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lVIINUTES City of San Leandro City Council and San Leandro Redevelopment Agency Joint Meeting-June 7, 2004 Page 16 Councilmember Nardine expressed concern regarding the program administrative costs. She pointed to the dramatic increase in payroll tax and suggested that costs will continue to grow as Shuttle ridership increases. Mr. J ermanis noted that staff will work \vith Mr. Galvan to look into reduction of staff support and other efficiency measures. Councihnember Grant asked about the increase in the contingency amount. Mr. J ermanis responded that the TMO Board wanted to have a two-month reserve for operating expenses. Councihnelnber Grant expressed appreciation for the research and responses by staff on the questions raised by Council at the last nleeting. She noted that she \vas one of those in favor of reviewing the program after a year and was glad to see the concept Inemorialized, as well as the efforts to reduce program costs. CouncilInember Grant expressed interest in ensuring that aggressive outreach and marketing activities are conducted. She suggested the Business Development Committee review the program's marketing plan quarterly. Councilmember Stephens asked if AC Transit serves the BID area. Mr. Jermanis responded that AC Transit serves the same general area but does not cover the same route or run at the level of frequency as does the LINKS Shuttle. Councilmember Stephens expressed concern that essentially government agencies are in competition with each other to provide transportation services over the same area. Mr. J ermanis noted that the LINKS Shuttle supplements AC Transit service to better meet the needs of the users. Councilnlenlber Stephens asked if staff would recommend continuing the Shuttle service under the current funding without establismnent of a BID. Mr. Jelmanis replied that business participation has always been an element of the LINKS proposal. When the program was conceived, it was expected that businesses would voluntarily contribute to the program. When the expectation was not realized, the City initiated the BID fonnation process. With 270/0 of the affected businesses protesting, the assumption is that there is adequate support for the BID. Councilmember Stephens asked why staff is recommending another protest vote in a year. Mr. J ermanis noted that enough questions were raised regarding the business con11nunity's support for the BID that staff felt it would validate the decision if another vote was taken after businesses had paid the assessment. Councilmember Stephens asked if staff \vould recommend continuing funding of the Shuttle program by some other mechanisnl if the business community did not support it. Mr. J ermanis replied that staff would not recommend continuation of the Shuttle without the BID, as funding through the Redevelopment Agency and grants alone would not be sufficient to support the program. Councilnlenlber Stephens asked if the City could use General Funds to support it. Mr. J ermanis noted that if the Council chose to use General Funds for the Shuttle, it would then need to decide what reductions from the City's budget would have to be made to