Town Council Special Meeting Agenda
Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 4:00 p.m.
437 Old Mammoth Road, Suite Z, Mammoth Lakes
Members of the Town Council:
Mayor John Wentworth, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Sauser, Councilmember Chris Bubser, Councilmember Sarah Rea, Councilmember Amanda Rice
NOTE: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the Town Clerk at (760) 965-3602. Notification prior to the meeting will enable the Town to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting. (28 CFR 13.102-35.104 ADA Title II)
NOTE: Materials related to an item on this agenda submitted after distribution of the agenda packet are available for public inspection in the Town Offices located at 437 Old Mammoth Road, Suite 230 during normal business hours. Such documents are also available on the Town of Mammoth Lakes website at www.townofmammothlakes.ca.gov subject to staff’s ability to post the documents before the meeting.
NOTE: All comments will be limited to a speaking time of five minutes.
NOTE: This meeting will be conducted pursuant to the provisions of Assembly Bill 361 which amends certain requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act. While Suite Z is still open to the public, it is strongly encouraged that you watch the Town Council meetings on the Town of Mammoth Lakes' website atwww.townofmammothlakes.ca.gov, on the local government cable channel 18, or via Zoom. Public comments can be submitted to the Town Clerk at [email protected]. before and during the meeting.
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1. CALL TO ORDER
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. PUBLIC COMMENTS
The Public Comment portion of the agenda provides the public with an opportunity to address the Town Council on matters not otherwise listed on the agenda. Under California law the Town Council is prohibited from generally discussing or taking action on items not included in the agenda; however, the Town Council may briefly respond to comments or questions from members of the public. Therefore, the Town Council will listen to all public comment, but will not generally discuss the matter or take action on it. Requests for service from the Town may also be made at the Town offices during regular business hours.
Members of the public desiring to speak on a matter appearing on the agenda should ask the Mayor for the opportunity to be heard when the item comes up for Council consideration.
4. POLICY MATTERS
4.1 Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget (Department Requested).
4.2 Update and Council Direction on Response to Local Extreme Weather Declared Emergency.
5. CLOSED SESSION
5.1 Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6.(a), Conference with Labor Negotiators, the Council will meet with its representatives, Town Manager Daniel C.
Holler, Administrative Services/Finance Director Rob Patterson, Community and Economic Development
Director Sandra Moberly, and HR Manager Amanda Pelham with respect to the following Employee Organizations: Mammoth Lakes General Employees Association, Mammoth Lakes Management Employees Association, and the Mammoth Lakes Public Works Employees Association.
6. ANNOUNCEMENT OF ACTION TAKEN AFTER CLOSED SESSION
7. ADJOURNMENT
The Town Council will adjourn to a regular meeting to be held on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.
1 Jamie Gray
From: CJ Sterling <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2023 2:40 PM
To: Jamie Gray
Subject: Public Comment for Town Council meeting tonite [You don't often get email from [email protected]. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification ]
[EXTERNAL EMAIL]
Hi JamieI would like to submit the following comment below for this evening's Town Council meeting. Could you please confirm you're received this and that there is no further action needed on my part? Thank you,
-CJ
- - - - - - - - -
Town Council, Staff and Members of the Public:
As a full time Mammoth resident for over 20 years, I am strongly opposed to both MLT and the proposed 10 year TBID renewal in their current forms. Although MLT has a valuable place in this community, I do not agree with the "growth at any cost" mentality, their one-sided spending plans and an accountability to no one.
At last week's joint Council and MLT meeting, I was appalled by MLT's argumentative and defiant attitude towards Town Council and the Public. I listened to numerous positive and constructive spending suggestions get presented, all of which were seemingly shot down by condescending lectures and an unnecessary tone of defiance. There needs to be serious changes made before a renewal is considered. I'd like to see this board listen to and represent the wants and needs of everyone in this community. Unfortunately, last week it became apparent to me that they have other priorities. The $67 million dollar estimated spending budget laid out for the next 10 years, shows that nearly 93% of those dollars will be spent on airline subsidies and marketing, leaving the other 7% for administration fees and reserves.
What happened to the very community TBID is supposed to benefit? The residents here deserve not to be ignored or disregarded. Mr Urdi last week literally said "everything we're doing is resident focused". I couldn't disagree more.
