Impacts of Restructuring on Department StaƯing Levels
StaƯing by Department FY 2019-20 (pre-restructure) vs FY 2024-25 & current Vacancies FTE %
City Council 1.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 100.0% 1.0
City Manager 66.1 48.0 58.0 -8.1 -12.3% 7.0
City Attorney 48.9 42.5 45.5 -3.4 -6.9% 1.0
Records & Elections Services 13.5 12.0 13.0 -0.5 -3.7% 2.0 Community Development 1103.0 80.0 90.0 -13.0 -12.6% 5.0 Finance 78.3 61.3 68.0 -10.3 -13.2% 6.5
Fire - sworn 120.0 120.0 121.0 1.0 0.8% -1.0
Fire - non-sworn 16.0 14.0 16.0 1.0
Fire - as-needed 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.4 N/A
Housing & Human Services 2101.0 64.3 82.2 -18.9 -18.7% 6.8 Human Resources 28.2 22.0 27.0 -1.2 -4.3% 2.0
Information Services 54.0 46.0 53.5 -0.5 -0.9% 4.0
Library 112.0 47.8 74.3 -37.7 -33.7% 3.5
Police - sworn 229.0 223.0 232.0 3.0 1.3% 14.0
Police - non sworn 181.0 166.0 167.0 -14.0 -7.7% 17.5
Police - as-needed 33.3 10.7 22.5 -10.8 -32.5% N/A
Public Works 525.9 438.0 490.4 -35.6 -6.8% 39.0
Recreation & Arts 288.7 51.0 82.2 -6.5 -7.3% 2.2
Transportation 450.0 410.8 440.2 -9.8 -2.2% 23.0
Transportation - Mobility/Parking 148.5 31.5 37.5 -11.0 -22.6% 2.0 Citywide Total 2,298.3 1,889.8 2,122.6 -175.7 -7.6% 136.5 Department
FY 19-20
FTE
FY 20-21
FTE
FY 24-25
FTE
Delta
Vacancies
Housing, Community Recreation and Cultural Services moved from HED to CSD 19-20 to 24-25
1 In FY 2020-21, as part of the citywide restructure, three departments were renamed and one was dissolved:
Planning & Community Development (PCD) became Community Development (CDD) Community & Cultural Services (CCS) became Community Services (CSD) Big Blue Bus (BBB) became Department of Transportation (DOT) Housing & Economic Development (HED) was dissolved
In addition, certain divisions were moved between departments:
Parking and Mobility divisions moved from PCD to DOT
Economic Development and Pier Administration moved from HED to CDD 2 In FY 2023-24, the Community Services Department was dissolved and the Housing & Human Services and Recreation & Arts Departments were created.
Attachment E
Impacts of Remaining Staffing and Funding Reductions
Summary of Impacts
• Across the City, staffing levels remain 176.9 FTE below 2020 levels and operate with a vacancy rate of 7-8% creating additional staffing shortages, with particular impacts to the Library, Housing and Human Services, and Community Development.
• As part of the recently adopted FY 24-26 CIP budget, $6.8 million in capital funding was held in reserve for anticipated liabilities, with an additional $459 million in unfunded capital projects identified, including $41.3 million for parking facilities and $204 million for parks. • Staff to maintain parks, city buildings, and other spaces and Capital Improvement Program funding remains below 2020 levels, creating a growing maintenance backlog and slowing response times for 311 requests from same or next day to weeks. • Youth and teen programs across the City remain shuttered or operate at reduced levels with waitlists for every program.
• The Miles Playhouse and Camera Obscura remain closed with plans to reactivate them in 2025, and Fairview and Ocean Park library branches only operate two days per week in a self-service model.
City Manager’s Office
• The Office of Communications was reduced from 14 to 5 people resulting in:
o Elimination of original programming for CityTV channels and shuttering of the CityTV facility
o Reduced video production for social media and public information sharing o Elimination of in-house team to support public outreach on Council priorities such as economic development and homelessness
• The Office of Performance Management was eliminated, ending the City’s efforts to implement a performance management program across the City.
• The Office of Wellbeing was eliminated, ending programming that supported the Pico Wellbeing Project and the City’s community engagement on wellbeing.
Community Development
• Department staffing remains below pre-pandemic levels including:
• Loss of Neighborhood Preservation Coordinator all but eliminates staff capacity for the Neighborhood Preservation Program.
• Loss of one Senior Plan Check and one Administrative Staff Assistant results in less than half of plan reviews meeting stated turnaround goals and delays in responding to customers and completing 311 requests.
• Reduction of 5 planning staff, including the Historic Preservation Officer, results in the Department’s inability to advance multiple planning efforts at once, including the Bergamot Arts Center, 4th/5th & Arizona and historic preservation efforts. • Code Enforcement remains down one Lead Officer with increased demands, including the Pier Vending/DART team.
