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City Council Staff Report
October 7, 2014
ITEM
Staff Report: Update of actions taken related to the City of National City Three Year Operating
Plan for the period Fiscal Years 2015 through 2017.
BACKGROUND
On January 21, 2014, at the direction of the City Manager, staff brought before the City Council
a Three Year Operating Plan for the period Fiscal Years 2015 through 2017. As discussed, the
Plan is intended to project the General Fund operating budget for said period and the impacts of
a 24% reduction in General Fund revenue caused by the scheduled sunsetting of the current
District Sales Tax, a 1% (one cent) transaction and use tax commonly referred to as Proposition
D.
With thousands of people visiting National City every day, out-of-town visitors should continue
to pay their fair share for police, fire, street repair, and other services they use when they visit
National City.
To offset state takeaways and local economic challenges, our City has made significant budget
cuts including reducing scores of city employees, consolidating City Departments, reducing
management, and implementing pension reform. If Proposition D is not extended, the City
purposes cuts to public safety; reduce gang and drug prevention; police officer staffing at local
schools; neighborhood police patrols; and graffiti removal; eliminate up to one-third of our
firefighters and close the Euclid fire station.
As presented, the Plan prepares for the 24% reduction in the City's General Fund operating
budget by outlining the probable Maintenance and Operation, Personnel, and corresponding
service reductions that would be effectuated by all City departments after the fiscal year 2017
sunset (September, 2016). At the time of the report, Personnel accounted for 78% of the City's
General Fund budget. In order to achieve the necessary level of reduction, most departments
projected the majority of the reduction would come in the form of reductions in personnel,
totaling 22.3% of the total projected reductions. In terms of people, that 22.3% reduction
represents 30.65% of the City's workforce and a loss of 109 employees. Because services are
delivered primarily by people, reductions of this magnitude result in significant reductions in
service including a further reduction in Library hours, senior and youth recreational
programming; elimination of the graffiti removal program; and further reductions in fire and
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Staff Report — Update of actions taken related to the City of National City Three Year Operating
Plan for the period Fiscal Years 2015 through 2017
October 7, 2014
police sworn safety personnel. Without an extension of Proposition D National City plans to
eliminate police, firefighters and medical paramedics, increasing 9-1-1 emergency response
times.
Following the example of the City Council in striving for transparency and in seeking public
input in matters that impact the quality of life for National City residents, a concerted effort has
been made throughout calendar year 2014 to share information related to the Three Year
Operating Plan with the community and to seek feedback. The purpose of this report is to
provide an update on these efforts.
DISCUSSION
Outreach
To date, there have been twenty presentations to local civic and business groups, the City's
Boards and Commissions and the San Diego County Taxpayers Association. At each
presentation, the audience is provided with a history of National City's finances consistent with
the background provided during the introduction of the Three Year Operating Plan. From there,
an explanation of Proposition D is provided, explaining that all revenues from this transaction
and use tax remain local; and a review of the projected impacts of the loss of said revenue is
shared. At all sessions, feedback is encouraged. Comments and questions have been encouraged
at each session as well as the completion of an available Community Feedback Survey, available
both in paper form and electronically, with a link to the electronic version posted on the City's
website.
The Community Feedback Survey is intended to gage how residents and businesses rank or
prioritize City services. The key to encouraging feedback is designing an instrument that is
straightforward and concise. In this case, respondents were asked to rank the importance of some
of the existing services that have the most impact on the community. Categories include facets of
fire and police safety, street repair, library services and fiscal stability (instrument attached).
Through September 23, 2014, the City received 55 completed surveys. Of the eight areas
measured, all were identified as most important by one or more respondents, with some
respondents ranking multiple services as most important. Overall, the prevention of further
reductions in the number of police officers, and the prevention of cuts to fire protection services
and firefighters received the highest number of "ones", with one (1) representing the highest
importance, at 45.1%
Page 3
Staff Report — Update of actions taken related to the City of National City Three Year Operating
Plan for the period Fiscal Years 2015 through 2017
October 7, 2014
Summary of numeric responses (March 10, 2014 — September 22, 2014
Issue
1
(most important)
8
(least important)
Prevention of further reductions in the number of
police officers
45.1%
7.84%
Prevention of cuts to fire protection services and
firefighters
45.1%
5.88%
Prevention of reduction of 9-1-1 emergency response
services and 9-1-1 dispatchers
39.22%
5.88%
Maintaining the City's financial stability
31.37%
5.88%
The prevention of the closing of the Euclid Fire
Station #31
25.49%
19.61%
Preventing cuts to library programs
21.57%
13.73%
Preventing cuts to gang and drug prevention programs
19.61%
9.80%
Repairing streets
17.65%
35.29%
Repairing streets
Preventing cuts to gang and drug prevention
programs
Preventing cuts to library programs
The prevention of the closing of the Euclid Fire
Station #31
Maintaining the City's financial stability
Prevention of reduction of 9-1-1 emergency response
services and 9-1-1 dispatchers
Prevention of cuts to fire protection services and
firefighters
Prevention of further reductions in the number of
police officers
• 8 (least important) • 1 (most important)
As noted above, public safety services remain a high priority in National City. With the Fire and
Police Departments accounting for 71 % of General Fund operating expenses, maintenance of
these services at the current levels will be virtually impossible absent the one cent transaction
and use tax.
This survey instrument remains active and the City will continue to collect and analyze the data.
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Staff Report — Update of actions taken related to the City of National City Three Year Operating
Plan for the period Fiscal Years 2015 through 2017
October 7, 2014
Next Steps
On August 5, 2014, the City Council voted unanimously to place a measure on the November,
2014 ballot for the continuation of the current one cent transaction and use tax. Should the
transaction and use tax not be extended, staff will return to the City Council in early Spring,
2015 with a preliminary action plan to carry out the reductions in workforce and service levels as
identified in the Three Year Operating Plan.
RECOMMENDATION
Accept and file this report.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no direct fiscal impact associated with this informational item.
Attachment: Community Feedback Survey