CITY OF SUNNYVALE
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
June 13, 2003
TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City CouncilFROM: Robert S. LaSala, City Manager
CC: Amy Chan, Assistant City Manager
Chuck Schwabe, Deputy City Manager
Mary Bradley, Director of Finance
Grace Kim, Finance Manager
SUBJECT: Budget questions posed by the Mayor and Vice Mayor
Attached please find budgetary questions posed by the Mayor and Vice Mayor, along with staff's research in an attempt to answer these as completely as possible. On Monday, June 16 you will receive a review and analysis of the proposals submitted by Councilmember Fowler
If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Attachments
RSL/mss
Alternative Reductions and Their Associated Fiscal Impact
Questions posed by Mayor Julia Miller
1. Q: What savings would be generated if Council’s two employees gave up their bonus?
A:
The funds associated with the Management Bonus program have already been included as part of the proposed operating reduction. The majority of this savings was applied towards the extension of benefits and supplemental salary to employee reservists called to Active Duty.No additional fiscal benefit can be derived.
2. Q: What savings would be generated if the implementation of the three new Emergency Medical Service (EMS) employees was postponed?
A: The City Manager’s recommended budget for FY 2003/04 appropriates $385,512 from the Emergency Medical Services (paramedic) Set Aside to support the proposed Emergency Medical Services Action Plan. Below are the cost estimates for the Lieutenant and Community Services Officers (CSO).
Projected Personnel Costs
EMS Lt. $182,829
CSO - Quality Improvement Position 95,841
CSO - Public Education Position 95,841
Purchased Goods & Services* 11,000
Total $385,512**
* Purchased Goods & Services estimate includes the cost of expanding the Medical Director’s oversight role, as outlined in the Action Plan.
** The cost estimate includes salary and benefits for each position. However, neither the cost of finding space to accommodate these personnel nor the costs of recruiting, hiring and equipping with uniforms are included here.
3. Q: What savings would be generated from removing the option of obtaining a new car from the City Manager’s contract?
A: The City Manager has already extended the life of his current car and the savings have been incorporated as part of the reduction in rental rates associated with Fleet Services.
No additional fiscal benefit can be derived.
4. Q: What savings could be generated with the removal of additional staff from the Organizational Effectiveness Unit of the City Manager?
A: The Organizational Effectiveness unit has already been reduced to 2 staff members, 1 Senior Office Assistant and 1 Management Analyst. The associated savings of further reductions are as follows:
Senior Office Assistant (1,800 Hour Reduction) = $71,586
Management Analyst (1,850 Hour Reduction) = $100,252
5. Q: What savings could be generated from the cancellation of three or more employees from CAPE training?
A: The registration costs associated CAPE training are $295 per individual.
Potential savings of $885 could be realized if CAPE training for three employees was removed from the Budget.
6. Q: What savings could be generated from the implementation of a co-pay policy for dependent health care coverage for all 100 management employees?
A: The current monthly medical benefit costs for all management employees is $83,936. This represents an annual cost of $1,007,232. If all management employees were to receive the dollar allowance for medical coverage received by SEA employees ($626.08), the monthly cost would be $63,860 or $766,322 annually.
The potential savings that could be derived from this alteration of benefits would be $240,910.
7 & 8. Q: What savings could be derived from the cancellation of hiring the new Deputy Director of Public Safety or downgrade the position to the next lower classification of D-3?
A: The annual budgeted savings from the cancellation of hiring would total $254,134. The budgeted cost for this position with a reduced control point would be $238,650 for a savings of $15,484.
9. Q: What savings could be generated through the termination of outside administrative consultants?
A: Staff is currently monitoring this area of expenditure, significant cuts were made in consultant costs during the budget reduction process.
10. Q: What savings could be generated from the implementation of a hiring freeze?
A: The amount of savings that could be generated through a hiring freeze is contingent upon the number of vacancies at any given time. The ability to determine any potential savings is further hampered by the necessity to fill certain positions in order to maintain service levels.
11. Q: What savings could be generated by freezing all promotions?
A: This is also a difficult item to associate a direct savings amount as numerous interdependent factors determine when, where, and how often promotions occur. For instance, Public Safety Officers in Training receive a promotion upon completion of their academy training.
12. Q: What savings could be generated from the elimination of lifetime benefits for employees with less than 15 years of service?
A: In FY 2001/2002 the City paid a total of $2 million for retiree health benefits. This amount is expected to increase as the City’s retiree population increases. However, in order to change this benefit this would require an amendment to the PERS contract. This amendment must be approved through a vote of the employees. This change would result in a deferred future cost rather than a current savings.
13. Q: What savings could be generated by capping all travel budgets for the City Manager, City Attorney, and the Directors to the same as Council members with a monthly travel report to Council on all out of state travel for above listed employees?
A: This item will require additional analysis by staff to determine the individual travel budgets of the staff mentioned. However, significant reductions were made to program travel budgets through the budget reduction process.
Questions posed by Vice-Mayor Tim Risch
1. Q: What savings could be achieved through the elimination of operating funds for the water feature in the Community Center?
A: The total cost of maintaining the water in the Community Center pond is $74,000, with $39,000 required for electrical costs.
The total potential savings is $74,000.
2. Q: What savings could be generated through the further reduction of 25% in the Council travel budget for a total reduction of 50%?
A: An additional reduction of 25% to the Council travel budget would translate to $13,099 in savings.
The total potential savings is $13,099.
3. Q: What savings could be generated through the elimination of lifetime medical benefits for Council members?
A: In FY 2001/2002 the City paid a total of $2 million for retiree health benefits. This amount is expected to increase as the City’s retiree population increases. However, in order to change this benefit this would require an amendment to the PERS contract. This amendment must be approved through a vote of the employees. This change would result in a deferred future cost rather than a current savings.
4. Q: What savings could be generated from the elimination of dental and vision coverage for Council members?
A: The annual savings associated with the elimination of these benefits would be as follows:
Vision - $432 annually
Dental - $2,736 annually
5. Q: What savings could be generated by the elimination of free dependent medical coverage?
A: The annual savings associated with the elimination of free dependent medical coverage would total $9,984
6. Q: What savings could be generated through the elimination of all City-paid meals at Council study sessions?
A: The estimated annual savings would be $6,000