HomeMy WebLinkAboutC-1 Staff Report - Budget Workshop FY 1920FY 19/20 Budget Study Workshop
May 28, 2019
Page 1
BUDGET REVIEW WORKSHOP
C-1
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
VIA: SERGIO GONZALEZ, CITY MANAGER
FROM: TALIKA M. JOHNSON, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
DATE: MAY 28, 2019
SUBJECT: FISCAL YEAR 2019/20 CITY, AZUSA PUBLIC FINANCING AUTHORITY,
AND SUCCESSOR AGENCY PRELIMINARY OPERATING AND CAPITAL
IMPROVEMENT PLAN BUDGET REVIEW
BACKGROUND:
The City’s annual budget is an important policy document. It serves as an annual financial plan,
identifying the spending priorities for the organization. The budget is used to balance available
resources with community needs, as determined by the City Council. It also serves as a tool for
communicating the City’s financial strategies and for ensuring accountability.
The City’s operating budget is a plan for one specified fiscal year. The fiscal year for this budget
begins on July 1, 2019 and ends on June 30, 2020. Staff is presenting the preliminary draft
operating budget for Fiscal Year 2019/2020 (“FY 19/20”) to allow the City Council and
members of the public to review and provide input on the expenditure requests prior to the
budget being finalized.
BUDGET DEVELOPMENT:
Per the Azusa Municipal Code, the City Manager is responsible for the development of a
proposed budget for consideration by the City Council. The budget development process begins
in February with a mid-year update of the current year budget and the General Fund revenue
forecast, which establishes a general framework under which to develop budget guidelines for
the upcoming fiscal year.
The primary goals in developing the operating budget has been to ensure public safety, maintain
the City’s sizeable infrastructure, and to maintain core services to the community. In accordance
with the City’s adopted Budget Policy, the proposed budget was developed with the objectives
of: 1) providing for the delivery of quality services and products cost effectively; 2) providing
for an acceptable level of services and products to accommodate community expansion; ensuring
DIRECTION
PROVIDED
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Special Meeting
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the City is living within its means; and 3) providing reserves for unbudgeted needs that might
arise from time to time.
As part of the annual budget development process, the City Manager and Finance Director
collectively works with Departments and asks the following questions: 1) What are our revenue
sources?; 2) What are our necessary expenses?; 3) What are our priorities?; and 4) Do we need to
make cut-backs or can we afford to do more? The following fiscal policies are used to guide each
Department in the preparation of the Annual Operating Budget:
• Avoid using “one-time money” for ongoing operations.
• Budget decisions will be made as a whole in context, with no special requests considered
in isolation.
• The perception of funding actions, as well as the fiscal impact, will be considered before
expenditures are made.
• Make strategic use of volunteers, partnerships and collaborations, including with other
public agencies, to meet community needs and/or provide services.
• The Annual Operating Budget shall be prepared such that current revenues plus net
operating transfers will be sufficient to support current expenditures.
• Review options for consolidation of functions that reduce operational costs and improve
efficiency.
• Expenditures from all operating funds shall not exceed the budgeted appropriations (as
amended) for these funds.
• When capital projects are considered, all associated costs should be identified in order to
properly assess future financial impacts.
• Any necessary reduction in permanent positions will be accomplished first through
attrition and retirements, with layoffs used only as a last resort.
• Each enterprise fund should reflect the true cost of operation, including direct and
indirect costs of services provided by the General Fund.
• The use of reserves does not provide a viable solution to the revenue/expenditure gap.
• Once adopted, the annual budget should be amended only when urgency requires, and
then by identifying specific funding sources for these new priorities.
Each Department is provided its budget base by Finance to serve as the starting point for
preparing their proposed budgets. Establishing the base budget involves taking the budget (as
amended) from the previous year, reducing it for any one-time expenditures, and adjusting for
contractual obligations in accordance with established labor agreements and other long-term
contracts.
Departments review their base budget and prepare augmentation requests to fund current service
levels consistent with the fiscal policies referenced above and the Council’s adopted goals and
objectives for the coming year. Departmental budgets are then submitted to the City Manager for
review and individual meetings to discuss their budget requests for the coming fiscal year.
