CITY OF SALINAS
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
_________________________________________________________________________________ DATE: March 21, 2023
DEPARTMENT: Administration and Human Resources
FROM: STEVEN S. CARRIGAN, CITY MANAGER
BY: RUSS BRANSON, (RUSS BRANSON CONSULTING) jim pia, assistant city manager
Marina Horta-Gallegos, Human resources Director
TITLE: The Salinas Plan Refresh REPORT
RECOMMENDation:
Receive the informational Salinas Plan Refresh report.
DISCUSSION:
The original Salinas Plan (TSP) was a ten-year plan designed to provide the City with a path forward on maintaining a long-term balanced budget while preserving City services and addressing the affordable housing crisis. The Salinas Plan was presented to the City Council by representatives of the National Resource Network, including Russ Branson, on December 4, 2018. The Salinas Plan represented over a year of work analyzing the City's fiscal situation and housing policies.
As background, in November 2017, Salinas was one of five cities selected nationally by the National Resource Network to perform an analysis to develop and implement multi-year budgetary planning. The grant provided $300,000 funding for the effort, and the City contributed $100,000. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic effects on the economy and work force, as well as the significant impacts of high inflation on the national and local economy, staff retained Russ Branson Consulting in October 2022, to perform a refresh of TSP.
TSP included 32 recommendations. These recommendations covered a wide variety of subject areas, to be studied, worked on, and phased in over a ten-year period. Since its presentation in 2018, City staff has been systematically exploring the recommendations made, in order to determine whether or not each recommendation is the right fit for Salinas and verifying the amount of potential savings from such actions.
In addition to individual items being considered, staff provides updates to the Finance Subcommittee on an ongoing basis, and the full City Council receives updates from staff regarding the implementation of the recommendations.
At the time, TSP identified potential solutions in an effort to preserve core City services and address the housing crisis. Utilizing a ten-year budget model, TSP identified the recommendations that, taken together, would eliminate the City's structural budget deficit and establish resources which can be utilized to address the housing crisis. These recommendations included plans to reduce current expenditures, find ways to implement current efforts more efficiently, and identify potential new revenues. Additionally, the TSP included recommendations to increase the supply of affordable housing and decrease the number of residents living in overcrowded and unsafe living conditions. Recognizing that it's impossible to provide public services without employees, TSP did not recommend any layoffs.
An initial presentation of the draft Salinas Plan Refresh information was given to the Finance Committee on February 7, 2023. Mr. Branson has continued to work with all Departments on refining the document. The ongoing challenges facing the City of Salinas are real and need to be addressed; This Salinas Plan Refresh examines progress to date and, post the COVID-19 Pandemic, identifies where we are on the original recommendations, identifies completed tasks and further identifies and proposes additional needs.
CEQA CONSIDERATION:
Not a Project. The City of Salinas has determined that the proposed action is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Guidelines Section 15378).
STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVE:
This report aligns with the City Council’s goal of Effective and Culturally Responsive Government. (City of Salinas Strategic Plan 2022-2025) DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION:
Administration coordinated with all Departments and Mr. Branson, in coordinating The Salinas Plan Refresh.
Attachments:
Salinas Plan Refresh