L.4. 20-0949 CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER FISCAL YEAR 2020-2021 CITY MANAGER'S PROPOSED BUDGET, FISCAL YEAR 2020-2025 CITY MANAGER'S PROPOSED FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND BUDGET RESPONSE REPORTS
PROCEDURES:
a. Reconvene Public Hearing, take testimony; and
b. Continue Public Hearing to June 9, 2020; and
c. Receive and file Budget Response Reports.
Our Harbor Patrol officers have saved numerous lives over the years,
including boaters, anglers, and harbor visitors.
During the current COVID-19 crisis, boaters will be endeavoring to engage in recreational boating, in a manner that is both safe and consistent with city and county orders. This will necessitate that various boat owners will not be able to man their vessels with their full regular experienced crews, but will be boating with fewer crewmembers and potentially less experienced household members.
This is exactly the wrong time to reduce the staffing of our Harbor Patrol.
Please maintain this critical public safety service for our community,
The City has a moral obligation to create a budget that reflects the desires and needs of the citizens and are not necessarily accepted by our Council as what staff or department managers are willing to do.
Public safety costs represent approximately 60% of the City's budget. Within that the fire department has experienced continually increasing calls for service. This is not a matter of the Fire department looking for new things to respond to, rather the citizens need additional support. The Fire department has been and continues to run dangerously short of personnel. Irrespective of overtime costs, this places personnel in jeopardy of burnout and Worker's Comp injuries which exacerbates the ongoing risk to the City.
The Budget Response Reports from staff recommend parking 1 fire engine located at Station 2 (moving 2 of the 3 members to a rescue unit), reducing the staffing on the Truck company by 1, which effectively makes it non-functional as a ladder truck, and eliminates 1 of the 3 shifts that staff Fire Station 3 in order to back-fill other positions in the department.
Fire departments are different in that a fire engine cannot function with less than 3 personnel, paramedic units cannot function with less than 2, and a safe fire response requires nearly all of the current apparatus and personnel in our City. If implemented, the current recommendations risk the personal safety of everyone in our City - especially if there is a fire. At-the-same-time these recommendations fail the City's duty make sure the employees have a reasonably safe work environment.
Our City Manager and staff need to find better solutions, solutions that assure that the Fire department and all apparatus is properly staffed and can meet the needs of the citizens.
The Fire Services Budgeted hours have increased approximately 39,000 hours from 2019-2020 Fiscal to 2020-2021 proposed budgets. Core Service 99,074 to 111,551- Key Projects from 26.350 to 59,550 & Customer Service 13,936 to 19,011
According to the Financial Services Director this has been improperly recorded in the past and the proposed is a correction
If accurate the Phase I study of costs done to examine a move to County Fire was significantly flawed and should be revisited.
If incorrect how do we have such a dramatic increase?
Also, proposed Overtime of $2 million is not accurate for true cost. Per Financial Services the excess of $2 million is paid for with vacant position salaries. These costs should properly be booked under overtime in the budget and not obscured in this manner
Please do the right thing with respect to our Harbor Patrol and boating safety! The harbor needs and deserves to be staffed 24/7 by a dedicated and specially trained crew!! The public and the boating community deserve and rely on this level of emergency response! Anything short of that puts lives and property in unnecessary jeopardy. King Harbor is the focal point of our cities visitors and generates a large portion of the cities revenues. Please don’t reduce the level of public safety services to such a vital area in our community. I think we owe it to the State, our citizens, and the visitors of our harbor to uphold the highest level of public services possible. Budget cuts should never make any part of our city less safe. The constant protection of life and property should be the last thing on the chopping block when options are considered! Thank you for your time, Tim Dornberg Retired Deputy Harbor Master / Rescue Boat Captain Redondo Beach Harbor Patrol
The city's adopted budget can clearly be seen that we are not as fiscally solvent as we appear or imagine to be, this is demonstrated through the astronomical spending of intergovernmental business funds. In the previous item of L.3.20-0984, the city looks to adopt a resolution to procure funds for the "revitalization" and or upkeep of the Artesia corridor for landscaping and lighting. To which I would ask why is this significant, why is spending and additional $977,767? is it not apparent that the city budget has already dipped into its own reserves for possibly the 3rd quarter this year? is this an opportunity for city council officials looking to raise taxes on resident during a time in which no one can afford it? how has this not been apparent to any of you? I understand that floating the notion of increased taxes was made lite but cannot fathom that this is how you would go about doing so, especially during a race class war in American that is clearly apparent unless you're blinded by your privilege, let alone wanting to increase taxes during a time in which resources are incredibly scarce. to even fathom an increase in taxes to raise funds during this time is admonishable. I highly urge you to reconsider this.
