AGENDA
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, MAY 19, 2008 10:00 A.M.
JOHN FERRARO COUNCIL CHAMBER
ROOM 340, CITY HALL
200 NORTH SPRING STREET, LOS ANGELES, CA 90012
Of the things noted in the May 16th report (below), all of changes recommended to the Mayors budget were adopted. The only variance as it applies to ITA are that consolidation of IT services for the Board of Public Works and CCYF are moving forward.
City Clerk and LAFD - IT consolidation - on hold indefinitely.
LAPD technology replacement program - funding returned to the Police.
Channel 36 - funding restored.
3-1-1 3rd shift staffing - funding restored.
__________________________________________
Report of the Budget and Finance Committee
Discussing the Mayor's Proposed Budget for 2008-09
The Information Technology Agency described the concepts behind its proposal to begin consolidating IT services in the ITA. Committee members instructed staff to restore funding for Channel 36, and to restore the proposed deletion of the 3-1-1 Call Center graveyard shift. Members requested information on the ITA's efforts to apply zero-based budgeting to its 2008-09 budget.
EXPENDITURES (changes):
ITA, City Clerk, Fire, Board of Public Works and Children, Youth and Their Families
62. Transfer funding ($7,035,636) and the position authorities back to the following departments for IT positions consolidated into ITA:
a. City Clerk: 2 Senior Systems Analyst Ils, 1 Senior Systems Analyst I and 4 Systems Analyst lIs ($604,692 direct cost! $197,772 indirect cost);
b. Fire: On regular authority- 1 Director of Systems, 1 Secretary, 1 Data Control Assistant II, 1 Clerk Typist, 1 Programmer Analyst IV, 1 Database Architect, 11 Systems Analyst IIs, 5 Senior Systems Analyst Is, 4 Senior Systems Analyst IIs, 4 Geographic Information Specialists, 1 Geographic Information Systems Supervisor I, and 1 Drafting Aide; and on resolution authority- 2 Programmer Analyst Is, 6 Systems Analyst IIs, and 5 Senior Systems Analyst Is ($3,750,120 direct cost! $1,240,596 indirect cost);
c. Board of Public Works: 1 Director of Systems, 1 Senior Systems Analyst II, 1 Senior Systems Analyst I, 3 Systems Analyst II, and 3 Fiscal Systems Specialist I ($867,804 direct cost! $274,536 indirect cost); and
d. Children, Youth and Their Families: 1 Systems Analyst II ($74,520 direct cost; $25,596 indirect cost).
Instruct ITA to meet with the affected General Managers to determine the level of IT services needed, any specialized services required, how a consolidation of IT positions into ITA can assist user departments with achieving their goals in a timely manner and without jeopardizing public safety, and any added value ITA will provide.
ITA/Police
63. Transfer $2,000,000 from ITA to LAPD for the LAPD's replacement technology program.
2 comments:
LA Daily News: Some services win, others lose as city budget approved
Restored funds muted by job cuts, fee hikes
By Kerry Cavanaugh, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 05/19/2008 08:57:47 PM PDT
The Los Angeles City Council approved a $7 billion budget Monday that restores funding for libraries, sidewalk repair and other favored community services but still cuts hundreds of city jobs and raises fees for parking and trash pickup.
Approval comes after a month in which the council analyzed city spending amid housing and economic downturns that have sapped L.A.'s revenue while expenses - including employee wages, health-care costs and an expanded police force - have increased.
Faced with closing a record $400 million budget shortfall, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council have largely filled the gap by cutting jobs, relying on one-time revenue and raising Angelenos' trash fee by $8 - to $36 a month.
But even though the budget is balanced, it also assumes tax revenues won't fall further, fee increases will be implemented on time and city employee unions will sign off on temporary layoffs.
"It's a balanced budget, but it's a budget that requires us to monitor it daily," said Councilman Bernard Parks, who heads the budget committee.
The council and mayor were helped by the Chief Legislative Analyst's Office, which found $97 million in extra money just last week. The windfall comes from higher-than-expected fee revenue, plus $28 million from a tentative lawsuit settlement and $38 million from the anticipated sale of city property.
The council used the money to restore spending on popular community programs including library hours, film festivals, the city's television Channel 36, homeless shelter beds and calligraphers to decorate city proclamations.
