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TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
VIA: SERGIO GONZALEZ, CITY MANAGER
FROM: TALIKA M. JOHNSON, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
DATE: MARCH 25, 2019
SUBJECT: REVIEW OF FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT
BACKGROUND:
On February 25, 2019, Staff presented the City Council with a mid-year General Fund budget
overview and also provided a five-year budget forecast. The five-year forecast shows projected
budget deficits ranging from $1.5 to $3.3 million annually beginning in Fiscal Year 2019/20.
Therefore, Council directed Staff to report back regarding a fiscal sustainability assessment and
near and long-term budget impacts for direction and next steps. This report provides an overview
of the assessment and requests direction from Council regarding: 1) contract/franchise agreement
renegotiations; 2) extraordinary revenue enhancement measures; and 3) funding strategies for
long-term pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) liabilities.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Staff recommends that the City Council take the following actions:
1)Direct Staff to move forward, with Council approval throughout the process, with
renegotiations of the franchise agreements/contracts mentioned in the Revenue
Enhancements Explored section of this report; and
2)Direct Staff on which extraordinary revenue enhancement measures to further
investigate to move forward with as outlined in the Revenue Enhancements Explored
section of this report; and
3)Direct Staff to return to Council with recommended actions for long-term funding
strategies related to pension and OPEB liabilities.
APPROVED
CITY COUNCIL
3/25/2019
Special Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability Assessment
March 25, 2019
Page 2
ANALYSIS:
Current revenue sources project an annual deficit ranging from $1.5 to $3.3 million for the next
five years, beginning in Fiscal Year 2019/20. Council has directed Staff to report back regarding
a fiscal sustainability assessment and near and long-term budget impacts for direction and next
steps. Staff performed an in depth fiscal sustainability assessment with emphasis on the
following four areas:
1. Reviewing existing contracts and franchise agreements to ensure the City is capturing
all contractual obligations
2. Identifying contracts to potentially renegotiate
3. Examining areas of organizational efficiency opportunities
4. Exploring extraordinary measures to generate additional revenues
This report provides an overview of the assessment and requests direction from Council
regarding: A) contract/franchise agreement re-negotiations; B) extraordinary revenue
enhancement measures; and C) funding strategies for long-term pension and OPEB liabilities.
General Fund Financial Overview:
The General Fund currently has a $41.8 million operating budget. Over the next five years it’s
estimated the budget will grow to $46.6 million, with rising pension costs being the main driver
of the increase. While a budget surplus of $2.9 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 $1.5
million to $3.3 million. Below is a summary of the projections:
5-Year Budget Forecast
-$1,990,032 -$1,847,909
Fiscal Sustainability Assessment
March 25, 2019
Page 3
Revenues
Azusa has a fairly diverse revenue base, meaning, the City is not heavily reliant on one source of
revenue to meet its obligations. Rising home values and new housing developments are expected
to increase property tax revenues by 3.5% to 4.7% annually over the next five years. Sales tax
revenues are also expected to increase moderately. Additional utility user’s tax and franchise fee
revenues are also anticipated due to new developments. Money and property use revenues are
expected to increase slightly as a result of projected increases in the value of water the City
leases to the utility, offset by lower anticipated interest earnings with diminished cash position
resulting from anticipated budget deficits. A 1.5% annual increase is projected in charges for
services which is mainly comprised of administrative allocations, plan check fees, and
recreational activity fees. Other revenues such as licenses and permits, cost reimbursements, and
miscellaneous revenues are based on various activities and are difficult to predict, therefore are
estimated to remain flat. A summary of the five-year revenue projections is below.
5-Year Revenue Forecast
Expenditures
Modest increases to department operational costs of 1.5% annually are projected over the next
five years, with the exception of the fire safety contract which is estimated at a 3% annual
increase. Projections include salary savings from potential retirements, offset by increases in the
CalPERS normal cost. In addition to normal cost increases, lump sum payments for CalPERS
unfunded liabilities are also expected to increase substantially each year as shown in the 5-Year
Expenditure Forecast table. Details about increases in CalPERS costs will be addressed in the
Long-term Obligations section of this report.
