[Editor’s Note: Community activist Frank Campaign tells us: “At last week’s City Council meeting, I made a three-minute comment on the financial situation as it lurks in the future for the city. Because of the time limit, I told the Council that I would augment my comments in a written submittal, which you will find below.”]
The city’s Chief Financial Officer presented a major budget review for fiscal year 2009-10 and 2010-11 at the March 9, City Council meeting, with a brief update of the material at the March 30, City Council meeting.
The overall conclusion from the first presentation is that, based on current expenditures and projected revenues for the next two years, the city is expected to face a General Fund budget deficit of $4 million for 2009-10, and an even larger deficit in the following year.
At the March 30, presentation, the CFO updated the projection for the 2009-10 General Fund deficit to $6 million, a 50 percent increase in a three-week time period.
Yet no one on the City Council questioned the validity of the data used in the estimates. In addition, at the March 30, meeting, the City Council devoted the better part of four hours to a discussion of city public notification processes and only some 30 to 40 minutes on the financial projections.
In both presentations, the CFO offered suggestions for “one-time, short-term measures” to address the projected deficits, but noted that these actions “do not solve the ongoing projected structural deficit problem.”
As quoted in the April 2, edition of the Culver City News, the Mayor recently stated, “We use a 19th century model for financing government in a 21st century world.”
There is no more important function of the City Council than to ensure the safety and financial viability of the city of Culver City.
It is clearly time to come to grips with the city financial situation in a more comprehensive manner than is evidenced in the recent reports. As a means of establishing a more credible assessment of the projected General Fund deficits for the next two years, and more particularly for the 2009-10 period, I propose establishment of a special Project Team — a “Red Team” — with first priority in all city matters, to explore alternative revenue measures which would assure maximum income to the city for the near-term future.
In addition, the Red Team would evaluate and quantify what portion, if any, of the General Fund Reserve that might be used to mitigate the projected General Fund financial shortfall as it may be experienced.
Moreover, the Team would establish specific plans for future adjustment of expenditures, including, if necessary, reduction of city staff personnel, with specifics of various departmental cuts and estimates of the consequences of the cuts in reduced services to the community. The feasibility of creation of various “auxillaries” should be explored, where citizen volunteers could be used to bolster staff general functions in service areas, freeing remaining staff to concentrate on their primary functions, similar in concept to the city police auxillary personnel program.
The proposed Red Team would by led by the incoming City Manager, Mark Scott, as a special assignment as soon as he is onboard; what a great opportunity for the city to benefit from a “first harvest” of the promised special skills which he brings to Culver City!
His primary assistant would be CFO Jeff Muir, along with whatever additional staff personnel required to support the multiplicity of tasks to be completed.
Day-to-day operation of the city could be placed in the hands of the Assistant City Manager for the several months, or whatever time is required to complete the proposed project, with minimum oversight by the City Manager, viz., 20 percent of his time on general city matters and 80 percent leading the Red Team. A similar arrangement could be made in the Finance area.
An ad hoc Advisory Board might be established to support the team effort as requested by the Team, comprised of selected past City Councilpersons and members of the public with special skills to offer.
Fundamental to the success of the Red Team efforts is that the Team would have absolute first priority in all city operations for the limited time of its existence. Whoever or whatever resource is needed to accomplish the designated task would be made available.
The end result would be a specific plan of action to address any actual revenue stream experienced during the 2009-10 FY (and beyond). Although a plan “is something to be deviated from,” it is highly preferable to have the results of collective, skilled, deliberate thinking compiled during a not-yet-crisis time for consideration when and if a crisis does occur.
Specifics of any plan need not be publicly disclosed, since any plan is not an action until implemented, but having a detailed “Action Handbook” available could go a long way towards assuring future decisions on corrective measures to be implemented in response to crucial financial situations are the best actions that can be brought to bear.
Red Team members might even be outfitted in distinctive red (tee) shirts during business hours to establish their right to immediate response to requests and to let city staff and the public actually see the city’s determination to meaningfully resolve the future financial challenges.
Mr. Campagna may be contacted at tofcamp@yahoo.com