Please correct me if I'm wrong here...All current members on the MLT Board are not voted in by the public, but instead are hand-selected and appointed at the sole discretion of the Director. The Director's current quarter million dollar salary, including any past, present or future raises gets voted on and approved solely by those hand-selected members.
In other words, there's ZERO input from Council, Town Staff or the Public. How does that make sense? Tens of millions of our dollars are spent on whatever the members decide on. That is the most undemocratic thing I've ever heard of.
Council: Please insist on... or at least consider a more fair and community-inclusive process for TBID's spending, as well as for Council's current TBID renewal consideration. 10 years is too much.
Please, no more new airline subsidies until they can prove that Denver and San Francisco can be profitable. Airline subsidies were NEVER meant to be permanent when TBID was formed. Dallas and Chicago next??
2 Not until the two current airline routes are proven successful. Let's consider adding year-round service in Bishop first, so locals can fly somewhere on vacation during our shoulder seasons. That's one benefit a lot of us could use. Why is Bishop and Inyo County not contributing to the airline subsidies? They are a direct beneficiary of MLT's marketing machine. Can we ensure that a tiny sliver of their budget gets allocated towards, infrastructure, parking, road and signage improvements, etc? Can we please enforce the speed limits, chain requirements and no parking signs in town? Let's not be afraid of hurting someone's feelings here, at the sacrifice of safety. Our guests are quickly learning they can do whatever they want, with virtually no consequences and at the detriment to public welfare. This town simply does not have the capacity, workforce or infrastructure to accommodate the 75,000 daily emplanements they so dreamily would like to see.
Thank you.
TOWN COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Title: Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget (Department Requested).
Meeting Date: April 12, 2023
Prepared by: Rob Patterson, Administrative Services / Finance Director RECOMMENDATION:
Staff is requesting Town Council comment and direction on the preliminary budget (Department Requested) that will assist staff in preparing the next phase of our FY23-24 budget. Staff will use direction and additional research to bring a balanced tentative (Manager Recommended) FY23-24 budget to Town Council in May for consideration.
BACKGROUND:
This report provides preliminary information related to the FY23-24 budget. The report primarily focuses on the General Fund but includes other key funds utilized for Town operations. The preliminary budget builds off the revenue information presented to the Town Council on March 15. There will be some additional changes to the budget based on requested Council direction, additional information obtained for both revenue and expenditures, along with fine tuning and final budget balancing adjustments. This report provides a basis to set expectations for the budget and to allow the Town Council to provide any comments or direction to assist in preparing a tentative budget in May.
This year we are focused on addressing certain policy questions with the Town Council that will help shape our budget processes going forward. We remain committed to a process that delivers a controlled growth of our operating budgets, aligned with Town Council priorities. Our revenue forecasting starts our budget cycle. The methodology and background used for each revenue forecast uses consistent methodology with prior years. We remain conservative in our estimates to prevent overreliance on high revenues, unduly increasing our annual operating budget. These revenue estimates were presented to the Town Council on March 15 and confirmation was received as to our recommendations. Staff has been working hard on the expenditure side to provide an accurate picture of department needs for the new fiscal year. Our goal is to provide the Council with a balanced operating budget, with only planned use of any reserves. This means the Town’s operating revenues will equal or exceed operating expenditures.
The preliminary budget is still a work in progress and therefore has additional work to address an almost $82,000 deficit. Staff will process updates as received and make adjustments to the plans based on Town Council input, resulting in a balanced tentative budget presented to Town Council on May 17th.
The preliminary budget includes General Fund revenues of $30,103,400 and expenditures (including transfers out) of $30,1844,433.
Policy Questions
There are a number of assumptions that staff used to produce the preliminary budget represented in this report. Some of these assumptions are specific policy questions that staff would like to confirm with Town Council to ensure we build a resilient budget that reflects the strategic priorities of Town Council.