The General Fund currently has two bond and loan debt payment obligations including the 2003
Certificates of Participation which matures August 1, 2020 and a Water Fund Loan which is
scheduled to be paid off June 30, 2024; annual payments for these obligations are listed in the
Expenditure Forecast.
Due to budget constraints over the last several years, minimal investments have been made to
City facilities. However, replacement of aging fleets, equipment, and infrastructure are needed
and therefore, are also included in the five-year projections.
Revenue Source
FY 2017/18
Actuals
FY 2018/19
Revised Budget Annual Growth
Factor
FY 2019/20
Estimate
FY 2020/21
Estimate
FY 2021/22
Estimate
FY 2022/23
Estimate
FY 2023/24
Estimate
Property Tax 10,882,173$ 11,188,236$ 3.50 - 4.67%11,270,528$ 11,735,780$ 12,142,198$ 12,617,513$ 13,174,309$
Sales Tax 5,645,876 5,823,214 0.10 - 1.70%5,829,104 5,919,217 6,015,745 6,115,728 6,215,514
Utility User Tax 2,921,630 3,327,870 1.00%3,361,148 3,394,760 3,428,707 3,462,994 3,497,624
Other Taxes 9,440,773 8,930,385 0.75%8,930,385 8,997,363 9,064,843 9,132,829 9,201,326
License & Permit 3,506,968 3,058,635 0.00%3,058,635 3,058,635 3,058,635 3,058,635 3,058,635
Fines & Penalties 1,052,532 1,302,925 0.00%1,302,925 1,302,925 1,302,925 1,302,925 1,302,925
Money & Property Use 1,382,742 2,055,200 1.00%2,075,752 2,096,510 2,117,475 2,138,649 2,160,036
Cost Reimbursements 1,033,728 692,945 0.00%692,945 692,945 692,945 692,945 692,945
Charges for Services 3,449,999 3,832,184 1.50%3,889,667 3,948,012 4,007,232 4,067,340 4,128,351
Miscellaneous 1,328,413 3,014,990 0.00%389,990 114,990 114,990 114,990 114,990
Subtotal Revenues 40,644,834$ 43,226,584$ 40,801,079$ 41,261,137$ 41,945,695$ 42,704,548$ 43,546,655$
Transfers In 1,563,996 1,412,340 1.00%1,424,975 1,441,406 1,458,406 1,475,989 1,494,169
Total Revenues 42,208,830$ 44,638,924$ 42,226,054$ 42,702,543$ 43,404,101$ 44,180,537$ 45,040,824$
Fiscal Sustainability Assessment
March 25, 2019
Page 4
5-Year Expenditure Forecast
Long-term Obligations
In addition to addressing the projected budget deficits, the City has long-term liabilities that must
also be addressed. Rising long-term retirement related obligations such as pension and other
post-employment benefits (OPEB) are a challenge for the City, while trying to maintain current
service levels. Understanding the importance of addressing rising OPEB and pension liabilities,
the City Council authorized Staff to set aside $1.5 million in reserves with adoption of the FY
2018/19 budget. Staff has researched and explored the best ways to utilize the established
reserves to begin tackling these retiree benefit obligations. However, the City Council will have
to make policy decisions on how best to address the unfunded liabilities.
Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB)
Due to the implementation of GASB Statement No. 75, Accounting and Financial Reporting for
Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pensions (GASB 75), the City’s Fiscal Year End June 30,
2018 financial statements reflect a $41.2 million OPEB liability, an increase of $2.2 million from
prior year. Participation in CalPERS health plan programs contractually obligates the City to
pay at least the PEMHCA minimum cost for each retiree. Furthermore, the City continues to
offer 50-100% of paid retiree medical to employees with 10-20 years of service, including
spousal coverage. City-paid medical benefit for employees and their spouses for the rest of the
retirees’ lives is extremely generous and financially unsustainable going forward, especially in
light of rapidly increasing health-care costs and longer life spans.
To mitigate future costs, the City established a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) for
its Executive Staff and one (1) of seven (7) of the City’s bargaining groups to replace the lifetime
medical benefit. Currently, the City is in negotiations with the remaining six (6) bargaining
groups to negotiate the implementation of this medical benefit alternative for all new employees.
