduce operational service levels As an additional savings measure the FY 2010-2011 Budget includes no salary increases for a second consecutive year. The City will also continue to contain costs by contracting for services such as police, fire and maintenance. Contracting and consolidation of public safety services with Alameda County reduces expenditures for the City as the fixed cost of providing services are shared with other agencies. Staff presented a report (Attachment 1) to the City Council at a special meeting on April 27 outlining the proposed reductions for FY 2010-2011. At the meeting, the City Council approved over $1.5 million in budget reductions for FY 2010-2011. Approximately $900,000 of the reductions will have no impact on service levels. There are $640,000 in cuts that will reduce service levels. Although some service levels will change, the City is not fully eliminating any service areas ar shuttering any public facilities or parks as is happening in many cities. Following is a summary of the overall budget reductions. • General Government $83,967 . Public Safety $742,237 • Transportation $40,160 • Culture and Leisure Services $557,606 • Community Development $120,565 Despite making the budget reductions, the City still faces a$1.6 to $33 million deficit for the upcoming Fiscal Year. The City Council directed Staff to balance the remaining budget deficit using the City's Economic Stability Reserve Fund. This fund was established using budget surplus funds from prior years when the City's revenues exceeded operating expenditures. With operational costs on the rise and the City's revenues remaining flat, the Economic Stability Reserve Fund could be depleted within two years. Therefare the reductions approved by the City Council were necessary to help bridge the City's structural budget deficit. Reductions to Culture and Leisure Services Budget The City Council approved $557,600 in reductions to the Culture and Leisure Services Budget, which includes the following operational areas: • Library Services • Heritage and Cultural Arts • Park Maintenance • Parks and Community Services • Parks and Facilities Development There is $182,880 in reductions that will not have an impact on service levels. This includes items such as reduced purchase of materials and supplies, decreased conference and training, reduced tree maintenance and turf aerating in parks, and reduced frequencies of other park maintenance tasks. This category also includes the suspension of the Day on the Glen Festival, which had already been approved by the City Council in March 2010. The remaining $374,725 in cuts will affect service levels as follows: 2 of 4 . 1. Library hours will be reduced by 14 hours per week. This brings the hours of operation back to the • level they were at during Fiscal Year 2005-2006. This will result in the Library closing on Fridays and six additional hours spread across other days of the week. Additionally, the holiday lights will not be hung on the roof of the Library during the winter holiday season and St. Patrick's Day. 2. Park Maintenance would be further reduced and may become noticeable to residents. This includes reduction in turf fertilization, shrub pruning and replacement, leaf clean up, ball field renovations, and elimination of bedding replacement. It should be noted that the level of maintenance to sports fields will not be substantially modified. 3. The Teen Website will be eliminated. Three Teen Sports Tournaments will also be eliminated. 4. The Dublin Swim Center season will be shortened to May 1 through Labor Day. Cunently the pool is open from Spring Break through the end of September. 5. The frequency of the Senior Center newsletter will be reduced from bi-monthly to quarterly. 6. The Senior Center Trips and Tours program was suspended for the upcoming Fiscal Year. 7. The Senior Center Lunch Service program will be modified by contracting out to a service organization. Changes to Heritage and Cultural Arts Division Programs and Services For FY 2010-2011, the estimated net cost to operate the Heritage and Cultural Arts Division and provide facilities, programs and services is $371;240. The three reductions and one addition approved for the Division budget will reduce the net cost by $28,062 (8%). The first change is to eliminate the Summer Concert Series for July and August of 2010. However the City's Winter Concert Series and two Theatre Events will still be offered. This will result in a cost reduction of $15,309. While not in the Heritage and Cultural Arts Division Budget, The City Council also chose to continue the three Family Movie Nights instead of accepting a recommended reduction of two of the events. The Council felt that the Family Movie Nights, although reaching a different audience than the Summer Concerts, served more overall residents and provided family oriented activities. The second change was to reduce the maintenance of the Cemetery and Heritage Center grounds by $10,949. The frequency of tasks such as weed abatement, leaf cleanup, tree pruning and spraying and plant bedding will be reduced but not eliminated. In the past two years, the maintenance costs associated with the Heritage Center have come under budget, and Staff felt that some of these tasks could be reduced without adversely affecting operations. The next change involves building maintenance costs for the Murray Schoolhouse and Old St. Raymond's Church, which will be reduced by $1,804 without impacting the general operations. The frequency of some routine maintenance tasks will be reduced and a few annual tasks that are not needed in FY 2010- 2011 will be eliminated. One final change that will actuallz add costs for the next fiscal year involves a Staffing increase. At the City Council meeting on Apri120' , the Council approved additional Part Time Staff hours of 18 hours per week be added to the Heritage and Cultural Arts Division budget to provide increased coverage of the expanded Historic Park, which includes the addition of the Kolb Facilities. The cost for the additional staffing is $8,520. However, at the April 20th meeting, the Dublin Historic Preservation Association told the City Council that they would pay one-half of the total cost so the net cost to the City for the increased staffing will be $4,260. Also, all of the High Priority objectives initiated by the City Council that require additional General Fund support costs were eliminated for FY 2010-2011. Therefore, the goal to: "Sponsor an art photo competition that will engage the communiry" with a cost of $1,500 was cut from the Division's list of Goals and Objectives for next year. 3 of 4 RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission receive the report. 4 of 4