Requests for services above current operations, such as capital outlays, CIP, and personnel
changes, are made via supplemental requests and presented to the City Manager for
consideration after the budget has been balanced. Following these meetings a draft preliminary
budget is prepared. Once the draft preliminary budget is prepared, it is presented to the City
Council to solicit input and obtain further direction before the budget is finalized for adoption.
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May 28, 2019
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The proposed FY 19/20 budget is scheduled to be presented to the City Council for adoption on
June 17, 2019.
GENERAL FUND BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS:
Below are highlights from the Proposed FY 2019/20 General Fund Budget:
• Budget is structurally imbalanced with a projected shortfall of $2.3 million and includes:
• Includes proposed personnel changes of $104,295
• Includes capital outlay and CIP requests of $889,425
• Increased Fire Safety Services contract by 16% or $794,445
• Restructuring of the Recreation and Family Services, Library, and Public Works
Departments
Recreation and Family Services Department renamed Community
Resources Department
Community Resources absorbs Transit Operation (Non General Fund)
from Public Works and also absorbs Library Services
Public Works Department absorbed Parks Operations divisions from
Community Resources
• The uncommitted reserve fund balance is expected to increase to $9.9 million by the end
of FY 19/20.
DISCUSSION:
The General Fund is the primary revenue source and operating fund for most of the services
provided to the community, such as general government, public safety, economic development,
library services, and recreation and parks operations.
Five-Year General Fund Budget Forecast and Reserves Analysis
The General Fund currently has a $42.3 million operating budget. Over the next five years it’s
estimated the budget will grow to $48.6 million. While a budget surplus of $2.3 million is
anticipated in the current year due to one-time property sale proceeds, given the City’s current
revenue base, beginning in Fiscal Year 2019/20 and over the next five years, annual budget
deficits are projected ranging from $2.3 million to $3.3 million.
The City’s budget policy requires a balanced budget, meaning expenditures should not exceed
revenues. Deficit spending means the City must tap into reserves to bridge revenue shortfalls. In
addition to a budget policy, the City has a General Fund Reserve Policy which is used as a
benchmark tool to assess financial performance.
With the adoption of the FY 2018/19 budget, the City expanded its previous 15% reserve policy,
adding three new designated reserve categories to internally restricted funds in order to address
some of its long-term financial liabilities and potential areas of financial exposure, such as
claims expenses, aging infrastructure, and for rising retiree benefits. City Council authorization
is required for use of these reserves. In total, restricted reserves amount to $10.3 million for the
FY 2018/19 budget year and include the following four categories:
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1) Budget Stabilization and Catastrophic Event (15% of budget or $6.3 million)
2) Capital and Infrastructure Replacement ($1.5 million)
3) Insurance ($1.0 million)
4) Retiree Benefits ($1.5 million)
Beginning with the FY 2019/20 proposed budget, reserves are projected to be below the Reserve
target of $10.6 million by nearly $767,000 without measures being taken to increase revenues
and/or decrease costs. While proposed expenditures results in ending reserve balances being
slightly below the target, the General Fund currently has enough reserves on hand to absorb the
projected FY 19/20 deficit.
A summary of forecasted budget results and estimated reserve balances is provided on Table 1:
Table 1 - 5-Year Budget Forecast and Reserves Analysis
There are three options to address the forecasted budget deficits:
1) Use reserves to cover projected deficits
2) Make budget cuts by reducing services offered to the community
3) Enhance revenues, including consideration of extraordinary measure(s)
In order to maintain targeted reserve levels in accordance with the adopted policy, revenues will
need to be increased or service cuts will need to be considered for suture budget years.
Revenues and Transfers In
Taxes provide approximately 69% of General Fund revenues and consist of four major
categories:
1. Property Taxes – makes up 26.0% of the proposed revenues and is expected to increase
by $331K due to moderately higher home values and property sales as a result of housing
developments.