• The Pier Team was reduced by 40% due to elimination of one Senior Development Analyst and one Staff Assistant, leaving only the Pier and Beach Administrator (one position) to support lease and license request for proposals, negotiations and project management, and community partnerships and events such as Cirque du Soleil. • While staffing remains largely consistent in the Economic Development division, the demands on the division have increased with work on the Surplus Lands Act, outdoor dining and parklets, and renewed efforts to focus on economic development in our business districts such as the small business loan/grants program.
Housing & Human Services
• Enrollment and program offerings at CREST, VAP, and PAL are limited due to 3 unrestored staff positions and the need to stretch staffing resources to operate in alignment with staffing ratios provided in the City’s Child Protection Administrative Instruction. • Virgina Avenue Park (VAP) operates at approximately 75% of pre-pandemic levels with waitlists for all programs
• Trades Interns Program: Public Works funds 5 trades interns down from 10 and instruction time remains at 50% of pre-pandemic levels.
• VAP Artists in Residence: The budget allocated to the program remains at 60% of its former levels, resulting in a significant and ongoing reduction in program capacity. As a result, the program has evolved into an enrichment program, utilizing a variety of contracted instructors. • The PAL Youth Center maintains a consistent waitlist due to capacity limitations resulting from an unrestored Program Specialist, and PAL’s closing time remains at 7:30 pm, short of the prepandemic closing time of 8:30 pm. • PAL Fitness Gym continues to operate at significantly limited capacity open two hours, two days a week as a result of an unrestored Program Specialist. The PAL Gym’s pre-pandemic hours were 12pm-8pm, Monday thru Friday and featured a variety of classes for ages 6-24. • A total of $36.5 million in Housing Trust Funds (HTF) has been diverted to meet spending needs related to the pandemic and to settle abuse claims against the City limiting the City’s capacity to pursue development of Affordable Housing. Additionally, fund transfers continue to be withheld, allowing the HTF to just meet the bare minimum of covering existing program staffing and operations.
Human Resources
• The City’s Training and Organizational Development has not been restored resulting in the elimination of the internal Santa Monica Institute training program that offered 41 courses, professional development academies for those seeking to advance to supervisory and management roles.
Information Services
• Project Management. The department manages a portfolio of 115 active technology projects but eliminated the Project Manager position as part of COVID restructuring, requiring other staff to manage projects as well as support active technology systems delaying project delivery timelines.
• The City’s open data portal and data analytics program was eliminated during the restructuring. • Funding for new computer replacements was eliminated for two years, resulting in a computer fleet that is between 4 and 9 years old, requiring additional maintenance and support and creating additional cybersecurity risks. This program has now been resumed but it will take approximately 4 years to bring all City computers up to a secure standard.
Library
• Weekly Library Open hours are 55% (142 hours) of pre-Covid Hours (259 hours); **Note 24% of the current open hours are self-service and not fully staffed. • Every neighborhood and community in Santa Monica has less access to their nearest library location as compared to pre-Covid times
o Main Library—is open 5 days (compared to 7 days pre-Covid, 29% less access per week) o Pico Branch—is open 5 days(compared to 6 days pre-Covid, 17% less access per week) o Montana Branch—is open 3 days (compared to 6 days pre-Covid, 50% less access per week)
o Ocean Park and Fairview Branches – is open 2 days (compared to 6 days pre-Covid, 67% less access per week)
• Library serves 27% (310,576) of walk-in visitors annually (compared to pre-Covid at 1.13 million) because of reduced hours and programming
• Because of operating at 67% staffing compared to 2019, the Library offers about 1/6th (373) of the programming and reduced outreach and support to other City departments and community partners such as SMMUSD.
Police
• Elimination of Crossing guard services and background checks • The reduction in 11 as needed Traffic Control Officers reduced the City’s ability to enforce parking zones and meters.
• The reduction in two (2) Animal Control Care Attendants means that Animal Control Officers (ACO) tend to animals in the shelter reducing time for licensing enforcement and delays in customer service requests.
• The reduction of 4 Public Safety Officers (PSOs) reduced the ability to have a presence in City parks, the Downtown area and the airport.
Public Works
• Reductions in staffing and funding resulted in delays in maintenance and repair of City assets in public spaces include:
o Significant backlog of streetlight, street, alleyway and sidewalk repairs o Reduced 311 response time from 1-2 days to sometimes weeks • Reduced maintenance of City parks and management of City landscaping, including reducing number of plantings by 50% and pruning by up to 75%
• Delays or cancellation of repairs of park playground equipment and surfaces at Marine, Ocean View, Memorial, and Clover parks
• Elimination of event set-up services in City parks and community facilities for birthdays, programs and community classes
• Reduction in public engagement, events, and community activities supporting sustainability, including elimination of Youth Climate Corps, school tours of the Aquarium, Coastal Clean-Up, recycling center, sponsorship opportunities, sustainable library book collection and the Green Prize for Sustainable Literature Program.
