City of Gonzales
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: June 20, 2023
FROM: Carmen Gil, City Manager
THROUGH: Carmen Gil, Acting City Manager
SUBJECT: Resolution No. 2023-53 Measure K List of Programs for FY 23-24
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council:
• Receive the staff report;
• Accommodate public comment period;
• Discuss the staff report and spending priorities; and • Adopt Resolution No. 2023-53, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Gonzales Approving the Measure ‘K’ Oversight Committee’s Recommended List of Services and Programs to be Funded with Tax Proceeds Received from the Measure ‘K’ Transition and Use Tax During Fiscal Year 2023- 2024, Including Funding Allocations.
BACKGROUND
In November 2014, 65 percent (65%) of Gonzales voters approved Measure ‘K’, enacting a one-half percent (0.5%) transactions and use tax. Included with the passage of the Measure ‘K’ Transaction and Use Tax was the formation of an Oversight Committee to monitor and provide advisory recommendations to the City Council regarding the use of the tax revenues. The formation of the Oversight Committee was instrumental to the passage of Measure ‘K’ and was necessary to maintain the public transparency needed for the use of these funds.
REVIEW & ANALYSIS
The Measure K Oversight Committee met on May 31st to review and discuss the list of potential projects/programs to fund with the Measure ‘K’ tax proceeds.
AGENDA
ITEM
5 Exhibit ‘A’ is a list of proposed programs and services they are recommending to be funded with the Measure ‘K’ Transaction and Use Tax (TUT) during Fiscal Year 2023-2024.
Revenues from Measure K continue to increase over the years. In 2021/2022 the budget for Measure K was $705,000, and in 2022/2023 it is $750,000. In 2023/2024 it will be $831,500, a 10.87% increase from last year.
Recommended FY 2021/2022 Funding Priorities
Exhibit ‘A’ of the Resolution is a matrix that details the recommended projects and programs for FY 2023-2024. The programs are broken down as follows:
• Group 1 are “High Priority” projects that are recommended for continued funding; • Group 1A are Additional Project/Program recommended for FY 2023-2024 Recommended for FY 2022/23- Group 1
1. Fund the debt service for the renovation of the Community Pool. ($130,000) On March 7, 2016, the City Council approved a financing plan for the Community Pool Improvement Project. The approved financing plan includes private placement financing of approximately $1.5 million for a period of fifteen (15) years at an interest rate of 2.88%. The annual debt service payment is slightly less than $130,000, which staff recommends be funded through the proceeds received from the Transaction and Use Tax. This obligation will carry-forward to cover the annual debt service until the debt service is paid off or as long as the tax is in place.
2. Fund Youth Services/Development Activities ($95,000), including: (a) Youth Services Development Staffing; (b) Gonzales Youth 21st Century Success Initiative (GY21CSI), including:
Kinder readiness, 3rd grade reading and writing proficiency, and 8th grade math proficiency, and incorporates the Gonzales Youth Council. The City Council continues to consider the funding of services for youth programs and development to be of a high priority.
After School ‘Kid-Power’ Program ($90,000). In 2017 the City of Gonzales, created Kid Power to complement the Gonzales Unified School District after-school program known as A.S.E.S (After School Education and Safety Program). The ‘Kid-Power’ program now stands independent of A.S.E.S and has become a staple in the community.
The program provides recreational enrichment, homework, and other educational assistance and programming. In line with the City’s youth initiative, the funding has allowed the City to provide additional resources, activities and programs for youth.
Gonzales Day Camp ($75,000): The City’s Recreation Department’s Summer Day Camp has been a community favorite since its inception in 2016. As proposed, the day camp will continue to provide the means for parents, and families to have reliable day care for their children for the entire 7 weeks that school is not in-session during the summer months. As envisioned, the program will have a 1 to 12 adult-to-child ratio with 1 Summer Camp Intern for each group of children. Children are grouped by ages to keep activities age appropriate and always supervised by trained staff.
Summer Day Camp will include daily swimming, environmental education, STEM activities, character education, service learning, arts and crafts, group games, daily reading activities, walking trips to parks and the library, participation in popular City activities such as Fun in the Garden, and the Kid’s Safety Academy, and City-sponsored learning activities.
To keep the cost affordable for families, maintain and expand the program1 , the proposed
budget and recommended Measure ‘K’ funds allocation is $60,000, which will be used to offset the cost of staff for the program which sees 100-225 participants. With the cost of staff offset, the price is approximately $100 per week. Because the program will be funded with City of Gonzales tax monies, the reduced rate program will continue to be limited to those who can show proof that at least one parent or guardian either lives or works in Gonzales. The benefit of this funding cannot be understated because it allows the program to be provided for $100 a week to Gonzales residents for an enriched recreational and educational experience. Continuing funding for this activity will help the City meet its Youth Development goals by: providing jobs and internship opportunities to more youth; meeting the needs of working families for reliable and consistent childcare; prevent “summer slide” in education; allowing more space in the Summer School program for youth who truly need academic assistance; expose the youth participants to all of the wonderful programs the City has developed; create an open environment for youth to use hands on learning in areas that they might not otherwise be exposed to; provide opportunity to participate in service learning projects to help the community; and most of all, build lifelong relationships with staff and interns as positive role models.