Funding reserves from budget process – The adopted reserve policy includes four elements, Reserve for Economic Uncertainty (REU), Operating Reserve (OR), Debt Reserve (DR), and Contingency. Both REU and OR are tied to a percentage of base operating revenue, which should approximate the General Fund revenue per policy. This baseline revenue is updated annually, and staff recommends an increase
Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget Page 2
from $27.5M to $30M for FY23-24. The policy rates of 20% and 5% for REU and OR respectively, require an allocation of $514,336, which has been built into this budget as presented. A $100,000 contingency amount is included in the proposed budget. There are two options to provide funds to remain with our reserve policy. Staff can allocate the needed funds as part of the budget process, as has been done in this budget, or rely on excess revenue identified during the quarterly budget presentations. The allocation from current budget work, while more difficult to absorb in the operating budget, is a more fiscally responsible practice to ensure we are funding to policy within our budget constraints and not waiting for future revenues to provide the needed reserve funding.
Contract funding to Mammoth Lakes Tourism for FY23-24 – Staff has built in the same amount of $2.0M as the contract allocation to Mammoth Lakes Tourism (MLT) for FY23-24. The contract with MLT, derived from Measure A allocations, provides the Town Council with input into the work plans generated by MLT. This input is given as focus points which are used in generating specific deliverables, Exhibit B of the contract which is updated annually. The Measure A allocations are covered in more detail later in this report.
Excess Measure A Allocations to Housing NOW! - The Measure A allocations are represented in this budget consistent with prior Town Council expectations. This means we allocate the TOT budget to the
Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget Page 3
specific categories, identifying appropriate expenditures for each category and reflect any change in balance for the reserves. The prior Town Council directed staff to transfer any excess budget from Housing and Tourism to Fund 245 – Housing NOW! programs. This is reflected in the budget as presented and illustrated in more detail later in this report.
FY23-24 General Fund Revenue Projections
In preparing for the FY23-24 budget, several key revenue projections are made to set the stage for the expenditure side of the budget. Staff presented the proposed revenue budget to the Town Council on March 15, and no adjustments have been made since that presentation. While there is continual information and analysis expected on this revenue forecast, staff will provide a reconciliation of any adjustments recommended in the next budget presentation. The following is a brief review of revenue projections totaling $30,103,400 for FY23-24.
Fiscal Year 23
-24 Preliminary Budget Page 4
Fiscal Year 23
-24 Preliminary Budget Page 5
Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget Page 6
Revenue Allocation “Measure A”
As the transient occupancy tax rate has been increased over time through various ballot measures, Town Council established a set of commitments that outline the rate at which TOT would be distributed to Tourism, Transit and Housing, and Town General Fund. While the ballot measures had various names, they are collectively called “Measure A” allocations. While the various measures made “political” commitments on the use of the funds the measures were passed as general taxes which may be used for general fund purposes. The allocation and use of these revenues have gone through a few different adjustments over time, with the most recent being in 2017 as noted. Below is a brief history of the adjustments to TOT rate:
In 2017 the Town Council recalibrated the allocation to better address the current needs of the community and allocate more funds to housing. This recalibration established the current rates we use today which are referenced in points reflected in 13% collected for the tax. Tourism – 2.35 points or 18.0769% of the collected tax Transit – .85 points or 6.5385% of the collected tax
Housing – .85 points or 6.5385% of the collected tax
The rates above are used to allocate funding to each category based on the amount of budgeted TOT on an annual basis. These allocations established the amount of revenue available for each category for budget purposes. Within the General Fund, there are specific departments for each category where staff will build budgets specific to this activity. The TOT budget for FY23-24 is $18.0M resulting in the following allocations:
Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget Page 7
The primary expenditure in each category is usually the annual contract amount for the NonGovernmental Agency (NGO) responsible for providing the work plans in each category. Housing – Mammoth Lakes Housing
Tourism – Mammoth Lakes Tourism and Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce Transit – Eastern Sierra Transit Authority
In addition to the initial allocation, the Town Council established a reserve for each category where actual funds received, above the budgeted TOT, would remain allocated to these categories but not automatically available for use. The reserves require Town Council action to make the funds available for specific projects or funding needs. Over time, these funds have been used for appropriate expenditures specific to the category but more recently, Tourism and Housing have been used almost exclusively for housing programs. Additional funds may be allocated as part of the quarterly budget updates. Staff also provide a reconciliation of these reserve balances annually during the fund balance presentation. The charts below reflect the budget contents for each of the Measure A allocation elements for FY23-24.
Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget Page 8
Note: The Town and MLH have not finalized contract negotiations and the stated amount may change.
Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget Page 9
The allocation of revenue for activities outside of the base MLT contract provides funding for programs previously funded through MLT. The shift reduced the amount of time and process required to manage these funds between the Town and MLT.
The policy question for the Town Council is the allocation of $2.0M to MLT for the annual marketing contract as currently planned for in the budget as illustrated above. The Town and MLT have not finalized a contract and the amount may be reviewed again as part of the process. Also, the contribution of any excess budget for both Housing and Tourism in the previous charts totals $1,178,217. This amount is currently reflected in the budget and will be transferred to Fund 245 Housing NOW! programs.
Over the past few years, the Transit reserves have been used to fund increased operating costs and to set aside funding to serve as a grant match for vehicle replacement.
FY23-24 General Fund Expenditures
The focus on the General Fund is to prepare a balanced operating budget. This simply means that operating revenues will be equal to or greater than annual operating expenditures. The focus on the General Fund is important as it has the greatest level of flexibility in meeting local government expenditures. A number of other funds that are restricted by law (i.e., revenues may only be expended for certain purposes like Measure R and U, Assessment Districts, or Gas Tax or some funds restricted by Council action). A number of these funds will include the planned use of reserves or encumbered funds. This is often the case for capital projects or larger planning items that span multiple fiscal years.
A detailed Capital Improvement Program will also be prepared as the budget process moves forward.
Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget Page 10
Our approach with General Fund expenditures was to review each department’s performance to date to identify trends we see emerging that will affect our future needs. There is a focus to develop added capacity, through efficiency and process improvement, within all Town operations. Staff costs are the largest combined cost to the Town and therefore require good oversite and strategic planning.
Departments are focused on adding employees only for critical needs and increased capacities above and beyond what can be achieved through efficiency. Department Heads and the Town Manager begin the annual position review by determining what service level impacts are expected and how proper administration of positions will address those needs. The budget includes approximately 6.0 Full-time equivalent (FTE) employees for FY23-24, which were added in FY22-23. The full-time positions were all added within FY22-23 and are reflected as new in this budget as they were not a part of the original budget to start FY22-23. The total labor cost increase for this budget is $1,783,789, 11.9% for FY23-24.
This increase includes positions added during FY22-23, recommended changes for FY23-24 and benefit cost increases. Staff has summarized these impacts below.
Recreation Supervisor - Adult Programming and Facility Operations The Recreation Supervisor is responsible for delivering primarily Adult (18+ years) recreation programming and the operation and programming of Town-owned or managed parks and facilities, excluding the Community Recreation Center (CRC). Primary duties include delivering scalable and sustainable, year-round adult programming for residents and visitors, such as adult clinics, leagues, tournaments, activities, and events. Primary responsibilities also include the operations and programming of the Whitmore Pool, Whitmore Track and Sports Field, Community Center & Tennis Courts, proposed Pickleball Center, Shady Rest Park & Disc Golf Park, Trails End Park & Volcom Brothers Skatepark, Mammoth Creek Park and the Edison Theatre. Position may support other supervisory functions performed by the Parks and Recreation Department. The position is necessary to effectively manage the span of control over programs and staff (full time and part time) in the implementation of services and programs.
Police Officer
The addition of a police officer was approved in mid FY22-23 in response to potential loss of some patrol officers to other agencies. The Town’s police force does operate 24 hours a day 7 days a week with the current staff. This work plan doesn’t have the capacity to absorb a loss of an officer without requiring significant overtime and burden on existing staff. The addition of this officer provides additional capacity and prepares for potential retirements or other loss of personnel. In the past, the Town has been very successful at attracting the lateral move of officers from other agencies when needed, however the last recruitment process resulted in a stark change from previous with much fewer applications. The Town also has a desire to augment police staff by one officer to open the opportunity to assign an officer to a detective position. This is an important position that would assist with investigations. This position will allow officers to continue to focus on patrol and related duties, provide greater attention to certain cases, enhance coordination with other agencies and can still support patrol operations when necessary. Currently this critical need is dependent on work by each patrol officer and relies more on the availability of the District Attorney investigative personnel.