• Reduction in customer service and engagement with businesses and residents to educate and incentivize sustainable practices to achieve the City’s Climate Action Plan. • Loss of 3 mechanics requires City vehicles to be out of service longer slowing City operations. • Loss of one electrician, one plumber and one HVAC repair specialist causes delayed repairs at City facilities, with a growing backlog of maintenance needs. • City’s Capital Improvement Program remains underfunded, delaying or deferring several projects resulting in a $459 million backlog of unfunded capital projects. (List of unfunded and held CIP projects attached.)
Recreation and Arts
• RAD is down almost 25,000 hours in staff capacity annually, this includes critical administrative, programmatic and facility positions - support in management and delivery of community programs and services
• Elimination of major community events serving close to 80,000 attendees in prior years, including the Coast Open Streets Festival.
• Elimination of 15,000 hours annually of community recreation programming and reduced hours for recreation at facilities across the city which includes the following:
o Reduction of Adaptive Programming (Santa Monica Adaptive Recreation and Sports’ Social Club and Explorers Club) which provided weekly social and community engagement excursions for 300 people with disabilities. o Loss of 5,500 hours of reservable tennis court time
o 74% reduction in recreational swim hours.
o Youth Diving, Youth Synchronized Swimming, and Adult Fitness classes have not returned to the Santa Monica Swim Center (SMSC).
• Elimination of funding for Arts & Culture staff and programming resulted in $600,000 less in grant giving (CAP, SSI & Fellowship) and a 60% reduction in community events at the Annenberg Community Beach House since pandemic cuts.
Transportation
• Mobility on Demand Every Day (MODE), the City’s on-demand transportation service for seniors and adults with disabilities, operating hours remain at approximately 80% of pre-pandemic levels.
• $41.3 million in Parking Division Capital Improvement Projects remain unfunded (this is included in the CIP unfunded list):
o Downtown Parking Structures Guardrail and Waterproofing Upgrades - $8,100,000 o Civic Parking Structure Decorative Repair - $710,000
o Surface Lot Paving Program - $11,550,000
o Civic Structure Elevator Replacement / Modernization - $3,100,000 o Rebuilding of Beach Lot 4S Decorative Plaza - $283,000 o Parking Structure 1 Structural Upgrades / Seismic Retrofit - $14,038,605 o License Plate Recognition at all Parking Structures - $1,260,000 o Parking Facilities Renewal Program - $2,310,000
• The Mobility Division team dedicated to the maintenance of roadway signs, markings and traffic control devices was reduced from 6 to 2 FTE resulting in delays and reduced maintenance for curb paint (red, blue, white, etc.), bollard maintenance, sign and signpost installation and maintenance, and small roadway striping installations and maintenance. • The City’s Traffic Engineering Division is now operating at 75% of pre-pandemic capacity slowing 311 response times, review of CIP construction drawings and other safety enhancements, stop sign request evaluation, reducing the ability to design and implement traffic signal modifications in house.
• Traffic Signal Preventative Maintenance was reduced to $300,000 delaying or preventing the replacement of over $6 million of equipment at or near the end of their useful life.