Regarding decision package #26, Waterfront and Economic Development Department Harbor Enterprise Budget Reduction:
Please continue funding of the pier bird abatement falcon contract. Pier and harbor restaurants are struggling, and there will be a greater emphasis on outdoor dining as we open. Prior to the program, there were extensive issues with pest birds, bird waste, water quality, seaside lagoon cleanup, parking garage and boat cleanup, and rats preying on nesting and dead birds. The area required extensive cleanup of nests and dead birds before beginning the falcon program, ongoing maintenance (and increased pier revenue) are more cost effective than facing the expense of repeating that cleanup. We are lucky to have the falcon program running now, or the unoccupied pier would have been overrun.
If a cost effective reduction in service is possible, while still maintaining good results, I would support it.
If the program is defunded, and if the pier is closed again for a second wave of coronavirus, we should re-fund the program.
For further details, please refer to the administrative report from the 10/15/2019 council meeting.
Regarding decision package #29, Fire Department Harbor Enterprise Budget Reduction – Harbor Patrol Staffing:
A 1/3 cut in staffing and hours is excessive compared to cuts in other public safety areas. Public use of the harbor, if anything, has increased. Beaches, trails, and parks have been closed and will remain limited, people will remain concerned about crowds, but boating and standup paddle boarding have remained open and seem as busy as ever, 7 days a week. An adequate harbor patrol presence should be maintained.
Our Harbor Patrol officers have saved numerous lives over the years,
including boaters, anglers, and harbor visitors.
During the current COVID-19 crisis, boaters will be endeavoring to engage in recreational boating, in a manner that is both safe and consistent with city and county orders. This will necessitate that various boat owners will not be able to man their vessels with their full regular experienced crews, but will be boating with fewer crewmembers and potentially less experienced household members.
This is exactly the wrong time to reduce the staffing of our Harbor Patrol.
Please maintain this critical public safety service for our community,
The City has a moral obligation to create a budget that reflects the desires and needs of the citizens and are not necessarily accepted by our Council as what staff or department managers are willing to do.
Public safety costs represent approximately 60% of the City's budget. Within that the fire department has experienced continually increasing calls for service. This is not a matter of the Fire department looking for new things to respond to, rather the citizens need additional support. The Fire department has been and continues to run dangerously short of personnel. Irrespective of overtime costs, this places personnel in jeopardy of burnout and Worker's Comp injuries which exacerbates the ongoing risk to the City.
The Budget Response Reports from staff recommend parking 1 fire engine located at Station 2 (moving 2 of the 3 members to a rescue unit), reducing the staffing on the Truck company by 1, which effectively makes it non-functional as a ladder truck, and eliminates 1 of the 3 shifts that staff Fire Station 3 in order to back-fill other positions in the department.
Fire departments are different in that a fire engine cannot function with less than 3 personnel, paramedic units cannot function with less than 2, and a safe fire response requires nearly all of the current apparatus and personnel in our City. If implemented, the current recommendations risk the personal safety of everyone in our City - especially if there is a fire. At-the-same-time these recommendations fail the City's duty make sure the employees have a reasonably safe work environment.
