New Rohnert Park budget avoids more cuts
City will incur $2.4 million deficit, but sales tax hike helps spare jobs
Published: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 4:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 4:00 a.m.
The Rohnert Park City Council on Tuesday adopted a $25.2 million budget that contains a $2.4 million deficit, but relies heavily on the new ½-cent city sales tax to avoid further layoffs or service cuts.
The budget paints a challenging fiscal picture, with continuing declines in revenues from state sales taxes and property and hotel taxes.
It notes that the city's general fund reserve is exhausted and that without further revenue or cost cutting measures the deficit will balloon in 2016 with the expiration of the Measure M sales tax, approved by voters in June.
"We basically have five years to get out of this fiscal crisis and resolve our structural deficit," said Sandy Lipitz, the city finance director.
The budget document, and staff presentations on Tuesday, also pointed at what City Hall sees as the best solution: a combination of reducing labor costs and raising revenues by hiking various fees.
Council members voted 5-0 to adopt the budget, which takes into account $2 million in savings the City Council made last year.
"It's a good budget, the best that we can do with what we have in front of us," said Mayor Pam Stafford.
One major point of uncertainty in the budget is that it assumes the continued financial support of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, which has given about $3 million to the city's public safety department since 2004.
The budget assumes the city will get $500,000 from the tribe this year, but Public Safety Director Brian Masterson acknowledged that it's not known yet if the money will be forthcoming.
Masterson said the tribal leadership, whose plans for a casino and hotel complex on the city's western edge have been stalled by the recession, has said "at this point it cannot commit to that funding."
"Are we preparing for that?" Councilman Joe Callinan asked.
Masterson answered: "We are looking at staffing . . . but at this point I'm hopefully optimistic."
"There's not much more left to cut" in the department, Masterson said.
Seven officers have been lost to layoffs and attrition in two years and the budget has dropped from $19 million to $15.5 million in that time.
The council also adopted an economic development plan that they said offers the best hopes for the city, which Dunn said has lost 2,500 jobs in the past five years, from 27,000 to 22,000.
"We really need to get fast and furious about economic development," said Vice Mayor Gina Belforte.
The 20-point plan calls for, among other things, meeting with local business leaders, working with the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau -- the council agreed on Wednesday to pay the bureau $45,000 this year to promote the city -- investigating a "micro-loan" program to support small businesses, speeding up the processing of business applications, and "reinventing" Rohnert Park as a "youth, sports, recreation and cultural center."
The council also directed staff to explore generating revenue through measures such as raising building fees and the business license tax, adding a surcharge to tickets for entertainment, sporting and cultural events in the city, and charging more for use of its playing fields.
Councilmembers said the added emphasis placed during the budget process on increasing the city's revenue represented a long overdue acknowledgement that it must focus more explicitly on how to raise money to pay for its services.
Cutting labor costs also would also be a focus of the city's efforts from now on. Lipitz, in outlining potential solutions to the deficit, highlighted "negotiated reduction in compensation."
Councilman Jake Mackenzie said raising fees is not enough. "No matter how successful we are with these, we are not going to close the structural deficit," he said.
You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Hay at 521-5212 or jeremy.hay@pressdemocrat.com.
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This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
CORRECTION: November 30, 2010:
An Aug. 25 article on Page B3 said Rohnert Park has lost 5,000 jobs in the past five years. That figure was repeated in a Nov. 26 article on Page B1 from a city source. Interim Assistant City Manager John Dunn said Monday the correct figure is 2,500.
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