Piedmont City Budget: The Good, the Not-So-Bad and the Ugly

City Administrator Geoffrey Grote offered a thumbnail sketch of the state of city finances this week, shortly after the city's proposed 2013-14 budget was presented to the Piedmont City Council on Monday.

"There's some good news," Grote said. "We had a very good year this fiscal year [which ends June 30, 2012], we're expecting strong revenues and can put some of that into reserves if we stay on track. We should have $4 million plus to put in the general fund reserves.

"We also funded the facilities maintenance fund this year and we're proposing putting in another $400,000 this coming year. The tax committee and budget advisory committee both recommended this fund."

And then, Grote, said there are the challenges — which he also characterized as "bad news" and "negatives."

The first "challenge," he said is the city's sewer fund, where he's projecting a deficit by fiscal year 2015-16. He's concerned because Piedmont is negotiating with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on a consent decree that requires the city to eventually replace 100 percent of the city's sewer mains, on a specific schedule.

Grote said he expects a new consent decree by Dec. 31, 2013, that he thinks "will be worse, probably with even more requirements."

Challenge No 2, he said, is the need to freeze employee benefits.

"We're in negotiations trying to get control of those expenses," he said. "Over 70 percent of the city's operating costs are in personnel salaries and benefits."

Members of the public can take a detailed look at the 2013-14 budget proposal on the City of Piedmont website's budget page and attend a budget work session scheduled for 9 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday, May 11) in the Piedmont Police Department conference room.

Public hearings regarding the proposed budget and the levy of the municipal services tax and sewer tax will be held during regularly scheduled City Council meetings on June 3 and June 17, 2013.

License Plate Readers

Piedmont Police Chief Rikki Goede presented an updated plan for installing license plate readers on poles at many of the 24 entrances to and exits from the city.

The video system photographs license plates on vehicles passing by and identifies, through a database, any that may be stolen. It is envisioned as a crime-fighting measure that woul allow Piedmont police to identify vehicles possibly connected to local crimes such as burglaries — and also, it's hoped, deter would-be criminals from coming to Piedmont.

Last month city council members appeared to favor a plan for 10 to 12 sites, but Goede said she and her staff have identified 15 points where the readers woul be useful. 

Even with a 10 percent discount offer by manufacturer 3M, the cost of the new proposal would be well over $700,000, while ongoing costs would be above $1,500 per month, she said.

Goede defended retaining the license plate videotapes for a full year, depsite concerns that have been raised about possible invasion of privacy. She said it currently takes about six months to get lab results from evidence (such as fingerprints) at home invasion crime scenes, and even longer for burglaries.

If the license plate reader records were removed earlier, they often wouln't be available by the time police have enough evidence for arrests, Goede said.

The city council will wait for recommendations from the city's Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committe and CIP (capital improvement projects) Review Committee, then consider the system during the 2013-14 city budget approval process.

801 Magnolia Ave.

The city council this week also heard proposals for use of the "Sunday school" portion of the city-owned building at 801 Magnolia Ave., which also houses the Piedmont Center for the Arts (PCA).

Grote and Recreation Director Mark Delventhal said the city would like to retain control of the currenty vacant space, keping it in reserve for future use — possibly for child care programs, at least in part.

Board members of the nonprofit PCA, which has renovated much of the building at its own expense, would also like to expand into the space, and PCA representatives said young children and an arts center might not be a good match.

Other ideas for the space presented by members of the public included a world languages and multicultural center and a home base for the Hacker Scout program.

Council members asked city staff to explore the possibility of a two-year trial period for PCA use of the space.

Moraga Mudslide

The City of Piedmont is suing the owners of the Maxwelton Road property where a mudslide closed Moraga Avenue in April of last year, according to an article on insidebayarea.com.

The suit seeks to recover costs the city incurred in clean-up operations.

You may read the complete insidebayarea.com article here.

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