Our City Manager and staff need to find better solutions, solutions that assure that the Fire department and all apparatus is properly staffed and can meet the needs of the citizens.
The Fire Services Budgeted hours have increased approximately 39,000 hours from 2019-2020 Fiscal to 2020-2021 proposed budgets. Core Service 99,074 to 111,551- Key Projects from 26.350 to 59,550 & Customer Service 13,936 to 19,011
According to the Financial Services Director this has been improperly recorded in the past and the proposed is a correction
If accurate the Phase I study of costs done to examine a move to County Fire was significantly flawed and should be revisited.
If incorrect how do we have such a dramatic increase?
Also, proposed Overtime of $2 million is not accurate for true cost. Per Financial Services the excess of $2 million is paid for with vacant position salaries. These costs should properly be booked under overtime in the budget and not obscured in this manner
Please do the right thing with respect to our Harbor Patrol and boating safety! The harbor needs and deserves to be staffed 24/7 by a dedicated and specially trained crew!! The public and the boating community deserve and rely on this level of emergency response! Anything short of that puts lives and property in unnecessary jeopardy. King Harbor is the focal point of our cities visitors and generates a large portion of the cities revenues. Please don’t reduce the level of public safety services to such a vital area in our community. I think we owe it to the State, our citizens, and the visitors of our harbor to uphold the highest level of public services possible. Budget cuts should never make any part of our city less safe. The constant protection of life and property should be the last thing on the chopping block when options are considered! Thank you for your time, Tim Dornberg Retired Deputy Harbor Master / Rescue Boat Captain Redondo Beach Harbor Patrol
The city's adopted budget can clearly be seen that we are not as fiscally solvent as we appear or imagine to be, this is demonstrated through the astronomical spending of intergovernmental business funds. In the previous item of L.3.20-0984, the city looks to adopt a resolution to procure funds for the "revitalization" and or upkeep of the Artesia corridor for landscaping and lighting. To which I would ask why is this significant, why is spending and additional $977,767? is it not apparent that the city budget has already dipped into its own reserves for possibly the 3rd quarter this year? is this an opportunity for city council officials looking to raise taxes on resident during a time in which no one can afford it? how has this not been apparent to any of you? I understand that floating the notion of increased taxes was made lite but cannot fathom that this is how you would go about doing so, especially during a race class war in American that is clearly apparent unless you're blinded by your privilege, let alone wanting to increase taxes during a time in which resources are incredibly scarce. to even fathom an increase in taxes to raise funds during this time is admonishable. I highly urge you to reconsider this.
Regarding decision package #26, Waterfront and Economic Development Department Harbor Enterprise Budget Reduction:
Please continue funding of the pier bird abatement falcon contract. Pier and harbor restaurants are struggling, and there will be a greater emphasis on outdoor dining as we open. Prior to the program, there were extensive issues with pest birds, bird waste, water quality, seaside lagoon cleanup, parking garage and boat cleanup, and rats preying on nesting and dead birds. The area required extensive cleanup of nests and dead birds before beginning the falcon program, ongoing maintenance (and increased pier revenue) are more cost effective than facing the expense of repeating that cleanup. We are lucky to have the falcon program running now, or the unoccupied pier would have been overrun.
If a cost effective reduction in service is possible, while still maintaining good results, I would support it.
If the program is defunded, and if the pier is closed again for a second wave of coronavirus, we should re-fund the program.
For further details, please refer to the administrative report from the 10/15/2019 council meeting.
Regarding decision package #29, Fire Department Harbor Enterprise Budget Reduction – Harbor Patrol Staffing:
A 1/3 cut in staffing and hours is excessive compared to cuts in other public safety areas. Public use of the harbor, if anything, has increased. Beaches, trails, and parks have been closed and will remain limited, people will remain concerned about crowds, but boating and standup paddle boarding have remained open and seem as busy as ever, 7 days a week. An adequate harbor patrol presence should be maintained.