Finance Highlights 2009 0421 - Laserfiche WebLink

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parking citations by $5 to comply with SB 1407 for State Court Facilities Construction fund which went into effect on January 1, 2009; Public Works will increase the berth rates and connection fees by the CPI as well as add a new boat launch fee; and Recreation and Human Services have streamlined their charging for facilities to Base Rate for San Leandro residents, Base Rate + 50% to non-residents and San Leandro business, and Base Rate + 75% for non San Leandro businesses. No changes will be made to Library rates. Mayor Santos asked how much revenue was raised by the Farrelly pool. Recreation and Human Services Director Knudtson stated that Farrelly raised $70,000 in revenue however the City spends $180,000 to maintain. Public Works Director Bakaldin stated that although it is being recommended to suspend swimming activities at Farrelly for fiscal year 2009-10, there will be a cost to maintain the pool of approximately $20,000. Knudtson stated that the Aquatic Center has a cost recovery of approximately 60%. Mayor Santos asked staff to look into a partnership with the San Leandro Unified School District to utilize the pool at San Leandro High School. Committee Recommendation Committee recommended taking to Council for approval. 2. Review of 2008-09 General Fund Revenue and Expenditures Interim Finance Director Carter provided a summary of the analyst of major revenue and expenditure accounts for the General Fund as of March 31, 2009. Carter stated that the three major revenues: Sales Tax, Property Tax, and Utility Users' Tax, have all taken a downturn. Based on information received from the City's Sales Tax consultant, Sales Tax revenue was less then anticipated and therefore staff will be reducing the projected 2008-09 sales tax revenue by an additional $800,000 bringing the new estimate to $19.3 million. Carter stated that Property Tax has also shown a downturn and therefore staff will be reducing the budget by an additional $200,000 bringing the estimate amount to $16.8 million. Utility User Tax (UUT) has started to show a decline in February of this year and therefore staff will be reducing the overall revenue estimate by $200,000 to $10.3 million. Carter advised the Committee that there will be difficulty maintaining the $5 million in reserves. Councilmember Prola asked why the UUT would go down. Carter stated that staff had anticipated an increase of $200,000 of UUT revenue and budgeted accordingly. Carter stated that unfortunately trend is not following suit and therefore we must reduce the budget. Councilmember Gregory asked if staff was able to forecast if the addition to the telecommunication portion of the UUT Ordinance would aid in anyway. Carter advised that it was too early to tell. Carter advised the Committee that all departments have worked extremely hard in reducing their expenditures. Savings are developing in several categories, e.g. salaries and benefits, which is due to the freeze on hiring. Mayor Santos verified that fiscal year 2009-10 budget will begin at $6.2 million deficit. Carter stated that according to our Sales Tax Consultant, revenue in this category may decrease by another $1.29 million, reducing the $6.2 million by that amount. Community Development Director Sims verified that in a couple of years, sales tax revenue has decreased from $25 million to $19 million. Hollister advised the Committee that Public Safety may be asked to reduced their budgets as other departments have already reduced their budget significantly. Councilmember Gregory inquired about the Golden Handshake offered to designated classifications and if there 2