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Council Reviews Budget Cuts to Address $1.9 Million Shortfall

Council Reviews Budget Cuts to Address $1.9 Million Shortfall

Community Reports@ EPA.net Originally posted 6/17/05 - new version posted 6/19/05 Council Reviews Budget Cuts to Address $1.9 Million Shortfall Report on the June 8th City Council budget study session Public can comment on some proposed departmental budgets at final session this Tuesday, June 21st By Dennis J. Parker Community Advocate The City of East Palo Alto budget study session held on Wednesday, June 8th 2005 was a continuation of one held on June 1st. East department of the city government is being evaluated separately to discuss what adjustments can be made in the face of a $1.9 million shortfall. The Police Department was taken out of sequence and discussed on June 1st due to heightened interest related to the recent spike in crime. First, the Bad News It is still difficult for the public to get information about budget planning. The notification is sparse, and the supporting documents are often not available. The basic handout is much improved from earlier years, and now includes pie charts and photographs. But much of the important information was presented by hardly-readable PowerPoint projections and overhead slides of spreadsheets. City Council members were given copies, but not the public. For these reasons, my report will contain mostly general impressions rather than details. The traditional configuration of the council chambers and the two-minute limit does not lend itself to much dialog and community feedback. This ended up being a non-issue, because few members of the community took time to attend this important meeting. Now the Good News The City Council is committed to dedicating more funds to the Police Department. The Council also understands that it must be careful in reducing the budget in other departments so that essential services are not eliminated or reduced to an unacceptable level. The Council showed a willingness to explore creative solutions. Departmental presentations ran long, because each department made pleas as to why their services should continue to receive financial support. Perhaps the most interesting report was from Meda Okelo, on the Community Services department. Mr. Okelo considers Community Services programs and skill teaching as the preventive arm of public safety. Yet the department is cutting expenses, mainly through headcount, from 11.4 FTE (full time equivalent) employees in 2004-2005, to 3.4 FTE people in 2005-2006. This includes the loss of the full-time office manager. Rather than being a direct service provider, the department would become an indirect service provider almost exclusively. Sports programs and other summer activities would be cut.* Critical to public safety are the basketball and volleyball programs that keep 25-30 young people off the streets on a daily basis. Council Member Pete Evans wants to see some balance—“Don’t throw bullets at everything.” He is asking for people to look for alternate ways to retain recreational activities. There are programs in the schools, and others are self-financing, where parents pay signup fees. Council Member Pat Foster is concerned about how the City will provide services beyond recreation, for example, homelessness. And what emotional counseling is available to victims of shootings? Public programs need to pick up kids that cannot afford to pay for private programs. As the state and county budget situation worsens, more parolees will be released (perhaps 125,000 statewide), and East Palo Alto absorbs a disproportionate number. Ms Forster felt that a human needs assessment is needed. Council Member Rutherford asked if churches could do some programs in their social halls (“they sit empty [nearly] every day”). A representative of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) expressed concern for the approximately 18 positions being eliminated-- “What is the impact on the public? How will the work be done?” The ratio of supervisory versus direct labor positions was also questioned. The situation is complicated, since some positions have been vacant for two years, and others are filled by temporary employees. Also, seasonal positions are not part of the SEIU agreement. An information request to the City has not yet been answered. The Planning Department continues to be busy in the face of a budget reduction. They are raising revenues and are looking for other funding sources. The number of development applications has doubled or tripled. They are in reactive mode regarding both current and advanced planning. Among other things, budget reductions could slow down progress in studying the issue of garage conversions. Planning Department director Maria Banico is guided by the old saying, “When the blanket is short, learn to curl up.” A proposal to raise fees will be presented soon, mostly to cover the increased cost-of-living of employees. A member of the public said that planning should be the number one project, not permits. More thought should be given to what the city will look like in future years. The Building Services Department is being strengthened by Chris Gale, the City's Building Official. There are now three permanent positions in this department that has been criticized for being staffed by nothing but contractors. This department is concerned about kids being on the street because they are embarrassed by the housing conditions in which they live. Code Enforcement officers are sensitive to this, but the department is subject to lose one Code Enforcement officer. Much was said about blight and unhealthy conditions, including fire and life safety issues. Furthermore, about 37 percent of East Palo Alto properties are in a flood zone, which brings in Federal regulations. Many code enforcement examples were shown, including rotted-out structures, and substandard foundations. The City Council hopes to make their final decision on the budget at their regular meeting this Tuesday, June 21st. A public hearing is on the agenda for the June 21st Council meeting. The community can comment at the hearing on some of the departmental budgets to be reviewed that night, including Public Works, Human Resources and Redevelopment . The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers. Click to see the full agenda for the meeting. * The possibility of no summer youth programs also seems to involve a lack of facilities not just cuts, as the Bell Street Gym is slated to be demolished to make way for construction of the new YMCA facility. City staff is investigating prospects for alternative locations to accommodate recreation programs on a collaborative basis with the Ravenswood School District. EDITOR'S NOTE: Several editing errors were made in an earlier modified version of this article that have been corrected now with the posting of the original version. It was stated in error that the public was not given copies of budget handouts at the June 8th meeting. In fact they were given budget handouts but not supplementary documents. EPA.net apologizes for this editorial error. Views expressed in bylined EPA.net articles are always those of the author not EPA.net or Plugged In.

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