The budget is done

Late Tuesday night our City Council passed unanimously the City’s budget for fiscal year 2011-12. Well they approved the first pass through; they will come back for more potential cuts on July 9^th. There are six items that the Mayor and Council want to go back and review with the idea of cutting more from the budget. Once again we must be vigilant as there will be major items up for discussion, including Community Service Officers from the Police department.

Watching this Council work through the budget process is worse than making sausage. There really has to be a better way to do this.

Personally, I thought the interaction between the Council and the department heads was very interesting. It helps to get a better understanding of the programs we fund but does it need to be adversarial? In theory, both the department heads and the Council members are on the same side working for what is best for your community.

It seems to me that some of the Council members seem to have trust issues with the City’s department heads. This has seemed to be the case from the very beginning of at least two of the Council member’s terms. These are also the Council members that rarely if ever meet with the City Manager. You would think that you would want to understand from the City’s Executive Officer the issues and concerns that can and will affect the City.

If they did meet with the City Manager more often they would understand the staffing issues that the City is faced with. They might reprioritize the things they want to address to help the staff accomplish the goals that they all want to see completed. Instead of adding things to get done and complaining when it’s not done on time.

We have a City Manager form of government here in Marina. That means it is the City Manager that runs the day to day business of the City. It is his responsibility to make the Council’s action work. It is not for the Council to micro-manage the City Manager.

I would suspect that if all the Council members met with the City Manager on a regular basis, not just a couple of them, our meetings would be shorter, the Council would better understand the issues and that they may even grow to trust the City’s hard working staff.

More later

Our City Budget

Marina dodged a bullet this week when the City Council backed off what initially looked like draconian budget cuts. I think a lot had to do with the public’s outcry and at least one very heated City Council meeting. Now this is not to say we have solved much of anything but there are indications the public’s voice was heard.

The cuts were mostly in line with the department’s plans, as with the Police department. Others, while not optimal, will not directly affect our core services. The recreation department was trimmed slightly but they will still deliver the top quality programs needed for our youth and seniors.

This clears the way for the budget to be passed on Tuesday night and to be in line with the Councils legal responsibility to deliver a budget by the end of June.

What’s next? Well it is clear that the Mayor wanted a two stage process. One, just being completed to pass the budget and deliver some budget cuts. The second will be the most dangerous. Here is where several of the harder personnel issues were deferred to. The Mayor wants to revisit cuts to the police department, fire department and recreation in the months ahead. We must all be vigilant and not allow this to happen.

What the real next step needs to be is a look at new revenue and this is where the Council took the most heat this past week. Their focus was on the cuts and not the revenue side of the balance sheet. After turning down the Cypress Knolls development, then looking to annex more to the City, then cutting budgets the public finally said enough. Go back and look at the revenue side of the equation.

Here there is some potential for Council unity. Perhaps a new look at Cypress Knolls and other potential development deals either in the works or planned. The City could sell Preston Park and determine our own destiny for years to come. I would suggest a look at how the City does business from top to bottom; this includes the permit process, regulations and more. There are many options beyond cutting budgets and staff so the public must stay aware in the months ahead.

For my part, I will do what I can to keep you informed.

More later

Computer issues and Council meetings

I guess it was a case of bad timing. The start of a blog about Marina and the crashing of my computers hard drive. One is getting fixed and the other needs to continue on. So here goes....
First off, a big thank you to AMP for televising our City Council meetings. This gives you the opportunity to yell, scream and say things not normally said in the Council Chambers as you watch the meetings. Simply Google 'AMP Monterey', then go to programs and Marina. You can watch the meetings in real time or go back and watch earlier meetings. It also gives to the chance to see for yourself how our City Council works. Don't rely on others to tell you, you need to see it for yourself.
You will have an opportunity this evening as the Marina City Council goes back to 'debating' the City budget. Tonight's meeting starts at 5:30pm not the normal 6:30pm. If you only attend one meeting this year, or in your lifetime, this may just be the one you need to attend for all the reasons I have outlined previously.
The future of our City services is at stake this evening. The Council is discussing major cuts to police, fire and recreation that will effect our daily lives. Your thoughts and opinions need to be heard.
See you tonight.... more later.

