BUDGET UPDATES
As the City begins discussions regarding
next year's budget, I want to keep our residents up-to-date
on what the City is doing and encourage District 4 residents
to learn about, and personally impact, the 2009-2010 Budget.
It is important to understand why there's a structural deficit
and how the budget shortfall will have an effect on your basic
services.
Each year, the City of San José must develop a budget plan that addresses the needs of the City’s diverse communities, reflects shared priorities, and continues to move the City forward. As we begin the planning process for Fiscal Year 2009-2010, I encourage residents to help us understand your priorities by sharing with us your thoughts on how we should create a balanced budget that addresses the fundamental issues of our City, while remaining fiscally responsible.
The City of San José continues to face significant and enduring fiscal challenges and will need to make up a $65 million shortfall to balance the budget for the fiscal year beginning in July. Unfortunately, after 7 years of budget cuts, the City is now facing employee layoffs and service cuts in order to balance the budget.
On November 20, 2008, the City Manager released the “General Fund Structural Deficit Elimination Plan.” This Plan contains strategies for the City Council to consider to close an estimated $106 million deficit in the General Fund over the next five years. The Plan was presented to the City Council at a Study Session on Friday, December 5, 2008.
For the past few years, the City of San José has engaged in several opportunities to solicit early community input in the budget process. In January, the City conducted a public survey and organized a conference on priorities with neighborhood leaders in order to provide input and feedback on their budget priorities.
On Saturday, January 24, 2009, neighborhood associations in the City of San José were invited to participate in the City's 2009 Neighborhood Association Priority Setting Session at City Hall. Neighborhood leaders participated in an exercise where they were "City Manager for a Day" and were asked to review preliminary budget proposals from departments, in an effort to balance the $65 million deficit for Fiscal Year 2009-2010.
District 4 had five representatives at the event. I would like to thank the following for taking time out of their busy schedules to provide feedback to the City:
Mike Bennett (Berryessa Citizens Advisory Council)
David Biagini (Townsend Park Neighborhood Association)
Betty Brown (Alviso Neighborhood)
Lorna Chang (Piedmont Hostetter Neighborhood Association)
Christopher Zhou (North Valley Community Association)
Feedback from the Neighborhood Priority Setting Session will assist the City Council in determining what the priorities should be for the City.
The Mayor's March Budget Message for 2009 was released on Friday, March 13, 2009. It gives directions to the City Manager regarding approahces to preparing the FY 2009-2010 budget. A copy of the budget message can be found here.
A public hearing regarding the Mayor's March Budget Message took place on Tuesday, March 17, 2009 and was approved by the City Council the following week on Tuesday, March 24, 2009.
Two community budget meetings took place in District 4 on Thursday, April 30, 2009, at the Berryessa Branch Library and in Alviso on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at the Alviso Branch Library in the Community Room.
On Friday, May 1, 2009, the City Manager released the proposed budget for FY 2009-2010. A copy of the proposed budget can be found here. The first public hearing on the proposed budget took place on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. The final public hearing will take place on Monday, June 15 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
A series of public meetings and study session took place in May, where the Mayor and City Council will discuss the budget (See below for key budget dates).
Councilmember Chu's Budget Proposals
Each year, the City of San José must develop a budget plan that addresses the needs of the City’s diverse communities, reflects shared priorities, and continues to move the City forward. The City of San José continues to face significant and enduring fiscal challenges and will need to make up an $85 million shortfall to balance the budget for the fiscal year beginning in July. Unfortunately, after 7 years of budget cuts, the City is now facing employee layoffs and service cuts in order to balance the budget. In addition, the effects of the State Budget crisis will likely further impact the City’s deficit.
Collaboration opens opportunities for thinking outside the box and being creative in addressing issues and problems. Instead of focusing on neighborhood specific budget recommendations, I worked collaboratively with Councilmembers Campos, Kalra, Nguyen, and Pyle and took an uncommon step of offering a broad, multi-issue Budget Document to the Mayor for preserving essential city services. Council Members had a deadline to submit their budget recommendations to the Mayor on Thursday, May 21, 2009.
The Proposed FY 2009-2010 Operating Budget included a large number of service reductions with serious impacts on the well-being of our residents. Responding to the enormity of those impacts required attention to numerous reinstatement recommendations, including:
- Park Ranger Program
- Branch Library Hours
- Library Systems-Wide Support Staffing
- Traffic Calming Program
- Crime Prevention Staffing
- Police Patrol Unit Staffing
- Police Records Staffing
- Police Traffic Enforcement Unit Staffing
- Police Horse Mounted Unit Staffing
- Satellite and Neighborhood Community Centers
- General Code Enforcement Program
In addition, I joined Councilmembers Campos in submitting Budget Documents to maintain operations and services at Fire Stations 30 and 33, to create a new revenue generating fund to support core city services, and preserving fire department service eliminations. To view the list of all budget documents that I submitted, please visit the following links:
On Friday, June 5, 2009, the Mayor released his June Budget Message, which will incorporate the recommendations from the City Council and proposes a balanced budget for the next year. The final public hearing on the proposed operating and capital budget will take place on Monday, June 15, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. The City Council is expected to review and adopt the Mayor’s June Budget Message on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 and to adopt the FY 2009-2010 Budget on Tuesday, June 23, 2009.
I appreciate hearing your thoughts, concerns, and priorities over the past few months as the City Council moves forward in preparing the FY 2009-2010 budget. Your feedback has given me valuable insight during the budget process as I work with my colleagues on the City Council.
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