Zoom meeting details 2021-05-25 Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee Agenda
Distributed presentation >2021-05-25 Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Presentation
The Piedmont City Council will consider the proposed annual budget for fiscal year 2021-2022 at three separate meetings -May 22, June 7 and June 21.
This is a special opportunity for the public to view and speak from a distance when the various department heads present their proposed budgets to the Council on Saturday, May 22, starting at 9:30 am. The budget presentations historically have not been broadcast or recorded for public viewing, but because of COVID-19 procedures anyone can access and view the critically important Council budget work session from their home or computer.
The Saturday work session will be held virtually on May 22, 2021 beginning at 9:30 a.m. Members of the public are invited to participate in this meeting. Virtual meeting details will be included in the agenda for this meeting. For Agenda and viewing links go to https://piedmont.ca.gov/UserFiles/Servers/Server_13659739/File/Government/City%20Council/Agenda/City%20Council%20Agenda%202021-05-22%20(Special).pdf
Public hearings regarding the proposed budget and the levy of the Municipal Services Tax and the Sewer Tax will be held during regularly scheduled City Council meetings on June 7 and June 21, 2021.
The public is invited to attend all of these meetings and speak to the City Council about spending priorities for the city in the coming year. Click the link to visit the Annual Budgets page > (https://piedmont.ca.gov/services___departments/finance/annual_budgets), where all sections of the proposed budget, as well as approved budgets from previous years, are available for download.
Residents with questions about the contents of the proposed budget can contact Finance Director Michael Szczech via email at mszczech@piedmont.ca.gov or by phone at (510) 420-3045.
Residents wishing to comment on the proposed budget can send an e-mail to the City Council at citycouncil@piedmont.ca.gov, send a letter via U.S. Mail to Piedmont City Council, c/o City Clerk’s Office, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, 94611, or speak at appropriate times during the meetings to address budget issues.
Y = mX + b. That’s not a typo but an equation, instantly recognizable to mathematicians as the equation for linear regression. Put technically, the known value (X) times the slope (m) plus a fudge factor (b) estimates the unknown value (Y). Put simply, estimate the unknown future value from the known past values..In the figure below, X, the horizontal axis, is years (2000-2030) and Y, the vertical axis, is the annual Real Property Transfer tax revenue in dollars (millions), collected on Piedmont home sales from 2000 to 2021. The circles show the annual tax revenue and the blue line is the linear regression of that data out to the year 2030..Because linear regression is not perfect, to be safe, practitioners will take out the high and low values (outliers) and re-run the regression. The red line shows the estimated tax revenue with the two red circles removed from the regression..The 2009 data is the Great Recession when the tax revenue was $1.7M and the 2021 data is this year’s tax revenue (The COVID bubble?), likely to be $5M. The lines pretty much overlay each other and show a very consistent increase in tax revenue over 20 years, with or without the outliers.Every year, rather than rely on linear regression to estimate end of the year tax revenue, the City simply assumes revenue will be $2.8M. And every year, the city winds up with $500,000 or more to put away into reserve funds like Facility Maintenance, Equipment Replacement or Pension Stabilization.
This year is an exception– almost a $2M surplus will be collected. On a year-to-year basis, that may be ok – by staying on budget the city ends the year with a surplus that can be banked for long term needs.
But last year the City decided to project this $2.8 forward for 10 years – that’s the flat line in the figure – and claimed the city was facing a “deficit”. This reasoning was offered as justification for putting Measure TT, the proposed increase in the transfer tax, on the 2020 ballot. Measure TT failed, just in time for record transfer tax revenues.
Why this all matters is because the Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee (BAFPC) will soon convene and possibly consider what to do about the failure of TT.
The BAFPC reviews the revenue projections by staff and there’s chatter of a “Plan B” to raise more revenue. Perhaps with a new Mayor and chairperson there will be new thinking by the BAFPC and the committee will advise staff to adopt a more accurate forecasting approach.
For example, transfer tax receipts over the past 10 years now average $3.4M annually (not including 2021) – use that value for the flat-line projection. Better yet, perform this simple linear regression to project next year’s revenue and apportion that estimate to the three funds as needed. The BAFPC needs to get the revenue projections right before it starts considering new taxes.
Click graph below to enlarge.
Garrett Keating, Former City Council Member
AGENDA and Ways to participate in the May 19th meeting of the Housing Advisory meeting. Click below. https://piedmont.ca.gov/UserFiles/Servers/Server_13659739/File/Government/Commissions%20and%20Committees/Housing%20Advisory%20Committee/current_agenda.pdf
On May 3, 2021, the Piedmont City Council approved a proposal from Lisa Wise Consulting (LWC) for approximately $700,000 to prepare updates to the Housing Element of the Piedmont General Plan.
State requirements have challenged City officials to find sites and policies to promote the construction of 587 new houses and apartments by 2031.
The cost of the next Housing Element policy document and associated General Plan amendments is estimated at $691,000, with $172,000 earmarked for public engagement and outreach.