Marina Budget Solution

With the Marina City Council meeting Tuesday night to discuss the budget issues that face the City, I want to post a "Letter to the Editor" that I submitted to the Gazette last week. After the Council's decision not to choose an developer for Cypress Knolls this letter is even more important.

More later...

The Marina City Council has embarked on a series of scheduled meetings regarding the 2011-12 budget and an unknown number of ad-hoc meetings on the same subject. For the past few years the City Council has not dealt with the income side of the budgetary process; rather the Council has relied on cuts and union renegotiations. If not for a couple of then City Council members and the willingness of the public to tax itself, we would not have any additional income.

This Council has already signaled that they will continue to center their discussions on the expense side of the ledger. It is my opinion that the answer to Marina’s long term budget issues is not that difficult to solve and it does not include additional cuts.

First, let’s understand what the future looks like for Marina today from a larger prospective. The Federal deficit will continue to limit their ability to push funds to local and State governments. Second, the State of California will continue their attempts to take monies from Cities, or at the least, push expenses back to Cities and Counties. This will not change for several years so there is little or no help from outside sources for years to come.

Even with the new taxes that voters approved, (approximately $1.8 million in new funds) the city will still have a structural annual deficit and will need to draw from our reserve fund. While this is not optimal we know this will not last forever and time is not on our side as we wait for the housing market to improve. At current levels we have about 2 years before our reserves are depleted. We can only hope that the housing market improves in that time and that we start to see new homes added to our tax base to help balance our future budgets.

On the expense side, we know that we are at an absolute base level for our Police, Fire, Administration, and Recreation departments. With crime increasing on most levels, due primarily to ongoing economic issues, we cannot jeopardize our community by cutting any additional public safety services. In fact, the community told us this by approving the new taxes. Our administrative departments are substantially understaffed and cannot lose anyone else and still perform the basic functions we require.

All that said, do we have any options that are not being considered? The answer is a resounding yes!

The City of Marina is the owner and the property manager for both the Abrams and Preston Park housing communities. The City Council has repeatedly underfunded the maintenance funds for these communities to the determent of both those that live there and the long term value of the properties. This is not a desirable circumstance for either community but I want to focus on Preston Park for now.

It is my understanding that Preston Park is valued somewhere between $50 and 60 million dollars. For the purposes of this exercise let’s say that number is the conservative $50 million. It is my opinion that the City needs to sell this property with all the current restrictions in place, (i.e.; the property would stay at least 20% affordable). It should be noted that while the residential housing market is still troubled, the apartment market is very robust, so sales of this property would be very possible. So let’s assume that we can get $50 million for Preston Park; half would go to FOR A (a very willing partner in the sale) so the City of Marina would net approximately $25 million.

Now, let’s further our example with a couple of hypothetical Council actions with those funds. First, take $1 million for deferred CIP projects like fixing pot holes and back fill a couple of much needed staff positions. Next, take a second million and honor our contracts with our police and fire personnel for the cost of living increases they deserve. That would leave $23 million. Finally, add three million to our immediate reserves thus extending them for at least one to two more years. We would still have a $20 million dollar balance.

I would suggest setting this aside in an investment fund with the Monterey County Treasurer or outside professional management. At today’s current rates, investing these funds in a series of properly laddered and balanced AAA rated bonds would garner approximately 3 to 5% interest. An average rate of 4% would generate approximately $800,000 annually (5% would generate $1,000,000 annually) that would be available to our general fund. This number all but replaces the income we currently use from Preston Park funds today in our budget. If Abrams is included the numbers improve even more, but since there is a note on this property the net balances would not change drastically.

An additional benefit is that a $20 million cash reserve would significantly improve the City’s credit rating thus reducing the cost of any bond financing that might be desired in the future.

