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Home My WebLink About02/04/1997, 4 - CONTINUED CONSIDERATION OF COUNCIL GOAL-SETTING FOR 1997-99 (ONLY IF NEEDED) council M�t:;2- 2_4_97 agenda Repout C I T Y OF SAN L U IS O B I S P O FROM: Bill Statler, Director of Finance VS - SUBJECT: CONTINUED CONSIDERATION OF COUNCIL GOAL-SETTING FOR 1997-99 (ONLY IF NEEDED) CAO RECOMMENDATION If needed continue consideration of goals for 1997-99 from the February 1 budget workshop. DISCUSSION Council consideration and prioritization.of goals for 1997-99 has been scheduled for an all-day budget workshop on Saturday, February 1. While we hope that this step in the 1997-99 Financial Plan process will be completed at the February 1 budget workshop, this item has been conditionally scheduled in the event that additional time is required to complete this process. H:ContCouncilGods MEETING AGENDA DATE9 7 ITEM # COUNCIL CDD DIR MEMORADUM m'cao e�'FlN DIR eACAO M FIRE CHIEF e'ATTORNEY �W DIR February 3, 1997 @1CLERfGORIG POLICE CHF ❑ MGMT TEAM eREC DIR TO: City Council ❑ C R D FILE e L DIR 1 O PERS D] IR John SUBJECT: City raming of Choices" for Budget Preparation Last Saturday the primary task of the City Council was to formulate Council goals for the forthcoming two-year period. An ancillary purpose was to look carefully at the longer- term revenue and expenditure projections, to determine the fiscal outlook and to make some preliminary choices between protection of existing services, adequacy of facility and infrastructure maintenance, prudent reserves for emergencies, and revenue need/possibilities. In doing this task, the Council gave the staff guidelines on budget preparation, to reflect the balance the Council is seeking. What I gleaned from this discussion would be the following guidelines: 1. Prepare a Balanced Budged A balanced budget is essential. 2. Retain Present Service Levels While we should projected our basic service levels, we should continue to question the"status quo"—Are there ways to deliver services more economically? Are there some services that can be provided by others or"shed"? 3. CIP of Approximately $1.9 Million The Council indicated that $1.9 million rather than $1.4 million would be a more realistic CIP budget to prevent deterioration of existing facilities and infrastructure. The Council indicated a preference for proper protection of what we have, before building new facilities. 4. Need for New Revenues Based on need, we should be open to new revenues, though decisions in this area should be deferred to a subsequent, more detailed look at the budget. There was a strong distinction made between fees which are within the Council's authority to raise, versus Proposition 218 requirements for new or increased taxes, which must be approved by the voters at a Council election. 9- 61 L ' ttb J I� CITY CLERK SAN LUIS OBio;:O,CA 5. Possible Temporary Reduction of Reserve or CIP A"temporary" source of funds might be a reduced CIP or a lower reserve amount, but this would only work if there was a definite longer plan for replacement revenues. It would be appreciated, to provide guidance to the staff as we start the next stage in the budget preparation process, that you endorse the above, or change it to more accurately reflect the desired balance the Council would like to see in the City's budget. Thank you. MEETING AGENDA ,cf • DATES ITEM # 2230 Exposition Drive No.30 San Luis Obispo,California 93401 February 2, 1997 COUNCIL Ef CDD DIR eCAO I21/FIN DIR Honorable Mayor and City Council e(ACAO O� FIRE CHIEF City of san Luis Obispo �ATrORNEY CR/PW DIR 990 Palm Street d(CLERK/OFttc3 POLICE CHF San LUis Obispo, California 93401 G MOW TEAM rY JPEC DIR D r,READ FILE ce u-nL DIR Re: Goals for the next two years �. PERS DIR Dear Mr. Mayor and Council Members: Thank you for seeking the opinions of residents such as myself about the city's immediate goals for the next two years. Most of you are aware that I am a land use planner for the County of San Luis Obispo,and that I have been an active participant in the city during my twenty years here. My suggestions are brief but admittedly have complex side-issues: Goal 4. Street Improvements. We residents of course are noticing the daily influx of traffic. As the city continues to encourage jobs while limiting housing, current traffic problems will just compound, as pointed out in the 1994 Land Use Element EIR. ' Maintenance is necessary soon on those potholes everyone knows and loves. But,we need to shed the car-oriented approach to the city's development that accompanies so much thinking about growth. This goal should be subordinate to Goal 10. Goal 5. Youth Recreation. Only the current budgeted amount should be used for more ballfields. Ballfields contribute only a small part to the development of our youth, and other programs and facilties should receive funding. I support neighborhood recreation centers with games,refreshments,computer access and video showings,staffed by"fun experts." The underused Meadow Park center in my neighborhood speaks volumes about current priorities and the potential for improvements. If centralized ballfields are desirable,why not consider part of Laguna Lake Park,which is in the center of the city? This goal should be subordinate to Goal S. Goal 