Police Recruits
As stated under the Police officer section, the Town is having more difficulty recruiting law enforcement positions. One way staff have addressed this is to put two recruits through the POST academy. This is an effective process as you are typically drawing from existing community members, people who are already established with housing and roots locally. This process provides an opportunity for community members seeking a career in law enforcement. The last time the Town put a recruit through the academy was 2006. That officer is still employed with the Town today. The academy will take approximately six months for the recruit to graduate. After graduation they will be a part of our patrol force working with
Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget Page 11
a field training officer for an additional four months. So, start to finish, a recruit is almost a full year until they are considered ready for patrol on their own.
Part-Time
Staff have also made appropriate adjustments to part-time staff as our structure and amenities have come online. The Police Department has an ongoing program to use Reserve Officers. These officers are generally retired officers living in the area and provide a variety of support services to the Department.
This includes event assistance, conducting background checks on new officers, limited backfilling of patrol when officers are out or in the case of significant calls for service, assistance with investigative follow up, traffic operations and may assist with transport of people to jail. The budget includes funding for one reserve officer recently hired as a Reserve Officer.
The key adjustments from recreation are additional programs that will come online with the Community Recreation Center (CRC). These are not significant adjustments, resulting in approximately 1,200 additional hours per year. The programs and staffing are dependent on the recruitment of part-time staff.
In the Fall of FY22-23, the outdoor host program shifted from being under MLTPA to the Town. The positions are managed by the Office of Outdoor Recreation. This is better aligned with funding and oversight being provided by the Office of Outdoor Recreation. Additional part-time hours are also reflected in trail maintenance/construction and grooming program, which are subject to weather conditions and permitting process.
In total the changes reflected in new staff introduced in FY22-23 or recommended for FY23-24 have increased the labor expense by $658,669 which is 35.9% of the total labor increases reflected in this budget.
Other effects to Labor Costs
Staff tracks the change in cost for specific labor elements on an annual basis. Health insurance rates are provided on an annual (calendar year) basis by our service provider. This year we realized a rate increase of approximately 7.9% for the year. This increase, from rate only, is approximately $205,000 and represents 11.2% of the total labor increases reflected in this budget. Merit increases are a part of the salary structure adopted by the Town to ensure we have competitive starting wages but reflect the expected increase in productivity as additional experience is gained over time. This is reflected as 5% steps for the General Employee Association (GEA) and Public Works Employee Association (PWEA).
Ranges are also established in the Management Employee Association (MEA) but are a range and not reflected in specific steps. If the annual progression of each employee is deemed successful by their supervisor in an annual review, they will receive a 5% pay increase annually based on their hire date.
When an employee reaches the top of their range, they no longer receive merit increases and the only pay increases are based on negotiated pay adjustments. The increased labor costs associated with merit increases is $345,866 and represents 18.8% of the total labor increases reflected in this budget.
The Town is currently in contract negotiation with each of these employee associations. The Police employee associations have existing contracts with previously negotiated adjustments reflected in the budget.
The negotiations include a number of elements, both financial and policy, which affect each employee.
The main financial component is the salary adjustment which effectively moves the salary range and salaries up by a negotiated percentage. Unlike the merit increases discussed previously, these range adjustments affect all employees and for those at the top of their range, represent the only pay adjustment they will receive, remaining in their current job. While the negotiations are still in process, staff have made estimates on the financial components of that negotiation and those are reflected in the budget.
The anticipated impact of negotiations is approximately $390,000 and represents 21.2% of the total labor
Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget Page 12
increases reflected in this budget, this may change based on the final contract negotiations. Worker compensation is an annual estimate provided by our insurance carriers and is based on the previous year’s performance and existing claims. This year, our Workers’ Compensation expense increased $43,403 and represents 2.4% of the total labor increase reflected in this budget. Comprehensive leave is a calculation of the cost of increasing leave balances for accrued time off. If an employee uses all time off accrued on an annual basis, there will be no additional expense for comprehensive leave accrual. The use of the leave would reduce regular time worked, salary, expense as comprehensive leave would pay the salary. However, if hours are accumulated and unused, they represent an increase in accrued liability expense for the Town. The accrual and usage are analyzed as part of the budget process. The additional expense is $192,758 and represents 10.5% of the total labor increase reflected in this budget.