Department Expenditures
FY 2017/18
Actuals
FY 2018/19
Revised Budget Annual Growth
Factor
FY 2019/20
Estimate
FY 2020/21
Estimate
FY 2021/22
Estimate
FY 2022/23
Estimate
FY 2023/24
Estimate
Administration
City Council 124,652$ 143,105$ 0.00%143,105$ 143,105$ 143,105$ 143,105$ 143,105$
City Clerks 546,938 595,892 1.50%604,830 613,902 623,111 632,457 641,944
City Manager/Nghbrhd Svcs 677,352 485,125 1.50%492,400 499,786 507,283 514,892 522,615
City Attorney 274,272 250,000 1.50%253,750 257,556 261,420 265,341 269,321
Treasurer 175,140 186,470 1.50%189,270 192,109 194,991 197,916 200,884
Finance
Accounting 1,185,942 1,194,821 1.50%1,212,745 1,230,936 1,249,400 1,268,141 1,287,163
Purchasing 247,076 244,820 1.50%248,495 252,222 256,006 259,846 263,743
Printing 7,916 8,600 1.50%8,730 8,861 8,994 9,129 9,266
Citywide 4,494,662 3,119,173 1.50%3,165,962 3,213,452 3,261,654 3,310,578 3,360,237
HR-Personnel Relations 441,592 461,290 1.50%468,210 475,233 482,361 489,597 496,941
Library Services 1,112,751 1,262,505 1.50%1,281,445 1,300,667 1,320,176 1,339,979 1,360,079
Police Services 20,585,183 19,165,607 1.50%19,453,091 19,744,888 20,041,061 20,341,677 20,646,802
Economic Development 2,111,084 2,500,310 1.50%2,537,815 2,575,882 2,614,520 2,653,738 2,693,544
Rec & Fam Services 3,713,961 3,786,526 1.50%3,843,325 3,900,975 3,959,489 4,018,882 4,079,165
Public Works 778,547 997,876 1.50%1,012,845 1,028,038 1,043,459 1,059,110 1,074,997
Subtotal Expenditures 36,477,067$ 34,402,121$ 34,916,018$ 35,437,612$ 35,967,030$ 36,504,388$ 37,049,806$
Transfers Out 1,067,572 2,303,780 1.50%2,338,337 2,373,412 2,409,013 2,445,149 2,481,827
Fire Safety Contract 4,849,280 4,901,890 3.00%5,048,945 5,200,413 5,356,425 5,517,118 5,682,632
Debt Service 1,622,718 361,962 Actual 363,766 868,215 - - -
Water Fund Loan 579,165 609,629 634,809 626,637 618,465 610,291 602,119
Salary Savings and Leave Payouts - (800,000) - - - - -
Capital Outlay 227,982 - 225,000 250,000 250,000 250,000 250,000
CIP 26,103 - 250,000 250,000 250,000 250,000 250,000
Increase in PERS lump sum - 866,470 997,265 543,200 451,500 259,000
Total Expenditures 44,849,887$ 41,779,383$ 44,643,345$ 46,003,554$ 45,394,133$ 46,028,446$ 46,575,384$
Fiscal Sustainability Assessment
March 25, 2019
Page 5
The City has a “pay-go” system for OPEB obligations. Meaning, we pay retiree medical costs
annually as incurred. In Fiscal Year 2018, payments for retiree medical were $933,743, an 8%
increase from the prior year and costs are expected to continue to rise with pending retirements
and longer life expectancies. The best option to mitigate future increases is to establish an
interest baring OPEB trust account, where the City would make deposits and have the ability to
allow the account to grow over time and use funds in the trust as a budget stabilization tool.
If Council would like to take the steps to establish a trust account, Staff will return at a later date
for authorization.