Unfunded and Held Capital Improvement Program Projects
Held Projects
Project Title FY 2024-2026
CIP Budget Held
Annual Paving and Sidewalk Repair Program $350,000
Copper Wire Protection Program $500,000
Crossing, Calming, and Safety Improvements at 23rd St. and Hill St. $275,337 Fire Self Contained Breathing Apparatus Replacement $550,000 Main Library Central Courtyard Revitalization $31,000
Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium AV Infrastructure Improvement $194,000 Reed Park Community Garden $370,000
Reframe: City Hall Mural new HCH lobby artwork and interpretive signage $400,000 SM28/ CELEBRATE28 $2,000,000
SMPD Vehicle Radio, Cradlepoint, and Antennas Replacements $1,200,000 Sports Lighting Replacement Program $606,722
Streetlight EV Charger Project $75,000
Urban Forest and Planting Renewal $300,000
Grand Total $6,852,059
Unfunded Projects
Project Title Est. Project Costs
Infrastructure Maintenance
Alley Renewal Program $500,000
Computer Replacement Contributions - General Fund Deferral $3,570,000 Main Library Security Camera Replacement $107,100
Parking Facilities Renewal Program $2,310,000
Parking Structure #1 Complete Remodel $14,038,605
Promenade Kiosk $504,000
Public Safety Facility Security and Tenant Improvements $231,000 Replacement Program For Parking Access & Revenue Control Systems and Equipment $27,954,465
Safety Upgrades for Santa Monica Public Library $924,000 Surface Parking Lot Repaving Program (General Fund and Beach Fund) $11,550,000 Vehicle Replacement Contributions - General Fund Deferral $8,463,000 City Yards Modernization - Michigan Ave Improvements $16,000,000 Camera Obscura/Art Lab Facility Maintenance $1,052,876
Downtown Parking Structures Guardrail and Waterproofing Upgrades $8,100,000 Property Room Solutions, Improvements, and Updates $1,028,000 Annual Paving and Sidewalk Repair Program $350,000
Main Library Central Courtyard Revitalization $283,000
Urban Forest and Planting Renewal $300,000
Civic Structure Decorative Feature Repair $710,000
Civic Structure Elevator Replacement $3,100,000
Farmers Market Vehicle Barrier $1,317,056
Historic City Hall North Wing Building System Upgrades $11,589,000 Main Library Landscaping - Soil Compaction $130,000
Rebuilding of Beach Lot 4S Decorative Plaza $283,000
Santa Monica Swim Center spare boiler $76,000
Swim Center Engineering of air flow and water HVAC lines $2,280,000 Facility Renewal Program $20,695,165
Subtotal $137,446,267
New Infrastructure or Technology
License Plate Camera Recognition Program $1,260,000
EV Action Plan Implementation - EV Charging $3,630,000
Fire Station 3 Facility Design/Build Assessment, Demo, and New Facility | Fire Station #3 Design/Build $25,986,884
Fire Station 7 (Permanent Solution) | Fire Station #7 Design/Build $24,747,500 Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium AV Infrastructure Improvement $194,000 SMPD Vehicle Radio, Cradlepoint, and Antennas Replacements $1,200,000 City Fleet Electrification Infrastructure $1,665,000
Fire Department Training Center Construction - Phase III $5,000,000 Park Maintenance Electrical Equipment Pilot Program $525,000 Proactive Video Monitoring and Security Services $190,000 Subtotal $64,398,384
Parks
Memorial Park Expansion Phase 1 (add $20M from SMC) $16,800,000 Airport Park Expansion $54,450,000
Airport Park Parking Lot and Pathway Replacement $298,100 Crescent Bay Park Improvements $3,996,300
Memorial Park Expansion Phase 2-3 $100,320,000
Pickleball Courts | Pickleball Courts at Airport Extension $5,940,000 Reed Park Dog Park $605,000
Reed Park Community Garden $370,000
New Athletic Sports Field at Airport Extension $12,425,000 Safety Netting for Memorial Park and Clover Park fields $1,100,000 Tennis Court Resurfacing $1,000,000
Tennis Courts Windscreens $249,000
Tongva Park Bollard Replacement $895,000
Turf Replacement Airport Park Field $1,512,996
VAP Overflow Parking Lot into Permanent Parking Area $3,000,000 VAP Teen Center Courtyard Shade $335,000
Virginia Avenue Park Center Lobby and Corridor Upgrade $73,000 Virginia Avenue Park Thelma Terry Community Room Improvements $90,000 Sports Lighting Replacement Program $942,000
Subtotal $204,401,396
Pier and Beach
Beach and Pier Master Plan (Phase 2) $1,386,000
Pier Deck Upgrade $12,589,500
Pier West End Substructure Upgrade $6,121,500
Subtotal $20,097,000
Streetscape and Lighting
Lincoln Corridor Streetscape (Phase 2) $8,316,000
Promenade Lighting Project $11,979,000
Copper Wire Protection Program $500,000
Crossing, Calming, and Safety Improvements at 23rd St. and Hill St. $275,337 Streetlight Modernizations (General Fund ) $2,000,000
Public Safety Facility - Interior Communication and Connectivity Project $844,000 Subtotal $23,914,337
Miscellaneous
Fire Self Contained Breathing Apparatus Replacement $550,000 Reframe: City Hall Mural new HCH lobby artwork and interpretive signage $400,000 Citywide Infrastructure Safety Assessment and Implementation $615,000 Fire PSF Office Reconfiguration $90,000
Promenade Maintenance Relocation $1,000,000
Public Art deferred repair catch-up and maintenance $800,000 Public Safety Communications Workstation Upgrade $741,000 Public Safety Facility Office and Furniture Renovation (PD) $1,544,000 Reframe: City Hall Mural cultural assessment of City monuments and public artwork $650,000
SM28/ CELEBRATE28 $3,000,000
Subtotal $9,390,000
Total Unfunded $459,647,384