Fiscal Year 2
3-24 Preliminary Budget Page 13
Fiscal Year 23
-24 Preliminary Budget Page 14
Fiscal Year 23
-24 Preliminary Budget Page 15
Fiscal Year 23
-24 Preliminary Budget Page 16
Fiscal Year 23
-24 Preliminary Budget Page 17
Fiscal Year 23
-24 Preliminary Budget Page 18
Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget Page 19
In addition to labor expense, each department has expense lines that match the core services provided by that department. In some instances, there are contracts with third party entities that perform some critical function within that department work plan. For example, in Finance, there is a contract expense for our online short-term rental monitoring programs. Departments will also have expenses related to training, conferences and meetings, uniform costs, misc. supplies, potential overtime wage, and advertising and legal notices. Each department Director has reviewed the needs of the year and completed the preliminary budget. There may be adjustments as we continue review and analysis and at some point, minor reductions may be necessary to balance the budget. These adjustments will determine those that have the least impact on the overall delivery of core services. The departmental expenses for FY23-24 remain consistent with prior years.
Below is a chart that shows the inclusion of these expenses and additional labor costs noted above by department. This chart shows a comparison of these budgets to the previous year’s expenditures and adopted budget FY22-23 budget.
The graph below shows the relative size of department expenditures within the General Fund.
Fiscal Year 2
3-24 Preliminary Budget Page 20
Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget Page 21
Gas Tax Fund (210)
The Gas Tax Fund is the second largest operating fund following the General Fund. The fund provides for road infrastructure maintenance and snow removal. The revenue for FY23-24 includes $2,818,033 in State Gas Tax funds. This includes the reimbursement for snow removal estimated at $2,400,000. This reimbursement is significantly higher than prior years and is based on the snow year experienced in FY22-23. A portion of this reimbursement is transferred to the various assessment districts, estimated at $175,000 in total. Since this revenue is based on prior year actual snow removal cost, Fund 210 will see an increase of 37.1% from prior year snow removal revenue. This annual fluctuation in current year expense and subsequent year revenue requires the Town to fund the excess cost of snow removal in heavy snow years. While this is always the dynamic of this fund, it has not been more evident than in the last three years where we have had near record high and low snowfall totals. The Fund is supported by a General Fund and Garage Services transfer of $2,700,381 which is 12.6% lower than prior year, which reflects the estimated higher reimbursement amount for snow removal.
SB1 Funds listed in the revenue numbers above must be spent on specified capital projects. For the purpose of this budget, the projected revenue from SB1 is also listed as a transfer out to capital projects.
Any unexpended funds remain in capital projects and not Gas Tax Fund 210.
The majority of expenditure adjustment is reflective of the change in labor costs for the road department, along with increased snow removal and transfers to other districts for snow removal.
Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget Page 22
Snow removal is the key expense in this fund that drives operating changes year over year. This not only affects the snow removal line item but vehicle operation costs. Other line items can vary year over year depending on road rehabilitation projects. These projects can be handled within this fund or may show significant transfers out for larger capital projects. All of these elements are shown in the above numbers.
Debt Service / Future Capital Fund (990)
The Town has a variety of debt including the bond for the police station, the bond payment for the MLLA settlement, and inter-fund loan between the General Fund and the Vehicle Replacement Fund. The Town has been accelerating the repayment of the internal loan and expects to have this debt paid off no later than FY24-25 with a current outstanding balance of $931,207. The chart below reflects the debt payments made to external entities. The 2004 Bluff’s development funding, paid for by assessments on property tax in the Bluffs was fully paid in FY21-22 and is no longer a part of our debt schedule. This adjustment is noted in Fund 990 for debt payments as well as Fund 852 where the assessment revenue and expenditures are noted. A summary of the Town’s operating debt service is as follows:
Fiscal Year 23
-24 Preliminary Budget Page 23
Fiscal Year 23-24 Preliminary Budget Page 24
This fund also includes future capital components for technology improvement or minor facility improvements that are undesignated but available for any capital project. Staff recommends continuing the practice of transferring the full $2M payment for MLLA settlement and allowing excess funds to accumulate for future capital projects. The difference between the $2M allocation and actual debt payment will provide $128,887 in funding for a future capital project.