6. Madonna Plaza/Central Coast Mall. I agree with the recent support for focusing on the existing shopping centers to develop large stores. During the 1994 General Plan hearings,I offered a list of steps to reward owners in these shopping centers for intensifying their land use. The city must fund an offer to assist the owners in redesigning, conducting market and attraction studies and subsidizing parking structures. The city should also invest in re-developing retail properties in the downtown as well, and use the Downtown Concept Plan to attract new development there. ASG rM0 .r CITY CLERK SAN LUIS OBISPO,CA � a Jim Lopes 2 Goal 10. Maintain Transit. Why not strive to increase transit usage at or more than the rate of traffic growth? Why not become famous for a first-rate bus system, with convenient 15-minute service and comfortable buses? If the city makes bus travel easy and fun,rather than a burden, we and our visitors could make fewer car trips. Why not provide sheltered bus stops, and orient more intensive new development around them, rather than locating them off to the side of projects? Funding may be a problem now,but ISTEA and other sources could create more funding. Additional Needs: Please consider these more detailed needs in your upcoming budget review: 1. City gateways and signs. The entries to San Luis Obispo from the highways,the airport and train station should receive specific attention as to the details of signs,to improving the appearance of current uses and to designing concepts for potential uses. In particular,the city has an existing sign program from the 1970s that sadly is being eroded The old Spanish lettering,and wood and other materials from Mission Plaza such as ceramic tile, flagstone, timbers, etc. would be consistent with those features that put the city"on the map" in the 1980s. Certainly they would be preferrable to gray concrete or suburban-style stucco monument signs. Some of these materials were utilized successfully nearby at the Bassi Ranch subdivision on Ontario Road Each entry from Highway 101 should at least have signing like our famous wooden ones. 2. Broad Street corridor. The city agreed to have Caltrans widen Broad Street long ago, and some of us remember being reassured that utilities would be undergrounded later,and a landscaped median would also come later since funding was not available then. Time is overdue for both of these major improvements, since the trees along Broad have grown taller than the utility wires,and traffic has reached snarling proportions and dangerous speeds. 3. Property appearance. Landscaping in commercial development has suffered due to the recession,and probably also to the thin margin left to businesses in the local real estate market. If the city wishes to require landscaping with conditions that it be maintained,then perhaps it should fund a subsidy for restoring those more critical plantings that have deteriorated Also,the city could accelerate its street tree planting to create the canopies we are famous for. Some areas, such as south of Railroad Square along the railroad, could get funding for a specific landscape project 4. Highway 101 noise. Sound walls are long overdue in such areas as along the Brizzolara Street corridor, between Marsh and Broad Streets. Attractive walls have been built by the local Caltrans district in Santa Barbara that might work here. City funding is probably necessary to match state funds, in order to make this important project come alive. Any mitigation would help,however, if some object to "walling off' the city,then the taller concrete dividers would lower noise significantly if used at the sides of the highway. Jiro Lopes 3 In general,-..it would be preferable to fix the nagging "little" probiems'rather than putting ail of the city's discretionary.generai fund resources into a major new facility.siich ds the sports complex. Sincerely; es Lopes f w council 97-- j acEnaa Repout CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO FROM: John Dunn, City Administrative OfficvK Prepared By: Bill Statler,Director of Finance SUBJECT: COUNCIL GOALS AND GENERAL BUDGET PREPARATION FRAMEWORK FOR 1997-9 COUNC a-- N, CDD D1R CAO RECOMMENDATION r�Fln►b1R' � EyFIRE�'�IIE T1 1NEY 94PI ibW1E Approve Council goals and general budget preparation framework for 1997-99. G Q$bLWQ DISCUSSION �dl=RE F4u� �.dd p�P Council GoalIV s ff: r _ / Attached is a finalized version of the goals set by the Council for 1997-99 at the February 1 budget workshop. Based on the results of the Council's weighting, these have been organized into the following three priority categories: ■ Major city goals. These are the most important, highest priority goals for the City to achieve over the next two years, and accordingly, the resources to accomplish them should be included in the 1997-99 Financial Plan. If the work program approved by the Council is not included in the Preliminary Financial Plan prepared by the CAO, compelling reasons and justification must be provided as to why resources could not be made available to achieve this goal. ■ Other important goals. Goals in this category are important for the City to accomplish, and resources should be made available in the 1997-99 Financial Plan if at all possible. ■ Address as resources permit. While