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San Ramon City Council held a special public workshop Tuesday to review the draft budget for the next fiscal year.
Administrative services director Eva Phelps presented the draft 2015-16 city operating budget and outlined some of the projects that city staff would like to plan funding for next year, including the expansion of Dougherty Valley, department staffing reorganization, and the restoration of some service levels in programming and employee training conferences.
“At this point it seems like now that we’ve gotten out of 2008 we’ve made a priority as a city that we want to get our staffing levels back up to meet the service demands,” Vice Mayor Harry Sachs said during the nearly two-hour workshop Tuesday evening. “But I’m wondering how much more efficiencies can be found in terms of real dollars.”
The amount of revenue coming into the city — estimated at $64.5 million — is still expected to exceed the amount of expenditures as previously predicted in the city’s five-year financial forecast, according to Phelps. The projected amount is the sum of the $47.7 million in the general fund and $16.8 million in revenue in the Dougherty Valley fund.
Phelps also said the city is expected to see “moderate” revenue growth next fiscal year.
The general fund expenditures are projected at $44.5 million, which is $3.3 million above the 2014-15 adjusted budget. This year’s higher amount covers increased salary and benefit costs, utilities and maintenance contracts, and the cost to restore positions and training programs, Phelps said.
The Dougherty Valley fund expenditures are projected at $17.4 million, bringing the citywide total to $61.9 million in expenditures.
Representatives from each city department took to the podium Tuesday evening to outline their major action plans for the upcoming fiscal year.
The city manager, city attorney, and city clerk did not report any financial adjustments within their plans. The total department budget for general government is approximately $2 million, a decrease of about $137,000 from the previous year.
The administrative services department is requesting about $3.6 million for its budget, which is an increase of 9% or $292,670. A new city-wide training program focused on analytical business writing, communication, personal development, instruction, and relationship and behavior development would be funded through the human resources division of the department.
Community development is asking for $3.9 million, which is a 10% budget increase or $367,485. Engineering services set its budget at $3.5 million which is a 23% increase or $640,376.
The police department’s requested budget is about $19.2 million, an increase of 7% or $1,219,357. The public services budget is at $20.3 million, an 11% increase or $2,066,990. Parks and community services is requesting 9,113,486 which is an increase of 8% or $680,275.
According to the major action plans presented by each department, the requested budgets will pay for increased utilities and maintenance costs, new and unfunded staffing positions, temporary staffing, restoring programs, some costs associated with new developments such as Faria Preserve and Iron Horse Regional Trail as well as contracted services and supplies.
The unfunded capital improvement project (CIP) list presented to the council during the presentation Tuesday consisted of five items including drainage infrastructure repair and landscaping planting renovation (related to the city’s water conservation plans), the annual pavement preventive maintenance project, an energy savings facilities project and renovations to the barn at Forest Home Farms Historic Park for a total cost of $1,723,000.
According to Phelps, the completed proposed budget and five-year CIP list are set to be brought back to council on May 18 for review, with final approval expected on May 26.
At the end of the workshop, council members decided they needed more time to review the draft budget and directed city staff to look for possible ways to cut back within the departments and return to the council prior to May 18 for another review before final adoption in late May.