CONCLUSION
Balancing the FY23-24 preliminary budget deficit will be accomplished working through the various departmental budgets and revenue updates. We anticipate some changes in both revenue and some expense reductions. Staff is committed to working within the Town’s financial limits and the policy direction provided by Town Council as we provide services to our community. We are also requesting specific policy direction in a few areas that will assist in both budget development and work program implementation. Based on any requested adjustments by the Town Council, staff will proceed to develop the tentative budget.
As the tentative budget is developed, staff will provide additional budget details, comparisons and other relevant information that serves to inform the overall budget development. The tentative budget will include additional areas of the Town overall budget, (Restricted Funds, Assessment Districts, DIF, Capital Projects, and others). Town Council will be provided the tentative budget for review on May 17th, prior to the proposed final budget hearing and adoption scheduled for June 21, 2023.
FY23-24 Budget
Preliminary Budget – Department Requested
Rob Patterson
Administrative Services / Finance Director
April 12, 2023
General Fund - Projected Revenue
General Fund - Projected Revenue
Policy Questions
Reserve Policy Updates
Measure A - Allocations
Measure A - Allocations
Measure A - Allocations
Measure A - Allocations
Labor Stats Comparison
Labor Costs Comparison
Labor Costs
Labor Costs – General Fund Details
Labor Costs – Full-Time – Fund Details
Labor Costs – Part-Time – Fund Details
General Fund – Expenditure summary by Department
General Fund – Expense Distribution
Gas Tax Fund (210)
Gas Tax – Expense Distribution
Debt & Future Capital Fund (990)
Mammoth Lakes Town Council
Agenda Action Sheet
Title: Update and Council Direction on Response to Local Extreme Weather Declared Emergency.
Council Meeting Date: 4/12/2023
Prepared by: Daniel C. Holler, Town Manager
Recommended Motion: Provide Council Comment and Direction on Information Provided and Direction on Actions Taken.
Overview of Emergency Response Resources, Actions Taken and Recommended:
The Town of Mammoth Lakes is continuing to operate under the Town, County, State and Federal proclamations of a State of Emergency. FEMA representatives will be touring Mono County and the Town of Mammoth Lakes to determine if we are eligible for inclusion under a Major Disaster Federal Declaration. The enhanced level of disaster designation will provide access to additional FEMA resources for damage recovery by local agencies, increasing the reimbursement amounts for eligible costs from 75% to 94%.
Throughout this emergency a substantial number of resources were secured through the State emergency management system, working with CalOES, CalFire, and the Incident Management Team. Throughout this emergency Staff made several requests through the Emergency Operations Center and the State for local support. The resources noted above were in response to these requests. Requests for State resources (National Guard or other) to assist with shoveling of private residences to clear roofs and propane connections/tanks was a request that was not filled. A brief summary of requests for resources that were filled through the State process included:
Mammoth Lakes Fire Protection District (MLFPD) emergency response support from CalOES Engines assigned to Mammoth Lakes. Two engines are currently assigned. A total of four USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) teams and one Haz Mat team with overhead support were assigned. All but two of the USAR teams were demobilized on April 8th and the remaining two teams are scheduled to demobilize on April 12th and are under review. These teams included structural support engineers that provided training and assistance in responding to structural failures within several buildings. Dump trucks, support team, and loaders supporting snow removal flexed from 10 trucks and one loader to 44 trucks and three loaders, plus support from Town resources. The last day of operations was April 7.
A series of hand crews were provided to assist with fire hydrant clearing and critical facility and easement shoveling. These resources were demobilized earlier. We used these crews to prepare a stockpile of approximately 7500+/- sandbags ready for use by the community to address flooding issues that may occur as the snow melts. Law enforcement support was provided to the Town largely due to the loss of access to local resources due to the closure of Highway 395. This resource was previously demobilized.
