Special Budget Topics

Along with the regular budget workshop topics (Click Here), Council members added a number of topics. Get used to a lot of acronyms.

PLANNING AND TRAFFIC COMMISSION (PTC)

I urged many times that we needed a separate Traffic and Parking Commission. My colleagues who almost always vote in unison (Hamilton-Voigts-Robinson) voted this down every time, but finally we got agreement to add Traffic to the Planning Commission. Personally I don’t believe this will be successful, but let’s give it a chance.

Staff estimates “$25,000 in consultant assistance needed to prepare materials related to routine resident requests at the PTC” along with “$50,000 for technical studies during the first year of the PTC which could address a subset of the list as prioritized by the City Council.” Those lists were provided by Mayor Pro Tem Basile, Councilman Hamilton, and I.

Staff failed to say how much money would be saved by addressing these issues formally through the PTC instead of the ad hoc manner in which they are currently addressed. I suspect there is some considerable savings.

PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

We’ve discussed at length the need for a Parking Enforcement Officer given all the parking enforcement issues we seem to have in the City. Staff say that we now have 4 Community Service Officers (CSO) assigned to this issue.

Staff estimates “$130,000 for costs associated with the CSO position (e.g. salary, benefits, training, and equipment) and $55,000 for a vehicle.”

I’m not sure what our existing parking enforcement CSOs are doing, so I’d like to learn more before we add another one. I asked the City Manager to schedule a few “ride alongs” for me to see up close what‘s happening.

I’d also like to get some ideas of how the new mobile app will impact this issue.

ANIMAL CARE PUBLIC EDUCATION OFFICER (PEO)

The purpose of this position is to

• Canvas (and sell) for dog (and cat) licensing
• Enforce off-leash dog ordinance
• Assist with other activities as needed (e.g., dead animal pickup, collect stray animals)

The cost would be $44,000 for a 6-month appointment, beginning in the Spring and continuing through the Summer. The County would do the recruitment and provide the vehicle. 7-day a week coverage would increase costs by $30,576 per year. Year round costs would increase to $76,440 (salary and benefits).

What the City failed to do is give us the possible benefits from this position, especially “How much additional revenue would we collect in terms of licenses, fines for off-leash, etc.?”

ANIMAL LICENSE FEES

“The City Council previously requested a review of OCAC fees for possible modification. Subsequent to this request, OCAC informed staff it is working on a fee study and tentatively expects a draft within 30-60 days.”

LATE FEES FOR LICENSES

The current fees are $35 late fee and $30 “debt collection fee” or $65.00. OCAC estimates that they will charge about 800 late fees so a reduction in late fees is commensurate with those numbers. Quite frankly, $65 late fee for a $20 license seems excessive. Most other cities charge between $5 and $25.

UNALTERED DOG FEES

OCAC charges $100 which is twice the number our neighboring cities charge. If we reduce the charges, will more owners license their dogs? There is a big advantage to having a dog licensed, so I’m in favor of anything that increases licensing, provided the costs of doing that are not exorbitant. Full disclosure – I have no unaltered dogs.

According to data submitted by a Lake Forest resident, Randy Johnson, licenses for unaltered dogs were only 9% of all licenses issued between Oct 2016 and Jan 2017. By those numbers it appears that owners of unaltered dogs are under-represented. Studies in San Diego and elsewhere suggest that unaltered dogs are normally about 30% of the population, so it may be that our 9% is due to our high charges.

CAT LICENSE FEES

Cat licensing is not required in Lake Forest, though it is in other cities. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. OCAC charges $6 for a license fee.

This policy seems contradictory when you consider that cats are far more frequently admitted to the shelter and far more likely to be euthanized. On the other hand, they are less likely to be involved in bites or vicious animal investigations.

The staff report provides no information on the relative costs of cats vs. dogs vs. other animals. This would be very valuable to have and would help us decide whether or not to consider mandatory cat licensing, more aggressive voluntary cat licensing, or no change in policy. Full disclosure – I have 1 cat.

FEES FOR SENIORS

It’s been suggested that we lower the age for the senior discount. Right now the County has a senior discount for people 65 and older who have an altered dog. The fee is $10 vs. the normal $20 fee. There is no senior discount for an unaltered dog. Most cities that offer senior fees use 55 through 62 as the senior age, and most cities allow discount for unaltered dogs too.

• Should we lower the age from 65 to 60 or 55?
• Should we allow a discount for seniors who own altered dogs?

FWIW - I started the "Seniors for Seniors" program at the County years ago. In this system senior citizens who adopt senior pets get greatly reduced adoption fees. Click Here

MULTI-YEAR LICENSING

Many cities have moved to multi-year licensing and everyone I know thinks it’s a good move. It’s not on our agenda but should be, along with the cost estimates of how much we can save by switching to this system.

KEEPING CITY HALL OPEN 5 DAYS A WEEK

Mayor Pro Tem Basile and I asked that the City be opened 5 days a week every week. Right now we are closed every other Friday. Staff says it will cost about $10,000. “Costs associated with this change include new signage at City Hall, limited overtime and consulting hours for staff transitioning to the new Friday schedule, and a postcard mailer to the community advertising this change.”

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 27 at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.