4-A
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
ATTENTION: Jeffrey L. Stewart, City Manager
FROM: Tae Rhee, Director of Finance/City Treasurer
SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session concerning 2023-2025 Proposed Budget.
DATE: May 2, 2023
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City Council adopts the Operating Budget biennially. For the upcoming budget cycle covering two fiscal years of 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, the Council held a budget study session on April 25, 2023 with certain follow-up items to be discussed at the budget study session on May 2, 2023.
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) Open the City Council Study Session for budget discussions including the follow-up items from the budget study session on April 25, 2023; take no formal action; or
2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed 2023-2025 budget contains $111 million in expenditures for fiscal year 2023-2024 and $77 million in expenditures for fiscal year 2024-2025.
2023-2024 2024-2025
PROPOSED PROPOSED
Legislative, Administrative, General $ 7,942,473 $ 8,714,855 Public Safety 18,474,862 19,279,604
Economic Development 7,928,607 3,064,049
Planning 3,119,676 3,031,415
Public Works 12,676,845 13,239,553
Parks and Recreation 4,991,249 5,411,901
Capital Projects 52,565,002 21,122,999
Staff Report – Study Session re. 2023–2025 Proposed Budget May 2, 2023
Debt Service 2,593,527 2,604,149
IT & Equipment Replacement 742,909 861,578
Total $ 111,035,150 $ 77,330,103
The follow-up items from the budget study session on April 25, 2023, contain certain addtional cost items to be budgeted.
ATTACHMENT:
Follow-up items from the budget study session on April 25, 2023 ……………………… 3
Follow-up Items from Budget Study Session on April 25, 2023 2023-24
Budget
2024-25
Budget
Public Safety
1 Add a no-call traffic car 363,287$ 381,451$
2 Add Automated License Plate Reader cameras (5) to cover all City entrances 51,000$ -$ 3 Add a vehicle ($40,000 in FY 2022-23 with FY 2022-23 budget savings) -$ -$ Economic Development
4 Update/upgrade the Town Center blade sign at the northeast corner of Bellflower Blvd. and Belmont Street
5 Investigate/research color changing LED café lights for Bellflower Blvd 6 Illuminate the trees and median - Install landscape lighting for the trees and vegetation planted as part of the south Bellflower Blvd. Street Improvement Project, south of Artesia Blvd. to the City boundary.
Public Works
7 Tree Master Plan TBD TBD
Staff has made an inquiry to the Urban Forester that represents the City's area to find out when the next round of grants will become available. To provide examples, staff has reviewed award recipients from the last 2 cycles for grants awarded for Urban Forestry Plans. The awards have gone to cities for either creating/updating a plan and they typically include planting of hundreds of trees, so it's tough to determine the cost of just a plan. In 2021/22, Fremont was awarded $850k, Napa $510k, and Maywood $450k. In 2019/20, Watsonville received $700k, Eastvale $250k, Los Banos $162k, Fresno $307k, Vallejo $500k, and Fullerton $377k. CalFire currently does not have a grant available for urban tree projects.
8 Cost to replace the trees that were removed 87,500$ -$ The City's current contract with WCA has the rate of planting a new tree of $350/tree. If we do a mass planting with them (250 trees), then the cost would be $87,500.
9 Duratherm crosswalks – Bellflower and Alondra 150,000$ -$ Staff is currently working with the engineering firm (Tait) that is designing the Alondra Rehab project to get a proposal for the added design work. To do the intersection, it would require a complete re-pave of the intersection (and we just re did it a couple of years ago) because the Duratherm product is only recommended be installed on pavement less than 6 months old – otherwise we risk it failing. So in essence, there would be design cost, cost to re-pave the whole intersection and then the cost to install the Duratherm. Conservative estimate is approx. $150k more to the overall project that is already funded/budgeted.
Sufficient budget exists
Sufficient budget exists
Sufficient budget exists
Follow-up Items from Budget Study Session on April 25, 2023 2023-24
Budget
2024-25
Budget
10 Bellflower and Alondra – Traffic Signal 100,000$ -$ Staff's understanding is to restore the look of the existing traffic signal poles by painting them black, change out the standard streetlight fixture current on the traffic signal poles to the decorative “bell” light fixture similar to Bellflower/ Harvard fixture and then find the fluted skirt for the base of the traffic signal poles. Staff is seeking a cost estimate from the company that does this type of work.
11 Traffic measures - Rosecrans between Clark & Bellflower 25,000$ -$ Purchase of additional solar-powered radar feedback signs 12 Café lighting – take it to 91 freeway TBD TBD
Staff has confirmed with Santa Fe Springs (the City's maintenance contractor for the downtown lights) that we only have power capability to do the café lights down to Walnut. South of Walnut, the streetlights are owned by SCE and their marblelite poles do not have a plug on top (like the city-owned poles). Staff will speak with SCE and ask if it is possible that the City somehow can tap into their power source for the light and create a plug on their poles that we could use. It is uncertain whether SCE would allow this or not. If they do allow it, then there is the possibility that when we do the street rehab project from Flower to the 91 freeway, we could add this component to the project. As for the cost of lights:
similar to what we have already (P/W), or color changing light system (ED).
Public Works / Capital Projects
13 Refurbishment of the Simms Park tot soccer area within the playground TBD TBD Currently working on a price estimate by P&R & P/W
14 Access to Riverview Park from the Butterfly Garden Park Not possible (see photos). Even if the City were to do a path around the pipelines, the open space between the bridge structure and existing ground is about 4 ft. In order to create a space high enough for pedestrians and bikes, it would required LA County Flood Control and the Army Corp of Engineers to re- design and lower the river bank several feet.
Not possible
Follow-up Items from Budget Study Session on April 25, 2023 2023-24
Budget
2024-25
Budget
15 Palm street fencing – back of the hotel
Staff needs further clarification. The hotel property has already built a masonry block wall, so staff needs the specific location for the fence. 16 Traffic calming measure implementation – Setup study session Study session Need specific location
Follow-up Items from Budget Study Session on April 25, 2023 2023-24
Budget
2024-25
Budget
Parks & Recreation
17 Repurposing of the Carpenter House – add to the Park Master Plan N/A N/A Finance
18 Increase the General Fund contingency reserve to $10M Fund balance set-aside 19 Set-aside $5M for property acquisition including current property purchase value Fund balance set-aside or Property purchases are currently in two Funds - General Fund and Public Projects Fund. Should the $5M property acqusition set-aside be accounted for in the General Fund or Public Projects Fund?
transfer out