Budget and Government Efficiency Committee Meeting - February 5, 2020
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Budget and Government Efficiency Committee Meeting - February 5, 2020
The Budget and Government Efficiency Committee met on February 5, 2020, with Vice Chair Kate and Council Members Montgomery and Campbell present. Staff from the Finance Department, Purchasing and Contracting Department, and the Independent Budget Analyst (IBA) also attended. The meeting covered three agenda items: the mid-year budget monitoring report and sidewalk repair fee waiver, a fleet vehicle replacement discussion, and the annual business diversity report. All motions passed unanimously.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The committee unanimously approved the minutes from the January 22, 2020 meeting, on a motion by Vice Chair Kate, seconded by Councilmember Montgomery.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were received.
Discussion Items
-
Item 1: Fiscal Year 2020 Mid-Year Budget Monitoring Report and Sidewalk Repair Permit Fee Waiver
- Sarah Mahan, Assistant Director of Finance, presented the mid-year budget update. Key financial changes include: general fund revenues exceeding budget by $12.6 million, expenditures exceeding budget by $6.8 million, resulting in a net projected increase of $5.8 million. Property tax revenue increased by $2.7 million due to a shift in the enforceable obligation schedule (offset by a reduction in FY21), while Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) decreased by $3 million due to underperforming months and a revised Tourism Authority forecast (growth rate reduced from 3% to 2%). Process improvements included directing departments to account for attrition in projections and developing a benchmarking tool. The item also included a request to waive fees for sidewalk repair permits through December 2020 and to transfer appropriations. A motion to approve both subitems, with the condition that they be separated into two distinct items for full Council consideration (each with its own staff report, resolution, and presentation), was made by Vice Chair Kate, seconded by Councilmember Campbell, and passed unanimously.
-
Item 2: Fleet Vehicle Replacement and Total Cost of Ownership Discussion
- The committee discussed the replacement of old vehicles, auction proceeds, and total cost of ownership (TCO). Staff noted that older vehicles fetch less at auction and that a regular replacement cycle would reduce TCO. Questions were raised about electric fire trucks, which are not yet available from OEMs. A motion to approve the item was made by Vice Chair Kate, seconded by Councilmember Campbell, and passed unanimously.
-
Item 3: Fiscal Year 2019 Business Diversity Report
- Christiana Gauger, Deputy Director of Purchasing and Contracting, and Christian Silva, Program Manager of the Equal Opportunity Contracting Program (EOC), presented the annual report on business diversity. The presentation covered the department's efforts in promoting diversity among contractors. No further discussion or vote was recorded in the transcript.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Approved with the condition to separate into two Council items (fiscal year 2020 mid-year budget monitoring report and sidewalk repair permit fee waiver) – unanimous.
- Item 2: Approved (fleet vehicle replacement) – unanimous.
- Item 3: Presented; no action taken (informational).
- Meeting Adjourned: After completing the agenda, the committee adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Great. Um good morning, everyone. I will now call the budget and government efficiency committee meeting to order. A quorum is now present, consisting of myself, Vice Chair Kate, and Council Members Montgomery and Campbell. We also have our IBA, Andrea Tevlin, our CFO, Rolanda Sharval, Deputy City Attorney Brett Bardalotta, and Angela Colton from the IBA's office. Is there a motion to approve or amend the committee record of actions from the January 22nd, 2020 meeting? Great. We have a motion by Vice Chair Kate, a second by Councilmember Montgomery. All in favor? Aye. Great. That passes unanimously. We will now proceed with non-agenda public comment. But we don't have any. Okay. We don't have any today. Great. Moving right along. Do we have any committee member mayor, IBA, or city attorney comments today? No. Do we have any requests for continuance? No. As we have no consent agenda items, we will proceed to the discussion agenda. We will begin today with item number one, uh fiscal year 2020, mid-year budget monitoring report and fee waiver for sidewalk repair permit for the remainder of calendar year. No, it's it's fiscal year 2020. Fiscal year 2020. Great. Welcome and um please introduce yourselves. Good morning, Committee Chair Bree and Committee members. I am Sarah Mahan, Assistant Director with the Department of Finance. And with me today is financial operations manager Adam Jones and principal accountant Jose Mendoza. We are here today to present the mid-year budget monitoring report and fee waiver for sidewalk repair permit for the remainder of the calendar year. This report is based on five months of actual activity and is the first comprehensive look at the general fund activity. While first quarter report focused on the major general fund revenues and public safety overtime, these projections take into account the activity and all departments and types of revenue. This presentation will also provide updates on the general fund access equity projections as well as the requested general fund appropriations and the details of the right-of-way sidewalk repair permit fee waiver. Uh expenditures for the fiscal year. Uh revenues are up by 12.6 million dollars and expenditures by 6.8 resulting in an increase of the net projected activity of 5.8 million dollars. General fund revenues are projected to exceed budget by 12.6 million. The two significant changes from the first quarter projections are in property tax and TOT. Property tax is $2.7 million higher than anticipated in the first quarter due to a shift in the enforceable obligation schedule for the successor agency. This resulted in an increased revenue for fiscal year 2020, which will be offset by a reduction in 21. TOT is down from the first quarter projection by $3 million due to unperform underperforming months coupled with the updated San Diego Tourism Authority forecast. The growth rate has been reduced from 3% utilized in the budget to 2% for the remainder of the year. Thank you, Sarah. So in this slide, we want to discuss a couple implementations or process improvements that we have done this fiscal year. Really, this was an effort in an effort to minimize the variance in expenditures between the mid-year report projections and year inactuals. First, we directed departments to account for attritions in their projections. Secondly, we developed a benchmarking tool to assist with reviewing projections for positions. Citywide in order to increase accuracy for the projection. This information was provided to a few departments, and we received positive feedback.
openpublica.com