Budget Workshop Next Week

The City Council will hold a special meeting next week to talk about the budget. This is a preparatory workshop so that when we have the official budget meeting we will have all the data on hand to make informed decisions.

If you think we should be doing something new, or more, or differently, this is the time to come before us and present your ideas.

I've been doing that and here are some of my ideas that I'll present at the workshop -

PUBLIC SAFETY

• Consider ways to decrease costs of Police contract. Now spending nearly 40% of our budget on Police and new proposal for 9% increase. Underfunded pensions means continued increases in Police budget for decades.
  • Sharing services with other cities
  • Increasing civilian services
  • Increasing use of STARS
  • Consider move to a 3-city joint venture (MV, LF, RSM)

INFRASTRUCTURE

• Do we have an assessment of our infrastructure? (e.g., street quality, lights, curbs)
• Any major projects coming up?

MOBILE APP

• Using my outline, finish design.
• Estimates costs of mobile app including creation, maintenance and upgrading (esp. for first 6 months)
• Estimate increased costs (staff time) of managing the additional information that will come with the mobile app (not just in-time transmission but also report writing), and factor in the reduction in existing costs for the existing system. (I think this is a wash).

ANIMAL SERVICES

• Consider reduction in $100 fee for un-neutered dogs. Comparable fee is $50. Will decrease in revenue be offset by increase in compliance?
• Consider reduction in late fee penalties. In conjunction, consider multi-year licensing
• Consider voluntary cat licensing
• Consider lowering the age for senior citizen dog licenses from 65 to 55 years of age.
• Consider shade on existing dog park
• Consider upgrades to new dog park (if needed)
• Factor in new revenue from increased licensing activity. Will increased revenue offset increased costs?
• Get best estimates for additional costs of OCAS when they upgrade their services (e.g., 30% additional)
• Consider use of OC Adoption Center (we need to coordinate data collection with OCAS)
  • How much will we save by not admitting owner surrender and euthanasia requests?
  • How much will we save by getting pets out of the shelter sooner?
  • If we send strays directly to AC or to LFAH, what are the cost implications?

STREET SWEEPING

• Select areas for concentration (based on complaints already on record)
• Consider costs of additional signage in selected areas (Might be temporary)
• Consider costs of code enforcement accompanying street sweepers for up to 2 months in selected areas. Factor in the increased revenue from tickets. (Note: Is this the same code enforcement officer needed for non-street sweeping issues? I think so.)

MISC

• Create parking area for Regency Park on the downside next to Osterman. Consider charging for parking for people who live in the area.
• Assist Heritage Hill with their timeline (Discuss Community Foundation to handle future requests such as this).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.

Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a Town Hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be on May 20 at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.