1 Agenda
City Council Special Meeting Workshop
City Council Chambers | 50 Natoma Street, Folsom CA 95630 February 08, 2022
1:00 PM
Welcome to Your City Council Meeting
We welcome your interest and involvement in the city’s legislative process. This agenda includes information about topics coming before the City Council and the action recommended by city staff. You can read about each topic in the staff reports, which are available on the city website and in the Office of the City Clerk. The City Clerk is also available to answer any questions you have about City Council meeting procedures.
How to Participate
The Sacramento County Health Order dated January 6, 2022 has ordered that all in-person council and commission public meetings be suspended, and that those meetings be conducted virtually.The next page of the agenda provides details describing how to participate in this meeting via Zoom.
How to Watch
The City of Folsom provides several ways to watch a City Council meeting:
Online On TV
Watch the livestream and replay past
meetings on the city website,
www.folsom.ca.us
Watch live and replays of meetings on
Sac Metro Cable TV, Channel 14
Reasonable Accommodations
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you are a person with a disability and you need a disability-related modification or accommodation to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at (916) 461-6035, (916) 355-7328 (fax) or [email protected]. Requests must be made as early as possible and at least two full business days before the start of the meeting.
More information about City Council meetings is available at the end of this agenda
2 City Council Special Meeting Workshop
Folsom City Council Chambers
50 Natoma Street, Folsom, CA
www.folsom.ca.us
Tuesday, February 08, 2022 1:00 PM
Kerri Howell, Mayor
Rosario Rodriguez, Vice Mayor Sarah Aquino, Councilmember YK Chalamcherla, Councilmember Mike Kozlowski, Councilmember
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA
In association with the Governor’s proclamation of a State of Emergency due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency and Assembly Bill 361, the Sacramento County Health Order dated January 6, 2022 has ordered that all in-person council and commission public meetings be suspended, and that those meetings be conducted virtually.
Join the meeting by Zoom online: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85349631082 To make a public comment using the Zoom online platform, please use the “raise hand” feature at the bottom center of the screen. Please make sure to enable audio controls once access has been given by the City Clerk to speak. Please wait to be called upon by the City Clerk.
Join the meeting by Zoom telephone: Dial +1 408 638 0968 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 646 876 9923 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 853 4963 1082
To make a public comment by phone, please press *9 to raise your hand. Please make sure to enable audio controls once access has been given by the City Clerk to speak. Please wait to be called upon by the City Clerk.
Verbal comments via virtual meeting must adhere to the principles of the three-minute speaking time permitted for public comment at City Council meetings.
CALL TO ORDER
3 ROLL CALL:
Councilmembers: Kozlowski, Rodriguez, Aquino, Chalamcherla, Howell
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
AGENDA UPDATE
WORKSHOP:
1. Council Workshop on Developing a Strategy to Close the City’s Future Funding Gap and Direction to Staff
ADJOURNMENT
NOTICE: Members of the public are entitled to directly address the City Council concerning any item that is described in the notice of this meeting, before or during consideration of that item. If you wish to address Council on an issue, which is on this agenda, please raise your hand and limit your comments to three minutes or less.
NOTICE REGARDING CHALLENGES TO DECISIONS: Pursuant to all applicable laws and regulations, including without limitation, California Government Code Section 65009 and or California Public Resources Code Section 21177, if you wish to challenge in court any of the above decisions (regarding planning, zoning and/or environmental decisions), you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing(s) described in this notice/agenda, or in written correspondence delivered to the City at, or prior to, the public hearing.
As presiding officer, the Mayor has the authority to preserve order at all City Council meetings, to remove or cause the removal of any person from any such meeting for disorderly conduct, or for making personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks, using profa nity, or becoming boisterous, threatening or personally abusive while addressing said Council, and to enforce the rules of the Council.
PERSONS INTERESTED IN PROPOSING AN ITEM FOR THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA SHOULD CONTACT A MEMBER OF THE CITY COUNCIL.
The mee ting of the Folsom City Council is being telecast on Metro Cable TV, Channel 14, the Government Affairs Channel, and will be shown in its entirety on the Friday and Saturday following the meeting, both at 9 a.m. The City does not control scheduling of thi s telecast and persons interested in watching the televised meeting should confirm this schedule with Metro Cable TV, Channel 14. The City of Folsom provides live and archived webcasts of regular City Council meetings. The webcasts can be found on the online services page of the City's website www.folsom.ca.us.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you are a person with a disability and you need a disability-related modification or accommodation to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at (916) 461-6035, (916) 355-7328 (fax) or [email protected]. Requests must be made as early as possible and at least two full business days before the start of the meeting.
Any documents produced by the City and distributed to the City Council regarding any item on this agenda will be made available at the City Clerk’s Counter at City Hall located at 50 Natoma Street, Folsom, California and at the Folsom Public Library located at 411 Stafford Street, Folsom, Californi a during normal business hours.
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RECOMMENDATION / CITY COUNCIL ACTION
Receive staff presentation about the City's financial outlook and direct staff to develop a community engagement plan to inform the public/obtain input about service priorities.
BACKGROUND / ISSUE
The City's fiscal position has improved steadily since the December 2007 - June 2009 'oGreat Recession". That said, the City experienced continued effects of the recession through Fiscal Year 2011 when the General Fund's 'orainy day fund" reached its low point ofjust $3.9 million.
