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Published on 08/18/1999 All articles from this issue

Some recent Los Altos budget history

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By Bob Norton

Other Voices

In 1992-93, the city of Los Altos, along with the other cities in California, lost a significant portion of its share of property taxes. By the second year, the state withheld almost $900,000 from the amount the city should have gotten. This shortfall has continued to the present, totaling about $6.5 million in spite of the fact that now the state seems to be flush with our tax money. Partially compensating for the loss, the state appropriated funds in various years for restricted special purpose use amounting to about $1.6 million. Most of the latter was for mandated projects or state-directed expenditures and was not available for normal city budget items or capital improvements.

The reduction in property tax distributed by the state amounted to about 7 percent of the city's budget at the time. As a result, Los Altos operating expenditures had to be significantly curtailed, and there was little left to build a reserve for capital projects or reserves.

Since then, tree trimming, pavement crack sealing and roadway repair have not kept up with need. The city's salary scale has fallen significantly below that of other cities, which have an industrial tax base, making it difficult to hire top-quality people (but not impossible, as we have seen).

We do not have a sufficient number of police dispatchers to adequately staff the 911 phone lines, handle police radio communications and requests for support from officers in the field. With only one dispatcher on duty at night, an officer on patrol must be called in to relieve the dispatcher for potty breaks. This has become an impossible situation. At times, when there is more than one significant event working at the same time, the one person on duty can't handle the phone calls, support police officers in the field, and relay calls for fire and ambulance to their appropriate destinations.

Because of the lack of sufficient revenue, the city has been unable to respond to requests from residents for a place for teens to meet after school, for adequate gymnasium space for basketball and for other kids' league sports or for soccer and baseball fields. For example, there are more than 500 kids on waiting lists to participate in basketball leagues, who cannot be accommodated because of the lack of gymnasium space.

City building repair and maintenance have fallen behind and landscaping along major streets has deteriorated.

City staffing levels in the engineering department and in public works have fallen below that necessary to design, operate and maintain city functions and facilities at levels appropriate for a city such as Los Altos. This has been documented in a report by a consultant hired to study the public works department.

All of these things have suffered in order to maintain more urgently needed city services after the loss of the revenue grabbed by the state.

During the recent two-year budget development for the years 1999-2000 and 2000-2001, city staff identified specific needs to continue operations. They also developed a list of projects that residents have been asking for but can't be done at the current level of city income. A unanimous city council appointed a blue ribbon committee of 29 widely diversified men and women to study those needs considered "must do, the A list," and those too long delayed, identified as the B list. The committee also briefly reviewed projects the council put on a C list of desirable projects with a lower priority than the B group and a D list the council wouldn't approve even if money were available.

The committee supported the items on the A list. Those on the B list were thoroughly discussed and either prioritized or discarded. The report with its recommendations has been submitted to the city council for consideration if funds were to become available.

Since January, two traffic officers on motorcycles have been working to enforce speed limits on city streets. (Speeds have been recorded at more than 70 mph with 50 mph on residential streets. ) It has been determined that to do the job adequately in most areas of the city, four officers are needed. The two we currently have are funded by a temporary grant. Unless the city can generate additional income, they will be gone at the end of the grant funding period next year. Four are out of the question without additional revenue.

To give city residents the opportunity to decide the merits of correcting some of the deficiencies, the city council has approved a ballot measure to be voted on by Los Altans in November. If approved by more than 50 percent of those voting, the utility users tax could be adjusted by the council to a maximum of 6.25 percent, amounting to an additional $100 per year for the average household. However, the council would have to re-authorize the tax level each year and it could be fixed at a lower rate if additional tax revenue were to appear.

Norton, a Los Altos resident, attends city meetings regularly. He ran for city council in 1995. This piece also ran in a recent Los Altos Homeowners League newsletter.