It is my opinion that the long term health of the City’s finances can be met with this plan. It also gets the City out of the residential property management business which is not the proper role of government. This plan breaks the dependence on any outside sources for the future health of our City and allows us to determine our own destiny as other entities struggle with their own long term issues. I believe this is an option that must be thoroughly considered and acted upon over the next 12 to 18 months.

An interesting week...

It was an interesting week in Marina, without a doubt. The reason to start this blog all emanates from the actions of our Marina City Council, specifically the current majority. This is a long entry but it’s important to read it all. There were three meetings on successive nights that resulted in some good communication, some incredibly incomprehensible behavior and decisions, and even the threat of escorting a City Councilman out of the building by the police. I guess the best place to start is on Monday.

On Monday night the Cal PERS Ad Hoc committee met to look at options for City employee retirement plans. Since this is a negotiated area there are no immediate changes possible or really even desired. It is however important to look ahead at options that could help our City’s employee’s and the City’s long term budget. This work will continue with both Councilmen O’Connell and Ford at the helm. I hope they keep on this and really research the options.

The big issue was the City Council meeting on Tuesday night. Here the Council majority voted on what I see as an elaborate ‘bait & switch’ that will affect the City of Marina for years to come. The majority overlooked the most qualified developer group for the Cypress Knolls project and tried to shoehorn in a developer that has way too many faults to name here but they include allegations of bribery, lack of financing, legal, and environmental issues. Once the majority realized they could not make the Mayor’s choice they decided to start all over with a different RFQ and RFP process. They did this rather than choose the most qualified developer that could start negotiations tomorrow. Now a whole new process must begin that is more in line with what the Mayor wanted 2 years ago but was over ruled then.

The result of this process will likely be expensive lawsuits against the City and a development community that cannot trust the City of Marina to follow through with what they promise. Especially after the two development teams spent well in excess of $600,000 and almost two years of time doing what the Council wanted. Now our Council said forget it we changed our minds. Are you kidding me!

This action will directly affect our City’s budget now and well into the future. There will be no project funds now and no new major development that could contribute to the budget in the future. No reimbursement for monies already spent, no new monies for the fencing around Cypress Knolls and no monies for staff time to approve a new ENA nor DDA. Marina we need to do better than this.

All that said, we move to Wednesday nights ‘special’ Council meeting where the majority is deciding to spend monies we do not have to annex more land to the City. It will likely cost tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to do the all the reports needed to accomplish this goal of our Mayor. Even the Mayor’s most ardent supporters are questioning this action. This is also the meeting that caused the police to be called to the Council Chambers (watch the end of the meeting on AMP to see it yourself). I may address this sometime later but it’s too bizarre to describe. Let’s just say it ended with cooler heads, thank goodness.

Now we need to look ahead to this Tuesday night when the Council goes back into session to hear how each City department is going to cut another 20% from its budget to decrease the overall budget deficit. If we can’t fund the things we have now why are we looking to annex more land and people into the City? If departments are going to have to cut deeper into our core services (contrary to the wishes of measures M & N) and put our City at risk why wouldn’t you bring in new revenues to the City and choose a qualified developer for Cypress Knolls now?

You just can’t make this stuff up. If I had not seen it with my own eyes I never would believe it. I would encourage you to look up the Council meetings on AMP and see them for yourself.

More later.

And so it begins!

With the many events that have happened this week that directly effect the future of the City of Marina I have decided to start a blog called Marina Matters. Over the course of time I will reflect on the issues of the day and the things that I feel are important.
You may agree or disagree with my thoughts, that is your right after all, but please remember they are my thoughts at the time. The funny thing about thoughts, sometimes they evolve with time and more information others are right on from the beginning. If you would like to respond to my posts please feel free to do so. I will listen to those that are honest and thoughtful, I will block those that vengeful, hate filled or otherwise completely obnoxious (as is my right on my blog).
It is time for an open dialog about what we think about Marina and the things that need to be changed. I hope that this blog will at least be cause for the honest, open discussion that our Community deserves.
More soon.