2. Sales Taxes – comprise 13.2% of the proposed revenues and is expected to decrease by
$59K due to one-time adjustments expected to be received in the current year.
3. Utility User Taxes – are 7.8% of proposed revenues and is expected to increase by $131K
due to forecasted increase in electric and water consumption.
Actual
FY 17-18
Revised
FY 18-19
ESTIMATE
FY 19-20
ESTIMATE
FY 20-21
ESTIMATE
FY 21-22
ESTIMATE
FY 22-23
ESTIMATE
FY 23-24
Total Revenues 42,208,830 44,653,924 44,264,093 42,702,543 45,153,801 45,605,339 46,061,393
Total Expenses 44,849,887 42,336,440 46,566,793 46,003,554 47,636,594 48,112,960 48,594,090
Operating Surplus or (Deficit)(2,641,057)$ 2,317,484$ (2,302,700)$ (3,301,011)$ (2,482,793)$ (2,507,621)$ (2,532,697)$
Beginning Available Reserves Balance 12,484,905 9,843,848 12,161,332 9,858,632 6,557,621 4,074,828 1,567,208
Ending Available Reserves Balance 9,843,848 12,161,332 9,858,632 6,557,621 4,074,828 1,567,208 (965,489)
Reserves Target 6,265,725 10,265,725 10,625,252 10,825,533 10,734,120 10,829,267 10,911,308
Above/(Below) Reserves Target 3,578,123 1,895,607 (766,620) (4,267,912) (6,659,292) (9,262,059) (11,876,797)
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4. Other Taxes – makes up 22.1% of proposed revenues and includes sources such as
transient occupancy taxes (TOT) and utility and landfill franchise fees. Revenues in this
category are expected to increase by $844K. The increase is primarily due to anticipated
increases of $517K in water and electric franchise and in-lieu fees, $150K in land
excavation taxes, $95K in landfill franchise fees, $40K in material recovery facilities
fees, and $35K in transient occupancy taxes.
Other revenue highlights for the proposed FY 19/20 budget include:
• Miscellaneous revenues are expected to decrease by nearly $2.6 million due to the
removal of one-time property sale proceeds of $2.7 million in the current year.
• Charges for services are expected to increase by $593K due to $507K in higher
administrative cost allocations as a result of increased costs in the General Fund as a
result of activities later discussed in the Expenditure section of this report and an
anticipated increase of $60K for rental housing inspection activities.
• Money and property use revenues are expected to increase by $220K as a result of higher
interest earnings from increased interest rates and cash balances and expected rental
income for the newly owned Promenade property.
• Licenses and permits are expected to increase by $160K due to the addition of General
Plan fees and anticipated increases in business and vehicle license fees.
As a result of the above, FY 19/20 revenues and transfer in of $44.3 million are projected to be
lower than the current FY 18/19 revised budget by $390K or 0.9%. For more detail on the
sources of General Fund revenues, see Table 2 below.
Table 2 – General Fund Revenues
Expenditures and Transfers Out
Revenue Source
Fiscal Year 18/19
Revised Budget
FY 2019/20
Proposed
Budget $ Change % Change
% of FY
18/19
Budget
Property Tax 11,123,805$ 11,455,002$ 331,197$ 3.0%26.0%
Sales Tax 5,887,645 5,829,104 (58,541) -1.0%13.2%
Utility User Tax 3,327,870 3,458,945 131,076 3.9%7.8%
Other Taxes 8,930,385 9,774,549 844,164 9.5%22.1%
License & Permit 3,058,635 3,218,980 160,345 5.2%7.3%
Fines & Penalties 1,302,925 1,247,425 (55,500) -4.3%2.8%
Money & Property Use 2,055,200 2,275,390 220,190 10.7%5.1%
Cost Reimbursements 692,945 697,793 4,848 0.7%1.6%
Charges for Services 3,832,184 4,424,815 592,631 15.5%10.0%
Miscellaneous 3,029,990 439,640 (2,590,350) -85.5%1.0%
Subtotal Revenues 43,241,584$ 42,821,643$ (419,942)$ -1.0%96.9%
Transfers In 1,412,340 1,442,450 30,110 2.1%3.1%
Total Revenues 44,653,924$ 44,264,093$ (389,831)$ -0.9%100.0%
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The FY 19/20 General Fund budget includes $46.6 million in recommended expenditures,
including Transfer Out. Personnel costs, which include salaries and benefits, represent 60.4%
($28.1 million) of the total expenditures. The remaining budget is comprised of operational costs,
which include materials, services and supplies, capital outlays, debt service and transfers to other
funds. In keeping with the Council’s highest priorities, public safety (e.g., police and fire)
represents 58.4% of the General Fund budget.