Pension
Pension costs continue to rise due to decisions adopted by the California Public Employees’
Retirement System (CalPERS) Board of Administration. Dramatic market losses of the stock
market turmoil in 2008 and 2009 contributed greatly to the eroded value of the CalPERS pension
fund. Consequently, in April 2013, CalPERS approved an amortization and smoothing policy to
pay for all gains and losses over a fixed 30-year period with the increases or decreases in the rate
spread directly over a 5-year period, as opposed to the previous policy which spread investment
returns over a 15-year period with gains and losses paid over a rolling 30-year period.
Following the amortization and smoothing policy changes, in December 2016, CalPERS
announced they will be lowering their discount rate from 7.5% to 7% by FY 2020/21, and most
recently, in February 2018, CalPERS adopted a reduced amortization period for gains and losses
to 20 years beginning with the June 30, 2019 valuation with no amortization for surpluses. All of
these changes combined, results in significantly higher costs to the City. CalPERS pension costs
are projected to account for approximately 13% of the General Fund’s total operating expense in
FY 2018/19. Below is a summary of projected city-wide payments over the next five years:
5-Year CalPERS Forecast
There are two components to the payments the City makes to CalPERS. One component is the
normal cost; this is a percentage of persable payroll dollars. The second component are lump-
Fiscal Sustainability Assessment
March 25, 2019
Page 6
sum payments made towards the City’s unfunded accrued liability (UAL), which was $72.2
million as of June 30, 2018, a 17% increase from prior year. Addition of the lump-sum payment
obligation is the main driver of the increased annual cost. Through successful labor negotiations
with the City’s seven bargaining units, where employees agreed to contribute 7.0-9.0% of the
employers CalPERS share, Council has already taken steps in the right direction to address rising
pension costs. However, more can be done to further combat increasing pension costs.
Currently, the three best options to begin addressing rising pension costs include:
1) Pre-payment to CalPERS Long-term Basis – this option would include making a “locked-
in” decision to make a lump sum payment towards the City’s UAL. The payment would
be amortized over a longer period of time and provides some annual budget savings, but
not as much immediate relief as a payment amortized over a shorter period of time.
However, this option offers the highest interest savings over the life of the UAL.
2) Pre-payment to CalPERS Short-term Basis – this option would include making a “locked-
in” decision to make a lump sum payment towards the City’s UAL. The payment would
be amortized over a shorter period of time and provides the highest immediate annual
budget relief, but offers a much lower interest savings over the life of the UAL.
3) Establish Pension Trust Account – this option provides the most budget flexibility. With
this option, the City would make extra payments to a Supplemental Pension Trust (Rate
Stabilization/ Section 115 Trust) and have the ability to decide if, when, and how much
money to put into the Trust and if, when, and how much to withdraw to pay CalPERS or
reimburse itself (the City) for CalPERS payments. Funds can be accumulated in the
Supplemental Trust until CalPERS rates peak and used as a budget stabilization tool.
However, this option does not provide immediate budget relief.
With Council’s direction, Staff will return at a future date with recommendations for making
lump sum payments to CalPERS or establishing a pension trust. Staff’s preference would be the
pre-payment route due to the immediate budget relief offered with one of those options.
Reserves Overview
The General Fund Reserve Policy is one of the benchmark tools used 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:
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)
Fiscal Sustainability Assessment
March 25, 2019
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Beginning with the FY 2019/20 budget year, reserves on hand are projected to be below target
by over $339,000 without measures being taken to increase revenues and/or decrease costs. A
summary of the forecasted reserve balances and targets is provided in the following table. It’s
important to note year-end estimated balances does not assume replenishment of restricted
reserves if used.
5-Year Reserves Analysis
In order to maintain targeted reserve levels in accordance with the adopted policy, revenues will
need to be increased starting in Fiscal Year 2019/20.
Revenue Enhancements Explored:
Staff has performed an in-depth review of the City’s current contracts and franchise agreements
and has identified potential contracts to be renegotiated in order to increase revenues. Some
contracts identified include:
• Hazardous waste processor – there’s a hazardous waste facility in the City which is
assessed a 2% tax on gross receipts and generates approximately $500K annually in
revenues. Per State law and City ordinance, the City can assess up to a 10% tax.
Therefore, Staff would like to begin discussions to incrementally increase the tax
percentage in an amount that will help the City realize additional revenues while not
putting too much burden on the company.