Planning and Building Director Kevin Jackson stated, “With approval of LWC as the lead housing consultant, the City moves forward with planning to meet the mandates set by the State of California, starting with meetings of the new Piedmont Housing Advisory Committee on May 19 and June 15, 2021. We are confident that the Piedmont community will come together to share ideas and expertise to solve the region’s housing crisis.”
The May and June Housing Advisory Committee meetings will feature results of the citywide fair housing survey and pinnable map tools, which closed for public comment mid-April. The citywide fair housing survey and pinnable map were funded through a $160,000 grant awarded to Piedmont by the State of California SB2 planning grant program.
LWC is expected to present their analysis of Piedmonters’ ideas, design preferences, and understanding of new housing laws, as well as LWC’s recommendations for guiding principles for new tools to accelerate Piedmont affordable housing production.
The Piedmont community is invited to attend. The agendas and instructions for participating in the meetings on May 19 and June 15, 2021 , which start at 5 pm, will be posted at https://piedmont.ca.gov/government/commissions___committees/housing_advisory_committee
The May and June Housing Advisory Committee meetings will be televised live on KCOM-TV, the City’s government TV station and will be available through streaming video on the City’s web site https://piedmont.ca.gov/services___departments/kcomtv/live_content_and_video_archive
For more information and project updates, please visit the City of Piedmont’s web site at https://piedmont.ca.gov/
https://tphnews.com/2021/04/12/test/
On March 1, 2021, the City Council approved the issuance of a Request for Proposals for Professional Services to Update the Piedmont Housing Element for the 6th Cycle/2023-2031. Only one firm submitted a proposal of services.
The City Administrator recommends an agreement with Lisa Wise Consulting, Inc. (LWC) in the amount $691,230 for services related to a Housing Element update.
State law requires every city and county in California to adopt a housing element of its general plan. The law also provides for periodic updates of the housing element. Piedmont has updated its Housing Element on five previous occasions. Piedmont did not contest its housing allocation of 587 new housing units.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) upcoming “round six” Housing Element update covering the time frame 2023-2031 began with the adoption of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). Piedmont’s allocation jumped to 587 housing units, compared to 60 units in RHNA 5, the 2014-22 planning period.
The next step is preparation of the Housing Element Update, the environmental documentation, and the Update’s submittal and review for certification by HCD. The deadline for adoption of the Update is January 31, 2023. State law provides a penalty if the update is not adopted within 120 days after the deadline. That penalty is a requirement for an update every four years rather than every eight years if the update is adopted on time.
Comments to the City Council – citycouncil@piedmont.ca.gov
See opinions on this proposal. https://www.piedmontcivic.org/2021/04/30/opinion-reconsider-use-of-taxpayer-funds/
https://piedmont.ca.gov/UserFiles/Servers/Server_13659739/File/Government/City%20Council/Agenda/council-current-agenda.pdf
Comments may be sent to the City Council at citycouncil@piedmont.ca.gov
Piedmont City CouncilDear Mayor King and Council,.Spending funds on a Grand Ave – lower Grand bicycle improvement is a curious option for public funds as only beautification and limited bike safety will be addressed. In contrast improving the Fairview – Grand intersection accomplishes many concerns: bicycle safety, pedestrian Safety, significant traffic calming and significant Green Infrastructure (“GI”) compliance as this intersection is at the bottom of the hill and a bio-swale can be installed. The GI element is essentially very limited or not possible at Grand – lower Grand. Importantly, more beautification then the small project proposed at Grand and lower Grand is possible at Fairview – Grand as the multitude of traffic turning up Fairview off Grand is indicative of this intersection as a significant City Gateway and there will be beautification of one of the two small commercial zones in Piedmont. Lastly the unsightly “gateway” of white plastic bollards will be eliminated..The 2014 Piedmont Bike Pedestrian Master Plan (“PBMP”) at p. 77 listed Grand/Fairview as a priority project and the report states “many requests from the public, creates sense of gateway into the city.” The current Staff Report notes the PBMP as to Grand/Lower Grand intersection as “one needing additional traffic calming measures.” The PBMP places the Fairview Grand intersection as a higher safety priority; a permanent solution at this important intersection addresses multiple issues unlike the limited possibilities at Grand – Lower Grand..I urge Council to reconsider and use taxpayer funds in a more efficient manner that serves many more in town and accomplishes multiple needs by improving the Grand – Fairview intersection. Minimally, I ask Council to direct Staff to place a higher priority on the Fairview – Grand intersection..Respectfully,.Rick Schiller, Piedmont ResidentApril 30, 2021
The City Council will hold a special evening meeting on Monday, May 10th to interview applicants. Go to the links below for detailed information.
For questions, contact the City Clerk at 510/420-3040.
Piedmonters, owners of 801 Magnolia Avenue, have been awaiting invitations to observe Board meetings and receive regular financial reports from their tenant. The Piedmont Center for the Arts Board is composed of well-meaning, generous, local residents of Piedmont and Oakland who may have overlooked their obligation to keep Piedmont citizens informed in a transparent manner of the use of this important public asset.
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