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IL Minutes - San Leandro City Council Meeting - March 15, 1993 Page - 18 - NEW BUSINESS (continued) Mayor Karp said for some time the City has had a hiring freeze and has kept within its budget by holding the line on spending. He said the Police, public employees, and the management group have agreed to holding wages for one year and all working with the City on the second year. He congratulated the employees for rolling up their sleeves and doing work they are not normally required to do. Mike Oliver said the matter before the City Council was a request for them to adopt the 1993-94 Budget Strategies. He said staff needed direction on how to prepare the 1993-94 Budget. He said, without that guidance and adoption of the Strategies, it would not be possible to prepare a Budget. He said it was important for staff to have direction because the proposals required restructuring of the organization. He said the City has had a history of prudent and sound financial management, low debt, and a pay-as-you-go philosophy. He said in 1989 the recession began to affect San Leandro, and the City Council approved a Refocus Program which included a 5% reduction, elimination of positions, and reductions in Reserves and Capital Improvements. He said the recession was supposed to end in 1991 , but it is still not over and will not be for some time. He said, when City income declined in 1990, an assessment district for $1 .6 million to the General Fund was proposed but was not successful . He said the Alternative Budget established a salary freeze, benefits reduction, reduction of Reserves and Capital Improvements, and a one-time use of Reserves. He said, at that time, it was not known the State would take $1 .2 million in Property Taxes and there would be a $1-million decline in Sales Taxes. He said the City had to use $1 .6 million of the $2 million Reserves and now has a $400,000 Reserve, which is good for four days of operation of the City. He said, with the continuing State crisis, the weak economy, and the lack of growth in new revenue sources, something had to be done. He said the public was brought into the budget process in a way never done before. He said a Task Force of 51 people, representing a broad spectrum of the community, was appointed and worked on three major areas -- revenue, services, and development of the Disaster Preparedness Program. He described the initial meetings of the Task Force, the hundreds of pages of information, and presented questions asked and meetings held by the Task Force. He said, following the Sub- Committee work, the Task Force reconvened as one group, discussed the recommendations, debated and built consensus, and adopted recommendations which were presented to the City Council . He said the Task Force recommended significant new increases in fees and cuts to service to build a strong financial base.