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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-05-11 - AGENDA REPORTS - LACO BUDGET UPDATE (2)Agenda Item: CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT CONSENT CALENDAR City Manager Approval: Item to be presented by: Michael P. Murphy DATE: May 11, 2004 SUBJECT: COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES BUDGET UPDATE DEPARTMENT: City Manager RECOMMENDED ACTION City Council authorize Councilmember Laurene Weste to provide oral testimony to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on May 12, 2004 relative the County of Los Angeles proposed FY 04/05 budget as it relates to the provision of animal care and control services and library services within the City of Santa Clarita. BACKGROUND At the regular meeting of April 27, 2004, the City Council requested a brief update regarding the proposed County of Los Angeles Fiscal Year 2004/05 budget. City staff has been in contact with Supervisor Antonovich's office and Los Angeles County department level staff regarding the County's proposed budget for FY 2004/05. On April 20, 2004, Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen presented to the Board of Supervisors the proposed County of Los Angeles FY 04/05 budget. The overall budget proposal is $17.148 billion and represents $269 million in reductions. This budget proposal does not fully reflect all of Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed state budget impacts on the County's budget as the final state budget will likely contain some different elements than those proposed by the Governor in January. On Friday, May 14, 2004, the Governor will issue the "May Revise" which will become the basis for Legislature's adoption of the final state FY 04/05 budget. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will open public hearings on the budget on May 12, 2004, conduct final budget deliberations on June 21, 2004, and have the budget adopted not later than June 30, 2004 in time for the new fiscal year to begin on July 1, 2004. During the review of proposed budget information provided by the County of Los Angeles, three areas of consistent interest by the City of Santa Clarita have come forward: Animal Care and Control, Libraries, and the Parks and Recreation activities specifically related to the Placerita Nature Center and Castaic Lake Recreation Area. The Animal Care and Control Department made an initial recommendation that two animal shelters be closed: Castaic at a savings of $663,000 and Carson at savings of $1,299 million. There is also discussion of recommending termination of the animal rescue program at a savings of $570,000. The Lancaster shelter is proposed to pick up the Santa Clarita Valley as a service area. Supervisor Antonovich has already expressed his concern about these proposals and requested that the department look at alternatives and provide those to the Board of Supervisors for consideration during the budget adoption process. The County Librarian is presently facing a decrease of $8.8 million. The Librarian is preparing alternative scenarios to be presented to the Board of Supervisors in June. At this time, there is an expectation that there will be a reduction in service hours and potential facility closures, though no specific list has been put forward. When faced with similar financial reductions last year, the County Librarian proposed closure of 15 libraries and service hour reductions of approximately 20 percent at the remaining libraries. These recommendations were ultimately not adopted by the Board of Supervisors. The County Librarian and the Board of Supervisors will also need to assess the impact of the failure of all library fee measures on the March 2004 election ballot. The Board of Supervisors indicated last year that the future would depend on enactment of special library tax measures by various communities, such as has already been enacted by the voters of Santa Clarita. Last year, when proposals were made to reduce local library services, the City of Santa Clarita successfully advanced the argument that the amount of revenue generated through the special library tax in our community exceeded the level of expenditure by the County Library system. City staff and County library staff are currently assessing the revenue generation in Santa Clarita as compared to expenditure levels for the current year and projecting into next year. The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation has provided welcome news in being able to keep the Placerita Nature Center open and recreational opportunities, aside from swimming related activities, operational at Castaic Lake. On May 12, 2004, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will open the public hearing on the proposed budget and begin receiving testimony. The City Council may wish to provide oral testimony to the Board of Supervisors urging that the Castaic Animal Shelter not be closed, that Santa Clarita's libraries remain open and there be no service reductions should the numbers demonstrate that the levels of service are commensurate with the contribution of the community's residents through the special library tax. Finally, the City Council may wish to thank the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation and Los Angles County Board of Supervisors for their ongoing commitment to programs and services at Placerita Nature Center and Castaic Lake. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS 1. Provide written testimony to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. 2. Provide no testimony to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. 3. Other action as determined by the City Council. FISCAL IMPACT Adoption of the recommended action does not require additional City resources, as the activities contained therein have been included in the adopted FY 03/04 City of Santa Clarita budget.