HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-05-11 - AGENDA REPORTS - ADDITIONAL FUNDS ENGINEERING (2)CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR City Manager Approval:
Item to be presented by: T. Brad Therrien
DATE: May 11, 1999
SUBJECT: ALLOCATION OF ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO THE CONTRACTUAL
SERVICES ACCOUNT FOR THE ENGINEERING SERVICES
DIVISION OF THE TRANSPORTATION AND ENGINEERING
SERVICES DEPARTMENT, ACCOUNT NO. 4310-8001
DEPARTMENT: Transportation and Engineering Services
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council authorize that additional funds be allocated to the Contractual Services
Account No. 4310-8001 in the amount of $80,000, and increase estimated revenues in
Account No. 001-6139 by $80,000.
BACKGROUND
Each year a certain amount of funds are budgeted for contractual services to perform plan
project review. Revenues to offset these expenditures are also budgeted. Several events
have occurred this fiscal year to cause the need to expend additional funds for these
services; however, significantly more revenues have been collected to offset these costs.
Accounting procedures require the City Council's authorization to increase the budget limit.
Offsetting revenues have been received to cover the cost of the additional demands. The
initial budget allocation for contractual services was established at $77,000 based upon
revenue projections estimated at the time of budget preparation. This amount covers costs
to review reports and plans by City consultants, such as geotechnical studies. Each
developer must pay fees to cover the cost of these evaluations with the funds being placed
in various revenue accounts.
The original projection for development revenues for these work items was only $580,550.
(This amount does not include revenues for development fees collected in other categories.)
As of April 28, 1999, $650,507 in plan check revenues has been received, and a seasonal
surge in submittals is expected. This will increase revenues further before the end of the
fiscal year.
The extremely high demand for this service has necessitated contracting with several
consultants to help fill the gap. The increased demand for plan checking services, combined
with the present difficulty in hiring qualified personnel, creates a tenuous position for the
nda Item:...
ALLOCATION OF ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO
THE CONTRACTUAL SERVICES ACCOUNT
May 11, 1999 - Page 2
City. Review times had slipped from the established goal of two weeks to approximately
eight. With the assistance of contract personnel, the present review period has been
reduced to five or six weeks.
State law mandates that reviews of development projects occur in a timely manner or
projects will be deemed "approved" without City review. The same section of State law
(Subdivision Map Act) states that "...the local agency or designee shall upon request of the
sub -divider, and for the purpose of meeting these time limits, contract or employ a private
entity or persons on a temporary basis to perform services necessary to permit the agency
or designee to meet the time limits." While the City is not in this situation at present, the
forecast of additional demands on staff is a major concern. Falling behind the State -
imposed mandates would be an extremely undesirable situation that should be avoided.
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS
Deny the increase in the Contractual Services Account No. 4310-8001, resulting in a
potentially greater backlog of plan check services.
2. Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
Offsetting revenues have been collected from developers for this service.
ATTACHMENTS
None.
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council\pinchk$.doc