Albany leaders consider budget stabilizing measures as revenue falls short

ALBANY Aiming to remedy a structural deficit Albany administrators have begun discussing approaches to increase tax revenue numerous of which would need resident approval at the ballot box In June councilmembers adopted an updated budget for fiscal year that for the first time in years featured a balanced general fund of million The money largely covers staffing costs with the greatest amount going to the police and fire departments While balanced for now Finance Director Reina Schwartz noted during a council meeting Monday that a structural deficit peaking at nearly million in or million in depending on estimates still exists Growing pension liabilities now worth million and major capital improvement projects remain unfunded The council previously approved a capital improvement plan worth million over a five-year period though a new requirements assessment is expected to be conducted A number of special tax measures and fees already on the books are expected to bring in about million in assistance for services like the library parks and open space facilities street paving and storm drain system maintenance More than million from taxes and license fees including property and sales taxes flows into the general fund annually according to the city s latest adopted budget With revenue still falling short city staff presented the City Council with nine realizable options for collecting more money including updating the language of the city s business license fee a street tree parcel tax and street lighting parcel tax updating the city s sewer enterprise fee to ensure everyone using the system is paying properly and issuing bonds for building and facility upgrades I would never say these are a quick fix They are a process This is a journey Schwartz explained Monday When each item will come before voters could vary Schwartz and City Manager Nicole Almaguer commented the timing to place a parcel tax for street trees and lighting on the June ballot would be extremely tight but potentially doable Rushing that one could be disappointing Almaguer explained I think we could benefit from looking to November A business license modernization measure could also appear on the June ballot with less strain though Almaguer mentioned the city would like to meet with the business locality before finalizing ballot language Work to modernize other tax measures is ongoing and certain may come before voters in Almaguer disclosed noting those measures are all special taxes that don t necessarily patronage the general fund Staff plans to continue probing doable bond measure scenarios and may come back to council for an introductory conversation closer to Almaguer estimated Revenue from new bonds would help cover the Upper Solano Avenue Revitalization Project a pedestrian bicycle and transit improvement project renovation and plan upgrades at the Memorial Park Veteran s Building and other building and facility improvements Updates to the sewer fee would not go to voters Instead the council would hold a masses hearing and make the final decision to raise rates but they would have an August deadline to provide that information to Alameda County to update tax rolls I ve been chomping at the bit to get selected answers on this and I appreciate that I m getting a complete package and a complete understanding of the timeline in which we have to think about these things and a timeline for what s realistic about doing anything Councilmember John Miki stated Vice Mayor Peggy McQuaid shared concerns about overwhelming Albany voters by placing too several measures on a single ballot noting there will potentially be a regional transportation measure and other items that will possibly come before voters next year She advocated for being realistic about what the city asks of its residents and for bundling related items like street lighting and tree management calling it a relatively easy sell Getting an updated business license measure passed may also be doable this upcoming ballot cycle McQuaid reported We want them to trust us We want them to believe us We want to be able to serve them and I think if we overwhelm them they may just throw up their hands and say I m not doing any of this McQuaid announced Ideally I d like to do all of this but I think we re really going to have to think about what we can do and sort of keep it simple and take care of our real requirements Miki also shared concerns about too several measures appearing on a single ballot but was also worried about lumping together a straightforward request like completely cleaning up language in existing tax measures to ensure everyone is paying their fair share with a new tax Councilmember Preston Jordan was less concerned with the number of measures added to a ballot arguing that the city has a well-educated electorate that has handled large ballots in the past Still he commented he d like to see a couple of the measures appear on the June ballot to enable the city to begin collecting revenue sooner reducing the number of measures appearing on the November ballot Monday s discussion was only the beginning of the city s process to develop new and update existing revenue streams Substantial work is needed to analyze each issue develop figures and draft appropriate ballot measures Almaguer announced We ve been working on this for numerous months already Almaguer declared The work is key It s also significant to get it right and I think there is a lot more legal analysis that requirements to be done