Mayor Foster Releases His Budget Recommendations To A Council That Will Decide After He's Gone
(July 9, 2014) -- Although Mayor Bob Foster said last year that the FY14 budget he proposed in Aug. 2013 would be his last, and in eight years in office hasn't previously released his budget recommendations until late July or early August, he today (July 9) held a press event, flanked by City Manager Pat West, making recommendations for a FY15 budget to a new City Council (with a new majority) that won't take action until after he's out of office.
Foster's recommendations include:
[scroll down for details]
Funding a FY15 replenishment police academy class to keep pace with attrition but not replace roughly 200 officers taxpayers no longer receive under Foster recommended budgets approved by Council majorities (with few dissents) since Sept. 2009. (LBPD management indicates it plans to move 11 detectives from Juvenile Investigations to handle homicide, narcotics, gangs and other cases, leaving four Juvenile Investigations detectives; civilian overtime reductions and other efficiencies would shift the equivalent of 18 officers to field work, LBPD management says.
Allocating $2.3 million for four new fire engines but NOT restore fire engines at three fire stations (8, 17 and 18) now lacking the ability to put out fires
Putting more money into street and sidewalk projects
Allocating roughly $11.7 million in one-time money (now renamed "non-recurring" funds), comprised mainly of oil revenue, to replace Heartwell Park's irrigation system, put artificial turf at Admiral Kidd Park, install so-called "smart" parking meters downtown that take credit cards, help build a new North Branch library, improve Emergency Communications and Operations Center items, provide additional police technology ($210,000) -- but NOT a "shotspotter" type gunfire location system.
Allocating $2.2 million from "non-recurring" funds for police overtime (annually needed to handle anticipated but unscheduled out of shift incidents, providing a total of $9.7 million for PD OT. [LBREPORT.com's sources say the OT amount remains under-estimated again this year, likely requiring additional Council action at some point].
The Foster-recommended budget, which some are describing as a "status quo" budget, doesn't include funding for changes that may result from new contracts to be negotiated with the Int'l Ass'n of Machinists (representing the city's non-public safety employees, the city's largest bargaining unit). Its contact expires at the end of Sept. 2014...just as FY15 begins. (Contracts with police and firefighters expire at the end of September 2016.)
The Foster recommended budget does reflect now-ongoing raises that were unbudgeted when recommended by Foster and approved by a Council majority, now costing an estimated $1+ million annually.
Incoming Mayor Garcia also has the ability to make his own budget recommendations after he takes office on July 15. The two Mayors' recommendations will go to a new incoming Council which will decide what is actually done. Five (of nine) new Council members will be seated on July 15. The Council majority enacted budget is then subject to a line item veto by Mayor Garcia which six Councilmembers can override.
Today's action by Foster, releasing his own proposed FY15 budget days before he leaves office was reported first (again) last week by LBREPORT.com.
LBREPORT.com hasn't yet examined the Foster-proposed budget closely. Further to follow on LBREPORT.com.