Initial recovsry from the recession meant there was lost ground to be regained, as the City prioritized maintaining quality of life services and was able to minimize cuts with strong fiscal management and the deferral of improvements and maintenance. Over the next few years, sales tax revenues increased as pent-up consumer demand was satisfied, and property tax revenues increased as real estate values recovered; however, this trend in revenue growth, particularly sales taxes, has slowed down while the cost of providing services continues to increase.
COVID-l9 has also added to the fiscal strain, affecting revenues once again and solidiffing concerning shifts in sales tax trends and consumer behavior. Unfortunately, as has been shared with the City Council previously, Folsom has received a relatively small infusion of state or federal COVID-19 relief dollars, disproportionate to other jurisdictions.
During both the'oGreat Recession" and the COVID-l9 related economic downtown, the City kept service levels high by deferring millions of dollars' worth of capital improvements and 1 MEETING DATE: 21812022
AGENDA SECTION: New Business
SUBJECT: Council Workshop on Developing a Strategy to Close the City's Future Funding Gap and Direction to Staff
FROM: Finance Department
02/08/2022 Item No.1.
maintenance, and reducing staffing levels. Staffing levels at this time are still below the levels they were at before the "Great Recession".
This approach has provided for break-even budgets in recent years, and staff expects that will continue for FY 2022-23, with operational revenues anticipated to roughly equal operational expenses. However, as expenses continue to grow and outpace the growth of revenues, City staff is projecting a$2.3 million funding gap by FY 2026-27 just to provide our current level of service. This $2.3 million projected shortfall does not address the City's future unfunded needs, let alone meet the understandably increasing expectations of the residents of our growing city.
Due to slowing revenue growth and increasing costs to provide services, the City has had to make difficult decisions in recent years, deferring most requests from operating departments for increased budget allocations for facility and park maintenance, vehicle and equipment replacements, and increased staffing needs. If the City were to maintqin its current level of service while also fully funding these accumulating maintenance, vehicle and equipment replacement, and other annual unfunded needs that have been deferued for many years, the General Fund budget would realize a $20 million deficit per year. Unfortunately, these needs do not go away when they are defened; they continue to accumulate and the cost to fund them in the future only grows.
ANALYSIS
In line with City staff s ongoing commitment to approaching the City Council early and often regarding budget and fiscal concerns, staff will be presenting the current and projected financial status of the City's General Fund, including discussion of the major revenue sources and a five-year General Fund forecast. The presentation will also provide specific examples of unfunded and underfunded future needs.
Staff will also discuss possible means and methods to close the future funding gap at the workshop, including but not limited to the use of remaining ARPA dollars, raising revenues, deploying economic development tactics, and/or implementing cuts to City services.
In response to this fiscal rcality, staff is recommending that the City Council direct staff to initiate a process involving the community aimed at evaluating the City's General Fund operations and revenues. The goal would be to find away to balance the City's obligation to address its long-term expenses while maintaining fiscal stability and the high-quality essential services and programs most valued by the community.
The implementation ofthis type ofprocess has the potential to substantially impact City service and program levels, the community's current quality of life, and the City's long-term vision for the future.
As such, an extensive community education and participation program will ensure the community has a clear understanding of the City's fiscal constraints, and has multiple 2 Page 6
02/08/2022 Item No.1.
opportunities to provide input. The program will also ensure that the City has a clear understanding of community priorities.
Public Engagement Plan
The City intends to engage in a multifaceted and effective public engagement plan with the following goals:
Support continued transparency of the City's decision-making process and budget and fiscal situation.
Gather extensive community feedback and data about priorities for quality-of- life City programs, services, and amenities.
Proactively educate the community about the City's budget and fiscal situation and needs, including revenues, expenses, and challenges.
Provide multiple opportunities and forums for the community to provide valuable feedback to the City.
Provide information and community feedback to the City Council and City staff about the kind of community people want to live in and which services they value.
Highlight the trade-offs associated with allocating limited resources.
Strategies for informing and engaging the wider community will include research and planning, social media, direct mail, electronic newsletters, public forums, surveys, exercises, opinion research, online engagement tools, local advertising, media relations, and a concentrated focus on two-way collaborative communication. These elements will be considered in the development of a public engagement plan.
The City intends to engage a consultant to assist with the implementation of an effective public information and engagement plan.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Council direction to engage a consultant to assist with implementation of an effective community engagement plan consistent with the goals outlined in this report would require various staff resources. Existing Clty staff will be used to absorb the workload to the extent feasible. Consultants will be needed to assist in public outreach strategy development and to conduct a scientific community survey. Consultants and other engagement tools will be paid for with current available budget within the General Fund.
Ensuring broad, meaningful civic engagement in this effort will also require a higher commitment of staff resources; however, the effect will be significant. The City's effort to gather and leverage public input to generate collective ideas and informed recommendations will advance the quality and effectiveness of the City's budgeting process. The budget is ultimately a reflection of the community's priorities and values, as it outlines how the City invests its resources to make Folsom the kind of community its residents want it to be. a
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02/08/2022 Item No.1.
Submitted,
Stacey Tamagni, Finance Director/CFO
Christine Brainerd, Communications Director
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02/08/2022 Item No.1.