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File Number: 21-005 <br />Council action. <br />·The City Council directed staff to create various programs to support San Leandro <br />residents and business to reduce the combined health, social, and economic impacts of <br />the COVID-19 pandemic. At the December 14th meeting, the City Council requested staff <br />to further evaluate the needs of the residents and businesses and make recommendations <br />to provide additional support to them. Staff proposes to use $400,000 from the General <br />Fund reserve to help eligible businesses that are negatively impacted by the pandemic. <br />This action will be presented to the City Council at the January 19th meeting in a <br />companion report presented by the Community Development Department. If approved by <br />the Council, it will increase the General Fund budget. <br />Financial Updates to Be Considered for the Upcoming Mid-year Budget Review <br />The key financial data below will be reviewed and analyzed together with other financial <br />information as part of the mid-year budget review. <br />·Allocation of $1.1 million CARES Act funds from the California Department of Finance <br />(DOF) for expenditures related to responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The DOF <br />approved the City’s funding application in July 2020. This allocation will increase the <br />City’s General Fund revenue. <br />·Measure VV was approved by the San Leandro voters in November 2020. This measure <br />authorized an increase to the real property transfer tax rate from $6 per thousand dollars in <br />assessed valuation to $11 per thousand dollars in valuation, and which is forecasted to <br />generate approximately $4.0 million in new annual General Fund revenue beginning in the <br />latter half of Fiscal Year 2020-21. Approximately $2.0 million is expected to be generated <br />in the current Fiscal Year. <br />·Sales tax is the City’s major revenue source. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, <br />conservative estimates were included in the amended budget and sales tax revenue was <br />projected at $39.0 million. At the time, a 13% decrease from the $44.6 million sales tax <br />revenue that was previously adopted in 2019 was anticipated. Based on an update <br />provided by the City’s sales tax consultant, the decline is expected to be lower than <br />previously projected for San Leandro and other cities in general partly due to increased <br />online transactions. The decline is anticipated be around 4% for the City assuming the <br />recession will not be prolonged. <br />However, the City needs to be mindful about the new shelter-in-place orders imposed <br />during the holidays. If the holiday sales are lower than expected, the City’s portion of sales <br />tax will also be impacted. The actual sales tax data from the State will not be available <br />until March 2021. As part of the mid-year budget review, staff will be analyzing the sales <br />tax revenue closely taking into account updated economic data that is available at that <br />time. <br />·Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many recreation and library programs have not reopened <br />or are operating at a different scale. Revenues and expenditures associated with these <br />programs will need to be revised to reflect projected activities. <br />Page 4 City of San Leandro Printed on 1/14/2021 <br />51