Proposed Budget Maintains Quality of Life, Services for Novatans

Image and press release by City of Novato

City Manager Michael Frank submitted his proposed $61 million City budget for the upcoming fiscal year and highlighted the programs and services that continue to make Novato “A City that Works.” The proposed budget emphasizes the themes that the City heard from residents in its recent community satisfaction and priorities survey:

· Maintain Novato’s quality of life

· Maintain public safety services

· Support our local economy and increase jobs

· Maintain City streets, sidewalks, and parks

“This is an important and exciting year for Novato,” said City Manager Michael Frank. “We have heard from our residents about what is important to them and as a City staff we are committed to providing those services to the community while keeping a watchful eye on charting a long-term path to organizational and fiscal sustainability. I look forward to continuing the conversation with our residents and our City Council to ensure that we are a “City that Works” for the community.”

The budget continues implementation of the City’s Fiscal Sustainability Plan, which was approved in 2014 and aims to: (1) maintain existing services and staffing levels; (2) properly maintain the City’s roads, parks, facilities, bridges, and other infrastructure; (3) ensure the City’s ability to attract and retain qualified police officers and other service providers; and (4) invest one-time funds in some key areas to attain ongoing budget savings and revenues.

The Fiscal Sustainability Plan also underscores the need for an continued locally-controlled revenue source, such as the current Measure F—the 1/2-cent sales tax due to expire in 2016—to maintain the existing quality of life and service levels in Novato.

The City Manager’s proposed funding plan assumes solid growth of 6.1% in overall tax revenues, while service charges and other revenues are flat or declining slightly. Overall, City General Fund revenues are projected to increase by 4.7% from the current year’s revised budget; from $29.6 million to $31 million in fiscal year 2015/16. Property, hotel, and business taxes are all performing well, while sales tax continues to lag behind others in the region and the state as the City competes with expanded retail offerings in neighboring communities. Highlights of the proposed budget include:

Maintaining Quality of Life and Quality Services—Operating Budget

The City Manager recommends no new positions in FY 15-16. The budget maintains service levels and strategically invests in areas that are important to Novato residents. Highlights include:

· Maintain the Novato Response Team to continue its proactive work on crime prevention, intervention, enforcement, and swift and effective responses to emerging quality-of-life issues;

· Maintain rapid 9-1-1 response times;

· Provide additional funding for temporary dispatchers to ensure adequate service levels for 9-1-1;

· Continue pro-active emergency preparedness planning and training;

· Expand economic development efforts to increase local job creation and business attraction / retention;

· Invest in the North Bay Life Sciences Alliance to generate additional regional investments and continue work to establish Novato and the North Bay as a life sciences jobs hub;

· Enhance our Community Events program to build community and cohesiveness;

· Increase availability and access to recreation programs for low-income and at-risk youth;

· Continue investment in Downtown by partnering with the Downtown Novato Business Association to expand events, marketing and support for the Downtown business district.

The proposed $32.4 million General Fund expenditure budget, initially presented to the City Council at their regular meeting on April 7, represents a 6.8% increase from the previous year’s revised budget, which includes adjustments to materials, supplies, and utilities accounts and implements the second year of negotiated labor agreements. In total, the General Fund budget projects an approximate deficit of $2.4 million which will be backfilled by locally-controlled Measure F revenues to maintain service levels and prevent budget cuts, a key priority outlined in the voter-approved Measure F.

Reinvesting in Novato—Capital Improvement Program

Frank also recommends continuing to invest approximately $1.1 million annually toward the maintenance of a wide variety of City infrastructure: roads, bridges, storm drains, parks, buildings, and pathways. In total, the proposed Capital Improvement Program budget injects $6.9 million of new investment into community projects, from various funding sources, that emphasize public safety, health, recreation and technology improvements.

Projects include:

· Completion of the Hill Recreation Area master plan which will address field and parking improvements;

· Site selection process for, and construction of, a synthetic turf sports field;

· $1.1 million of long-term maintenance projects for city buildings, facilities, and infrastructure

· $1 million toward pavement rehabilitation, including a significant project on Vineyard Rd;

· Add bike lanes on Olive Avenue;

· Completion of the resurfacing of the DeLong and Ignacio interchanges;

· Construction of the Nave pathway near the Hamilton Gymnasium

· Construction of safe pathways to schools projects;

· Installation of pedestrian / crosswalk safety upgrade projects; and

· $1.3 million in new technology upgrades for city departments.

Of the proposed $16.9 million Capital Improvement Program, initially presented to the City Council at their regular meeting on April 21, approximately $10 million is for projects already in-progress.

Use of Measure F

Locally-controlled Measure F revenue is expected to generate a total of $22 million over its five-year duration. The proposed budget for 2015-16 anticipates investing about $6 million, including:

· Backfilling the General Fund deficit to maintain long-term fiscal sustainability - $2.4 million

· Direct investment in public safety, youth, and economic development programs - $600,000

· Capital projects totalling $3.0 million

The City Council will consider the final adoption of the City’s operating and capital budgets on June 23. The proposed budget can be read at novato.org/citybudget.