it is desirable to achieve these goals over the next two years, doing so is subject to resource availability. We plan to present detailed work programs to the Council on April 8 which will link each of these goal statements with the action plans and the resources needed to achieve the objective. The purpose of these work programs is to: ■ Define and scope the work program: what specifically will be accomplished, when it will be accomplished, and by who. Ensure that there is a clear understanding of the goal so progress can be measured in achieving it. Each work program will include the following information: Council Agenda Report-Council Goals and General Budget Preparation Framework Page 2 ■ Objective(as stated by the Council in their goals). ■ Background-actions that have already taken place. ■ Issues we will face in achieving the goal. ■ Action plan-specific tasks and schedule. ■ Responsible department. ® Financial and staff resources required to achieve the goal. ■ Outcome-why this goal is important. While these goals set the direction for the staff's budget preparation efforts over the next three months, they will not be"final"until the Council adopts the 1997-99 Financial Plan. Budget Framework Attached is a memorandum from the CAO summarizing the general budget preparation framework agreed upon by the Council at the February 1 workshop. SUMMARY We have achieved an excellent start to the 1997-99 Financial Plan process. It is important to stress, however, that this is the beginning of the City's budget process, not the end -- and that a great deal of work remains in developing the Preliminary Financial Plan(which should be issued in early May) and in holding the extensive budget workshops and public hearings that will follow, before the budget is adopted by the Council in June of 1997. ATTACHMENTS ® Council goals for 1997-99 ® General budget preparation framework G:Budget97.Goals.GoalsAgendaRepoitFeb4 W') to kn Zt lqt %n M 'CF M W) in ct v� v tt It qct M 'ct N t/1 V1 try V1 � V1 � M 'fit V1 V'1 � v'f M I�t Itt N h Ict c/'> M M N all v� ct ct M qz, N ct N w X. 0 L O d N .b Y Y 0 ❑ Q a abi a s 3 0 :w o N ai y a a� a U a cc a P' me.NX Cd .Q .. a H U C g cd 4 cd y ❑y" •> U O v� cd a .d Q ed t o aai o c o. c°3 a+ ❑ cr as t- 42 r—L Cd a cc C2 3 o -o cv a� .� d w ° w ❑ >, C'sO �. tb �. ... U U O N � me ud •r+ U w+ CS rh IZ c44 ? Sao b cd IL Cd ,w q rn a O V y C v N O cd O �� :OCL U 3 -d Cd • V o U a c T 3 �' o y �' o n a a a00 cr .a iC c0 U U 0 N y v 3 � aaQ yU cUQ oc� v P t. >>' 00 O en en re) •� v'1 IRt h M O i >d tl m ti M h N 0 CA) V7 to Vtn O M O O a m i r Gt �a y i i U y N O O p N Y 4'• rA a a p C) U O cd i tia U AU O rn p >> a CKI Cd ti C7 tl/ �UU++ •4 O y cw as C14 z ' �Li O. Cb O a 'p Y '� .-• y0 tl 0 CN p 40, � a aai a 0y ou .o U w i s a p �� :�I�'l •,O Ly O U y a Y O a 0 c ani - a a°� ° ,~°�, a y rA OIL `d 3 o ami = 3 'b p pV 'b b U a 'ti ci a yo IL c2 F. U y p ed o w O U /co io p y c� d a N^ L� .' 1�JA' p •� $ J7 cd a O r7 m a) 14) a w b y '} 0 b y O 00 U ON0 MEMORANDUM February 3, 1997 TO: City Council FROM: John SUBJECT: City Council "Framing of Choices" for Budget Preparation Last Saturday the primary task of the City Council was to formulate Council goals for the forthcoming two-year period. An ancillary purpose was to look carefully at the longer- term revenue and expenditure projections, to determine the fiscal outlook and to make some preliminary choices between protection of existing services, adequacy of facility and infrastructure maintenance, prudent reserves for emergencies, and revenue need/possibilities. In doing this task, the Council gave the staff guidelines on budget preparation, to reflect the balance the Council is seeking. What I gleaned from this discussion would be the following guidelines: 1. Prepare a Balanced Budget A balanced budget is essential. 2. Retain Present Service Levels While we should protect our basic service levels, we should continue to question the"status quo" —Are there ways to deliver services more economically? Are there some services that can be provided by others or"shed"? 3. C1P of Approximately $1.9 Million The Council indicated that $1.9 million rather than $1.4 million would be a more realistic CIP budget to prevent deterioration of existing facilities and infrastructure. The Council indicated a preference for proper protection of what we have, before building new facilities. 4. Need for New Revenues Based on need, we should be open to new revenues, though decisions in this area should be deferred to a subsequent, more detailed look at the budget. There was a strong distinction made between fees which are within the Council's authority to raise, versus Proposition 218 requirements for new or increased taxes, which must be approved by the voters at a Council election. �`d i . 5. Possible Temporary Reduction of Reserve or CIP A"temporary" source of funds might be a reduced CIP or a lower reserve amount, but this would only work if there was a definite longer plan for replacement revenues. It would be appreciated, to provide guidance to the staff as we start the next stage in the budget preparation process, that you endorse the above, or change it to more accurately reflect the desired balance the Council would like to see in the City's budget. Thank you. y r/