• Landfill waste processor – the City has a landfill waste company that generates
approximately $2.0 million annually in revenues and would like to expand its operations.
There is interest to potentially expand operations and potentially generating additional
revenues.
• Water rights leases – the City currently leases water rights to the Utility at
approximately $1.8 million annually. Given the value of water, this lease is at a great
discount. Staff would like to explore an incremental increase to the amount charged for
the water rights. Staff believes that the City can realize between $200-500K annually
while maintaining competitive rates and adequate funds necessary to appropriately
maintain the system in a reliable, efficient manner.
All-together, the above ideas may increase revenues up to $1.5-2.0 million annually, but will
take time to further analyze and implement. In addition to reviewing major contracts, Staff has
reviewed operations across all City departments and will recommend changes in the upcoming
budget year to generate additional revenues or cut costs such as modifications to: rental housing
inspection processes; rental of City facilities; cell tower leasing; current cost sharing agreements
to add an administrative allocation component; and the Landscaping and Lighting District
program. Additionally, Staff is exploring potential shared services with other agencies to cut
ESTIMATED YEAR-END CASH BALANCES
FY 17/18 Actual FY 18/19 FY 19/20 FY 20/21 FY 21/22 FY 22/23 FY 23/24
Year-End Balance 9,843,848$ 12,703,389$ 10,286,099$ 6,985,088$ 4,995,056$ 3,147,148$ 1,612,587$
Reserves Target 6,265,725$ 10,265,725$ 10,625,252$ 10,825,533$ 10,734,120$ 10,829,267$ 10,911,308$
Over/(Under) Target 3,578,123$ 2,437,664$ (339,153)$ (3,840,445)$ (5,739,064)$ (7,682,119)$ (9,298,721)$
Fiscal Sustainability Assessment
March 25, 2019
Page 8
costs. While the aforementioned modifications may help close the projected budget gaps,
extraordinary measures should be considered for longer-term sustainability. Such measures
include:
• Sales tax override – the sales tax rate in Azusa is 9.5%, of which the City receives a
1.0% allocation. Legally, a 10.25% sales tax can be assessed with ballot approval.
Current revenues from sales tax is $5.8 million annually. Preliminary estimates show an
additional 0.75% tax could generate $3.0 million or more annually because the additional
0.75% would be a direct allocation to the City as opposed to being added to the LA
County pool.
The caveat to this option is competing ballot initiatives by the County or other agencies
could override Azusa’s initiative, if we go this route, or make the additional 0.75%
uncollectible by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). As
of today, Staff is not aware of any competing measures and therefore, believes a sales tax
override is a viable way to increase revenues and ensure additional sales tax dollars
generated in the City flow directly into the City.
• UUT modernization – the City collects about $3.3 million annually in Utility User’s Tax
revenues by assessing 4% residential and 8% commercial tax on electric, water, and gas
sales in the City. The City does not assess this tax on telephone, cable, or garbage
services. Staff’s preliminary analysis estimates an additional $1.5-2.0 million in revenues
could be generated with the addition of telephone, video, and cable services while leaving
room to potentially reduce the current percentage assessed on residential services.
Both of these extraordinary measures would have to be approved via a ballot measure. The
City’s next election is in March 2020 and consolidated with the County’s election. If placed on
the ballot and approved by voters, changes would be effective July 2020 and therefore, would
begin to generate additional revenues in the 2020/21 budget year. With the next election less than
a year away, Staff would need to begin the process of educating the public soon. If Council
decides to move forward with one of these options, Staff would like to return in April with a
recommended plan of action.
FISCAL IMPACT:
With prudent spending and maintenance of essential services to the Community, Staff projects
budget shortfalls ranging from $1.5 to $3.3 million over the next five years beginning in Fiscal
Year 2019/20. These levels of budget deficits will greatly diminish the General Fund’s reserves
and create shortfalls from 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 is recommending courses
of action to enhance General Fund revenues, and thereby being able to sustain operations,
maintain good credit ratings and meet future financial obligations.
Prepared by: Reviewed and Approved:
Talika M. Johnson, Director of Finance Sergio Gonzalez, City Manager