Overall, expenditures are projected to increase approximately 10% or $4.2 million compared to
the FY 18/19 revised budget. The increased budget is mainly attributable to:
• Removal of $1.0M in salary savings from vacancies throughout the current fiscal year;
• Approximately $818K in increased CalPERs costs;
• Estimated impacts of labor negotiations with six of the City’s seven bargaining units
resulting in one-time expenditures of $780K;
• $794,455 or 16.2% increase in the LA County Fire Services contract;
• Anticipated increases in insurance premiums of approximately $216K; and
• Increased retiree medical costs of approximately $212K
Table 3 provides further detail on the General Funds proposed expenditures by department.
Table 3 – General Fund Expenditures
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Capital Outlays
City-wide capital outlay requests for FY 19/20 total $2.3 million, of which $859K is proposed to
be funded by the General Fund. Major outlays include:
• Auditorium equipment upgrade ($64K)
• Replacement of building, planning, and code enforcement software ($329K)
• Phone system cabling and infrastructure ($150K)
• PW backhoe, sewer truck, and rotary mower ($751K)
• L&W backhoe and five replacement trucks ($413K)
• Four PD replacement vehicles and retrofits ($184K)
• PD laser scanner replacement ($85K)
• Senior Center walk-in fridge and freezer ($44K)
A summary of the proposed City-wide Capital Outlay budget for FY 19/20 is attached to this
report.
Capital Improvement Projects (CIP)
For Fiscal Year 19/20, Staff proposes a 5-year CIP Plan totaling $43.1 million City-wide. Of the
$43.1 million CIP plan, $39.3 million in projects are expected to be funded by non-general fund
Department
Fiscal Year 18/19
Revised Budget
FY 2019/20
Proposed
Budget $ Change % Change
% of FY
18/19
Budget
Administration
City Council 143,105$ 145,145$ 2,040$ 1.4%0.3%
City Clerks 595,892 653,330 57,438 9.6%1.4%
City Manager/Nghbrhd Svcs 500,125 611,813 111,688 22.3%1.3%
City Attorney 250,000 275,000 25,000 10.0%0.6%
Treasurer 186,470 190,365 3,895 2.1%0.4%
Accounting 1,194,821 1,310,035 115,214 9.6%2.8%
Purchasing 244,820 240,735 (4,085) -1.7%0.5%
Printing 8,600 8,600 - 0.0%0.0%
Citywide 1,777,361 3,049,057 1,271,696 71.5%6.5%
HR-Personnel Relations 461,290 482,395 21,105 4.6%1.0%
Library Services 1,262,505 - (1,262,505) -100.0%0.0%
Safety (excludes Fire Svcs)19,359,018 21,525,437 2,166,419 11.2%46.2%
Economic Development 2,610,700 2,847,337 236,637 9.1%6.2%
Community Resources 3,798,946 3,389,620 (409,326) -10.8%7.3%
Public Works 997,876 3,244,733 2,246,857 225.2%7.0%
Subtotal Expenditures 33,391,527$ 37,973,602$ 4,582,073$ 13.7%81.7%
Transfers Out 1,941,818 904,621 (1,037,197) -53.4%1.9%
Fire Safety Contract 4,901,890 5,696,345 794,455 16.2%12.2%
Debt Service 361,962 363,696 1,734 0.5%0.8%
Water Fund Loan 609,629 634,809 25,180 4.1%1.4%
Capital Outlay 1,129,615 859,425 (270,190) -23.9%1.7%
CIP 30,000 30,000 100.0%0.1%
Personnel Requests - 104,295 104,295 100.0%0.2%
Total Expenditures 42,336,440$ 46,566,793$ 4,230,351$ 10.0%100.0%
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sources, $120K by General Fund, and $3.7 million are currently unfunded. The total proposed
CIP budget for FY 19/20 is $14.6 million City-wide, of which $3.0 million is currently
unfunded, plus an estimated carryover totaling $29.2 million for various projects. Some of the
major funded projects proposed for FY 19/20 include:
• Advanced meter infrastructure implementation ($4.9M)
• Water transmission lining Cypress ($1.0M)
• W-265B transmission under Big Dalton Wash ($1.5M)
• Well rehabilitations ($500K)
• Triangle flow structure ($650K)
• Mountain Cove Reservoir tank mixer replacement ($150K)
• Foothill Blvd. pavement rehab ($410K)
• City Hall security and ADA improvements ($470K)
• Facility condition assessment repairs ($887K)
• Industrial roads pavement rehabilitation ($650K)
• Bus stop improvements ($800K)
• New roof at library ($160K)
A summary of the proposed City-wide CIP budget for FY 19/20 is attached to this report.
Proposed Personnel Changes
Total proposed personnel changes for FY 19/20 are $137,230 with 0.89 additions to total City-
wide FTEs. The changes include a $104,295 increase in General Fund expenditures and the
remaining $32,935 will be funded by enterprise funds. A summary of the changes are listed in
Table 4.
Table 4 – Personnel Request Summary
Department Division Request/Proposal Current Classification FTE Total Cost Fund
Finance Accounting Update Salary Range: To same
range as Utilities Administrative and
Financial Services Manager
Classification: Assistant Director of Finance - 4,200$ General Fund
(allocable)
Finance Total Estimated Impact:- 4,200$
Light and Water Customer Care
Admin/ Public
Benefit
New Classification: Environmental
Programs Manager
Freeze FTE: Utilities Communication and Environmental
Specialist
- 9,220 30% Customer Care/
70% Public Benefit
Customer Care Reclassify Full-Time Position:
(3)Utility Billing Specialist
Delete: (3) Customer Service Representative III - 23,715 Customer Care
Light and Water Total Estimated Impact:- 32,935$
Public Safety Safety New Full-Time Position:
Administrative Technician
Delete: Part-Time Administrative Technician 0.30 43,085 General Fund
Safety Reclassify Full-Time Position:
Police Administrative Services
Manager and Custodians of Records
Delete: Police Administrative Manager - 9,995 General Fund
Public Safety Total Estimated Impact:0.30 53,080$
Community Resources Recreation New Full-Time Position: Recreation
Coordinator
Delete: Part-Time Office Specialist I 0.59 47,015 General Fund
Community Resources Total Estimated Impact:0.59 47,015$
GRAND TOTAL ESTIMATED IMPACT:0.89 $137,230
(Salaries and Benefits)
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OVERALL FISCAL PICTURE:
With prudent spending and maintenance of public services to the Community, Staff projects
General Fund budget shortfalls ranging from $2.3 to $3.3 million over the next five years
beginning in Fiscal Year 2019/20. While current reserve levels are sufficient to cover the
projected shortfall for the FY 19/20 proposed budget, projected budget deficits will greatly
diminish the General Fund’s reserves and create shortfalls impacting the adopted General Fund
Reserves Policy. Without additional revenues or major cost-cutting strategies, the General Fund
will likely not be able to sustain operations by 2024/25. With thorough review and consideration,
Staff continues to explore and will recommend appropriate actions for Council consideration to
enhance General Fund revenues, in order to sustain current operation levels, maintain good credit
ratings and meet future financial obligations.
Prepared by: Reviewed and Approved:
Talika M. Johnson, Director of Finance Sergio Gonzalez, City Manager
Attachment:
1) FY 2019/20 City-wide Budget Summaries
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