3. Community Participation Grants ($30,000): This program has been very successful and has become a staple in the community. This funding allows local community groups, and advocates to perform a service for the community through various unique community activities (e.g., Senior Services, Adult Learning, Child Services, Educational Advancement, Quality of Life and Economic Development).
4. Police Department, Community Policing ($5,000): The police department utilizes these funds to provide community policing efforts that allow them to engage with the community weather that is through trading cards, outreach materials and/or events such as National Night Out where they can interact with the public in a positive manner.
5. Senior Programming ($25,000): City staff seeks to support more senior and adult programming through services that support increased physical activity and engagement and prevention.
6. Olinga “Wings of Knowledge” Youth STEM program ($20,000): Setting aside funds for this program would assure the continuation of STEM programming available to Gonzales Youth. This STEM program has resulted in our youth constructing water sensors in partnership with local farmers and a weather station in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that has been placed into production and is supplying data into the NOAA weather prediction algorithms that leads directly to improving the local forecast.
7. Salinas Valley Promise Scholarship Program ($15,000): This program began in FY19/20 and is a partnership with Hartnell College. This program is heavily focused on keeping young students in college during the most critical first two years. The impact of this programming cannot be overstated in that in the academic year 2019-2020 it saw approximately half (55) of our graduating seniors move into higher education and enroll into Hartnell. With the impact of the pandemic academic year 2021-2022 saw a slight increase in the number of students which continued into year 2022-2023.
8. City Sports Programming ($20,500): Our City Sports leagues continue to grow each year, not only are there more participants in our programs but we have made more sports available to the public. There is also added interest in other sports leagues that we are attempting to start up with other cities. These funds allow us to continue to provide a verity of healthy activities and options for our residents.
Recommended for FY 2022/23- Group 1A
9. Aquatics Programming ($76,000): This funding allows the City to continue to provide aquatics programming to the entire community. The current pool fees do not offset the total costs of the pool repairs and staffing. These funds would allow us to continue providing an adequate level of service and the staffing needed to run the facility.
10. Three new full-time Fire Fighter positions to Augment Services ($250,000): The Gonzales Fire Department has a long and rich history of utilizing volunteers to cover the community, however, with the increase in large fires that annually appear to plague the State, Cal Fire is keeping their temporary/seasonal positions longer, which has made it very difficult for departments to maintain the number of volunteers needed. With the support of the TUT Measure K Committee, 3 eightmonth seasonal Fire Fighter positions were approved and added to the budget in FY 2021-2022; however, because Fire Fighters are in such high demand it is difficult to retain them here on a seasonal basis, therefore keeping them on fulltime status makes more sense for the City in order to maintain the coverage necessary for our community.
How Recommendation Supports the Vision
Gonzales will continue to be a safe, clean, family-friendly community, diverse in its heritage, and committed to working collaboratively to preserve and retain its small-town charm.
Explain how the Recommendation Directly Implements the Mission The City Council and Staff of the City of Gonzales will realize our Vision by providing the leadership, commitment and resources necessary to provide excellent services that enhance the quality of life of our diverse community. X Yes ___ No
Explain: The Measure ‘K’ Transaction and Use Tax offers a significant source of funds for the City to undertake public projects that it might otherwise not be able to do. When there are budget constraints the first programs to go are always recreation and non-mandate public facing services, with Measure K funds those programs are able to stay intact, and thus we can continue to support our mission and vision of having a healthy and thriving community.
City services will be delivered in a cost-effective, respectful and friendly manner to insure the safety and well-being of the residents and the promotion of business, recreational, housing and employment opportunities in an environmentally sustainable manner. X Yes ___No.
Explain: Please refer to the explanation written above for the Vision.
Strong fiscal policies allow us to provide appropriate infrastructure for:
• Public Safety X Yes No N/A
• Housing Yes No X N/A
• Recreation X Yes No N/A
• Environment X Yes No N/A
• Education X Yes No N/A
Explain: The formation of the Measure ‘K’ Oversight Committee ensures transparency regarding how tax resources are allocated amongst the five areas described above.
BUDGET
Based on current and projected sales tax activity staff is projecting a 10.87% increase (from $750,000 to $831,500).
CONCLUSION
It is recommended that the Gonzales City Council Adopt Resolution No. 2023-53, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Gonzales Approving the Measure ‘K’ Oversight Committee’s Recommended List of Services and Programs to be Funded with Tax Proceeds Received from the Measure ‘K’ Transition and Use Tax During Fiscal Year 2023-2024, Including Funding Allocations.
Attachments:
1. Resol 2023-53
2. Exhibit A - Measure K List of Programs FY 23-24