"We got those e-mails on libraries, park rangers, Channel 36, you name it.
People sent their feelings on what should be protected. We did hear you," said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel.
But the city and Angelenos will still feel the pinch of the slowing economy.
Recreation and Parks General Manager Jon Kirk Mukri said the council was able to restore about $1.5 million more than expected to his agency - but he still lost about $13 million.
He said the city will fund pools and summer programs as promised, but he'll have to cut park services the rest of the year to meet his budget.
"The real cuts we won't see until after Labor Day," Mukri said. "It's going to be a tough year."
In response to a community outcry, the council reversed plans to cut the number of park rangers in half to 21. But Mukri has to find the money to pay for them.
And the council and mayor are still banking on cutting 767 city jobs, which could lead to 350 employees being laid off.
The mayor also has proposed that most civilian workers take six days unpaid leave to save $23 million. But city employee unions have protested that idea and there is disagreement over whether the unions have to agree to the furloughs.
Julie Butcher with the Service Employees International Union, which represents civilian workers, said the furlough days will cut across city departments and result in "156,000 days of service cuts."
"Clearly, the `everybody chips in six days' is not as simple as it looks," Butcher said.
Without the furlough days, the mayor and council will have to find another $23 million in cuts or layoffs to balance the budget.
But despite warnings from some members about the cost, the City Council ultimately agreed to keep the Los Angeles Police Department expansion on track. This year the LAPD will hire 780 new officers and the force will be the largest ever by the end of the year.
"Given the economic downturn and budget deficit it would have been easy for the council to balance the budget by slowing police hiring," said Matt Szabo, spokesman for the mayor.
"But instead, this mayor and council have successfully secured an expansion of the Police Department that prior mayors have tried but failed to achieve."
Public safety continues to eat up the largest chunk of the city budget, with 70percent of unrestricted general fund money going to the Police and Fire departments.
While able to balance the budget, the city's financial advisers warned that next year is going to be as bad or even worse.
Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller said the mayor and council have to begin making tough choices about how to raise revenue and which services the city should ultimately provide.
"It doesn't appear that there are more one-time solutions to bridge the gap until the economy improves," Miller said.
Now that the trash fee is being increased to $36 a month - which is full-cost recovery - to raise an extra $48 million this year, the city has few other ways to generate money that don't require voter approval.
To help meet future financial challenges, the council also agreed to create a budget stabilization fund and a policy that requires the city to save when the economy is strong to help balance the budget when the economy falters.
Under the policy, money in the fund could only be spent when actual revenue is less than what city leaders projected at the beginning of the year.
"We're not going to fall into the same trap as the state. When they got extra money they spent it like drunken sailors," said Councilman Greig Smith, who is on the council's budget committee.
"I think it will help over time. Within a decade or so you're going to hit a wall again and we'll be able to handle it much better."
LA TIMES: L.A. City Council approves $7-billon budget
Hiring LAPD officers is still a priority. Trash removal, parking and other city services will cost more.
By David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 20, 2008
The Los Angeles City Council on Monday approved Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's $7-billion budget, even as budget experts warned that the city would face a nearly $300-million shortfall next fiscal year.
In their effort to reach the goal of hiring 1,000 police officers, council members unanimously hiked fees by at least $98 million, forcing the public to pay more for trash removal, parking and other city services.
The council backed the mayor's plan to reduce animal shelter hours and scale back park maintenance, along with other cuts.
But with a $293-million shortfall expected for 2009-2010 and a $343-million gap projected for 2010-2011, more serious reductions would be needed next year unless the region's economy rebounds, city officials said.
"It is bad for next year, and we shouldn't sugarcoat it," Councilwoman Wendy Greuel said.
The council made some changes to the mayor's budget, abandoning plans to close regional libraries on Sundays, eliminate 17 park rangers and close city-owned television Channel 36, among others. And the council asked for a study on increasing trash pickup fees even more, possibly doubling the fee for residents who use extra-large or additional trash bins. Still, Villaraigosa spokesman Matt Szabo hailed Monday's vote, saying that the council had approved the mayor's plan for expanding the Los Angeles Police Department for the third year in a row.
"This mayor is successfully expanding the LAPD in a way that previous mayors have tried but failed to achieve," he said.
david.zahniser@latimes.com
Post a Comment