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REVIEW AND DISCUSS STRONG COMMUNITIES PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023-24
recommended action
Information item only.
Presented to the Strong Communities Advisory Committee is the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Proposed Annual Budget for the use of Measure M - Strong Communities proceeds.
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The FY 2023-24 Proposed Annual Budget was released to the City Council and public on May 15, 2023, and two study sessions to review the budget will be held on June 7 and 8, 2023. The Strong Communities portion of the budget, on pages G-10 and G-11 of Attachment A, is being presented for the Committee’s information.
Total proposed FY 2023-24 tax revenues are $14,852,687 which is less than a 1.8% decrease from the FY 2022-23 revenue projection of $15,120,052.
Total proposed budgeted expenditures are $25,754,476, which includes $14,541,000 in capital improvement funding for the following projects:
• Aquatics Facilities (Oak Park) renovation and replacement project - $1,250,000
• Aquatics Renovation (Victory Park Pool) - $2,000,000
• Cesar Chavez Library Remodel - $10,241,000
• Maya Angelou Library Carpet Replacement - $300,000
• Community Center Install PA systems - $750,000
The FY 2023-24 Proposed Annual Budget includes $5.9 million for Recreation programs, $3.9 million for Library programs, $1.2 million for administration expenses, and $300,000 for State tax collection fees and audit costs. Of the total FY 2023-24 Strong Communities proposed expenditure budget, approximately $6 million is for part-time and full-time salary and benefit costs.
Maintenance of Effort
Section 19 of the enacting ordinance for Strong Communities includes the following Maintenance of Effort provisions:
A. “The City shall not use the proceeds of this tax to replace general fund revenues used for local library and recreation services. Following passage of this ordinance, absent a condition of economic downturn, the City shall commit general fund revenue to local library and recreation services in an amount no less than the amount committed for the 2014/2015 fiscal year. For purposes of this requirement alone, a reduction in general fund revenue budgeted for local library and recreation services below the 2014/2015 fiscal year level in response to an economic downturn shall be acceptable so long as the reduction in a given year is proportional to the reduction in City general fund revenues.
B. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Ordinance, the City may reduce its general fund commitment to the golf program at any time, but the City may not use the proceeds of this tax to back-fill for any such reduction.”
The FY 2014-15 Adopted Budget included General Fund transfers to the Library Fund of $4,250,000 and to the Recreation Fund of $2,950,000. The transfers were amended by Council action to fund additional activities in support of Council strategic priorities from one-time dollars. As shown in Attachment B, the final transfer amount in FY 2014-15 for Library was $4,275,000 (page G-11) and Recreation services was $3,105,000 (page G-17) for a total of $7,380,000. FY 2023-24 General Fund transfers to Library and Recreation total $7,401,592, an increase of $21,592. The MOE calculation is impacted by a structural change in the FY 20223-24 Annual Budget. To improve organizational alignment, Special Events functions transitioned operationally from Community Services Department (CSD) to the Economic Development Department (EDD) on November 1, 2022. The fiscal transition will be effective on July 1, 2023, and includes the transfer of General Fund dollars for the operation of Pixie Woods, the Civic Auditorium, other City events and City Facilities, as well as the events staff. Salaries and Benefits transitioned to EDD for Special Events for FY 2023-24 totaled $469,897. In total, expenses of $1,453,639 are proposed for Special Events functions in the Economic Development General Fund budget. As a result, the General Fund transfers were analyzed and adjusted to reflect this transition. The General Fund dollars are not being removed from the Special Events function but will no longer show as part of the General Fund support to the Recreation Fund.
In Attachment A, the Library transfer is shown on page G-13 and the Recreation transfer is shown on page G-15. The distribution of the total General Fund contribution has been adjusted to ensure the continued feasibility of the separate funds. The table below compares the FY 2014-15 General Fund transfers for Library and Recreation services to the FY 2023-24 Proposed Annual Budget.
|
|
FY2014-15 Amended Budget |
FY 2023-24 Proposed Budget |
|
Library Fund |
$4,275,000 |
$4,109,000 |
|
Recreation Fund |
$3,105,000 |
$3,292,592 |
|
Total |
$7,380,000 |
$7,401,592 |
Attachment A: FY 2023-24 Proposed Annual Budget - Community Services Section
Attachment B: FY 2017-18 Adopted Annual Budget - Community Services Section