By hiking fees for community development services in coming months, the City Council will be able to fund most requests competing for an undesignated balance in the proposed nearly $80 million budget that begins July 1.
Far from frivolous, the largest demands outlined in a budget workshop Tuesday included advancing $1.4 million to pay down the city’s unfunded liability for safety pension plans, fuel mitigation in hazardous Nyes Canyon ($768,000) and potentially paying a full-time emergency preparedness coordinator ($117,000).
Open space advocates’ plea to make $300,000 available for the purchase of undeveloped land found fertile ground. And Laguna Beach Seniors secured $125,000 to help their finances and keep up with increasing demands for their services.
Fire Chief Jeff LaTendresse also made a successful bid to upgrade an engine to advanced life support with a one-time investment of $30,000 in equipment and ongoing costs of $57,000 a year to pay for one more paramedic per shift.
The proposed budget allocates general fund revenues of $55 million and $56 million for the fiscal years 2015-16 and 2016-17, respectively. As presented, it maintains current services and reserves and assumes moderate growth over the next two years, according to City Manager John Pietig’s report.
With all of the essential budget items taken care of, the General Fund held an available balance of $1.6 million in one-time funds and $1.3 million in ongoing funds that might be considered up for grabs by various city departments and community groups.
And grab they did. At first, not all “wish list” items could be accommodated. But Finance Director Gavin Curran’s proposal to raise community development fees provided a solution. He pointed out that the department’s building, planning and zoning divisions had last increased fees in 2008, when they covered 73 percent of costs. Today, fees are estimated to cover only about 61 percent of costs in the coming year.
The council agreed to hike building and planning fees 10 percent, and zoning fees 15 percent, which could add about $336,000 to the general fund, Pietig said. That did the trick.
Emergency Disaster Preparedness Committee member Matt Lawson passionately requested funds to thin brush in Nyes Canyon, categorized as the “most dangerous” canyon by the fire department. “How can we not afford to do that and do that as expeditiously as possible?” he asked, with his plea bolstered by four subsequent speakers.
He and seven others also urged the Council to pay for a full-time staffer to serve as emergency preparedness coordinator.
“I am here to speak for an endangered species and that’s the 23,000 of us who live here,” said Lawson. Laguna is the only coastal city in Orange County that does not have at least one full-time emergency coordinator, he said. Currently police dispatcher Jordan Villwock does a great job, but can only spend one day a week on it, and no one can do the job with 20 percent of their time, he said.
Former Mayor Jane Egly and former City Manager Ken Frank were among the 13 residents asking that $300,000 be set aside to purchase undeveloped land within the city. With state and federal funding for land acquisition drying up, the city needs to step up to help complete James Dilley’s 50-year-old vision for a complete greenbelt, said resident Scott Ferguson.
The remaining parcels “are in the middle of the city and will benefit our residents, not tourists,” said Frank, who noted that the land can improve public safety, such as the passive park created in Arch Beach Heights with drought resistant landscaping that does double duty as an effective fuel break.
Correction:
The May 22 article “Fee Increases Help Fund Safety Measures” incorrectly identified Jeff LaTendresse. He is the fire chief.