2 Other actions taken by the Town during the emergency include providing staff resources to the Emergency Operations Team (Finance, Safety and PIO support) as well as being regular participants. Town staff and resources were deployed to complete the final rescue of people stranded on Benton Crossing Road. Town staff and equipment assisted in clearing Highway 203 through Town. We coordinated with the USFS to open an alternative snow storage pit. We provided logistical support (Food and Lodging) and secured operational space for the CalOES teams stationed in Town. We provided assistance to the schools and worked with them on the use of facilities, and assisted with logistics for Red Cross personnel as they managed the local shelter for a period of time. We provided logistical support for added law enforcement officers assigned to Mammoth Lakes. We provided emergency housing for those injured in one of the local explosions. Town coordinated and funded the emergency cleanup of the areas impacted by the two explosions in Town. We set up a call center and ongoing system to receive and respond to calls of residents with concerns over structural issues. Additional staff resources have been committed on duty and/or on standby throughout this emergency and is continuing. Several Town employees have taken on additional roles and responsibilities to assist where needed, from filling sandbags, managing traffic, work coordination, answering phones and addressing requests for information, and responding to specific incidents. Overall, Town staff has provided and continues to provide assistance to the community, responders, and coordination with other local partners as we work together through this emergency.
The ongoing impact of the emergency includes responding to propane leaks and structural failures.
MLFPD, AmeriGas, and others as needed are responding to propane leaks and reported structural failures. The Town has developed a program for responding to and inspecting buildings with structural damage and to tag the building as red (unsafe), yellow (limited area unsafe), or green (generally safe). Staff has developed a formal program to address inspections, notification, and defining next steps to address the safety of the structures. Staff will provide a more detailed update as part of this report at the Council meeting. To prepare for the needs of the community through the Town’s permitting process, we are recommending the hiring of additional part-time staff and outside firms to ensure the timely review and issuance of building permits. This will include a substantial amount of administrative time and support as well as professional assistance.
The Town provided $200,000 in financial support to the Mammoth Mountain Community Foundation (MMCF) to assist with snow removal and meeting other immediate needs of community members. The funding matched funds from Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and ALTERRA. The focus is on local homeowners. While headway has been made, and continues, the lack of qualified contractors to support these efforts has limited some work. Staff are working with Mammoth Lakes Housing (MLH) and Mammoth Mountain Ski Area to secure short-term emergency housing for those evacuated from their homes due to structural damage. Staff is recommending initial funding to MLH of up to $100,000 to assist with securing short-term housing. This is an immediate and growing public need to assist low-income households secure housing to keep local employees in the area, to provide stability for school aged children, and meet basic needs of these residents. Staff is requesting Council concurrence to proceed with a grant agreement with MLH for this purpose.
Staff is also working on details for a small business grant program to offset some of the financial impacts incurred by small businesses due to cost of snow removal incurred from this extreme
3 weather event. The grant program is being developed as a streamlined program like the one used during the COVID 19 emergency. This program is targeted to reduce the potential closure of businesses, reduce the potential layoff of employees, to reduce any potential damages to buildings from remaining snow removal needs and to improve access, parking, and flow of traffic in parking areas. Staff are recommending an initial funding level of up to $500,000. Staff is requesting Council concurrence to proceed with this grant program. Staff is finalizing the structure of the program and will do outreach to the business community as soon as it is ready.
Staff will continue to compile damage estimates for Town facilities to be submitted for cost recovery and will compile expenditures related to response costs. We are working with CalOES to set up a one-day local assistance center for the public to gain information on various programs that may provide assistance to local residents and businesses. The details of when, where and who all will be there are still in progress.
We are also working on an emergency street repair contract to address several sections of failed streets and several potholes. The goal is to have this work done as soon as possible this spring. As noted above, we are preparing for potential flooding issues by having sandbags available and checking to ensure storm drains are cleared. The current snow conditions will make it more difficult to trace any early flooding as the snow tends to redirect the flowing water from normal patterns. Staff is aware of several areas that typically have flooding issues and encourage homeowners/businesses to begin preparing now with sandbags and continued snow removal or clearing of channels to direct water around properties. We are not anticipating flooding related to Town secured snow storage areas. For the next week, the National Weather Service was not forecasting flooding in streams, etc. in our area. Other parts of Mono and Inyo Counties may see elevated flows and some flooding.