HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSTOC 071521 - Special Joint CSTOC FC Meeting Agenda PacketCITY OF ATASCADERO CITIZENS’ SALES TAX OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
& FINANCE COMMITTEE SPECIAL JOINT MEETING AGENDA
Consistent with Executive Order N-29-20 and N-08-21 the City Council
Meeting will not be physically open to the public and City Council
Members will be teleconferencing into the meeting.
HOW TO OBSERVE THE MEETING:
To maximize public safety, while still maintaining transparency and public
access, the meeting will be available by webinar via the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83136530616?pwd=a0NETHlFS3UyVjNQQ1IyaUJTd3R0dz09
HOW TO SUBMIT PUBLIC COMMENT:
Members of the public are highly encouraged to call (669) 900-6833 (Webinar ID:
831 3653 0616) to listen and provide public comment via phone, or submit written
public comments to cityclerk@atascadero.org by 12:00 pm on the day of the
meeting. Such email comments must identify the Agenda Item Number in the
subject line of the email. The comments will be forwarded to the Committee and
made a part of the administrative record. If a comment is received after the
deadline for submission but before the close of the meeting, the comment will still
be included as a part of the administrative record of the meeting but will be
forwarded to the Committee the next business day. Please note, email
comments will not be read into the record.
AMERICAN DISABILITY ACT ACCOMMODATIONS:
Any member of the public who needs accommodations should contact the City
Clerk’s Office at cityclerk@atascadero.org or by calling 805-470-3400 at least 48
hours prior to the meeting or time when services are needed. The City will use
their best efforts to provide reasonable accommodations to afford as much
accessibility as possible while also maintaining public safety in accordance with
the City procedure for resolving reasonable accommodation requests.
Citizens’ Sales Tax Oversight Committee agendas and minutes may be viewed
on the City's website: www.atascadero.org.
Copies of the staff reports or other documentation relating to each item of business referred to
on the Agenda are on file in the office of the City Clerk and are available for public inspection on
our website, www.atascadero.org. All documents will be available for public inspection during
City Hall business hours once City Hall is open to the public following the termination of the
Shelter at Home Order.
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SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
Citizens’ Sales Tax Oversight Committee
Finance Committee
Thursday, July 15, 2021
4:00 P.M.
Atascadero City Hall
6500 Palma Avenue, Atascadero, California
(WEBINAR)
*************************
AGENDA
ROLL CALL:
DISCUSSION:
1. 2021 Sales Tax Measure D-20 Annual Report
Fiscal Impact: Distribution of the 2021 Measure D-20 Annual Report is estimated
to cost about $5,000 in budgeted General Funds.
Recommendation: Citizens’ Sales Tax Oversight Committee and Finance
Committee approve the 2021 Sales Tax Measure D-20 Annual Report.
ADJOURNMENT:
The CSTOC will adjourn to its Regular Meeting on July 15, 2021, in session; and the Finance
Committee will adjourn to its next Special Meeting with a date yet to be determined.
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO )
CITY OF ATASCADERO )
AMANDA MUTHER, being fully sworn, deposes, and says: That she is the Deputy City Clerk of the City of
Atascadero and that on July 12, 2021, she caused the above Notice to be posted at the Atascadero City Hall, 6500
Palma Avenue, Atascadero, California and was available for public review in the Customer Service Center at that
location.
AMANDA MUTHER, Deputy City Clerk
City of Atascadero
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ITEM NUMBER: 1
DATE: 07/15/21
Citizens’ Sales Tax Oversight Committee and
Finance Committee
Staff Report – Administrative Services Department
2021 Sales Tax Measure D-20 Annual Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Citizens’ Sales Tax Oversight Committee and Finance Committee approve the 2021 Sales
Tax Measure D-20 Annual Report.
REPORT-IN-BRIEF:
Atascadero has historically had one of the lowest per capita General Fund revenues in the
County. The City manages resources in a fiscally responsible manner, consistently
protecting and stretching taxpayer’s dollars as far as possible. Unfortunately, th ere were
many critical needs that weren’t able to be met within those revenue constraints. As part
of the Council’s 2019 strategic priority to foster financial stability, the first action identified
in the 2019 Action Plan was to consider placing a tax me asure on the November 2020
ballot. Subsequently, the City: conducted a public outreach campaign to hear about
priorities from the community and to educate community members about fiscal realities;
conducted scientific polling to learn community thoughts on priorities, fiscal choices and
receptiveness to additional taxes to fund priorities; explored different types and levels of
tax measures to determine which would best be suited for the ballot measure; and held
public hearings and prepared tax measure language.
Ultimately in November 2020, Atascadero voters approved Sales Tax Measure D-20. This
general purpose sales tax measure adds an additional one -cent “transaction” tax.
Atascadero’s Measure D-20 was effective April 1, 2021, and is intended to provide funding
for fire protection, paramedics, 911 emergency response, police, crime prevention and
investigations, maintenance of parks, public facilities and infrastructure, graffiti removal,
recreation, community services and other general city services. This is the first of the
annual reports on Measure D-20 funds. This Annual Report highlights how funds will be
spent. Future years’ Annual Reports will include metrics and a narrative on what the funds
were used for and what was accomplished with the funds. After review of the annual report
and audit, the Citizens’ Sales Tax Oversight Committee and Finance Committee will report
their findings to the City Council.
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ITEM NUMBER: 1
DATE: 07/15/21
DISCUSSION:
The recently adopted 2021-2023 Operating and Capital Budget is the basis of the Measure
D-20 spending plan, and is the result of significant team work involving the Council, the
Commissions, the Community, and staff. Developing an effective budget that attempts to
spend Measure D-20 in the manner the community expects, maintain the Council goals,
and continue to provide the City’s core services during these economic times is a difficult
task. It took significant participation and cooperation from the residents, Council,
committees, and staff to create a spending plan that makes the best of the City’s
resources.
The City has a comprehensive approach to budget development. The City has developed
a Comprehensive Financial Plan and the Financial Reserve Policy. This information is
used as a foundation for the Council in their policy-making role. The City Council then
conducts an annual assessment of the organization and prior goals in a Strategic Planning
Workshop, where the product is a new set of goals and priorities for the coming year or
years. The Community has the ability to share their thoughts about the City’s goals at the
goal-setting session and at regularly scheduled council meetings.
Public engagement in the budget process is an important and continuous ongoing dialog
between City Council, City staff and the community. The City’s budget process is
purposely structured to receive public input on where funds are spent. Members of the
public can speak at City Council meetings, reach out to Council Members outside of the
meeting setting, and talk with City staff. In preparation for the 2021-2023 budget cycle,
the Council expanded public outreach even further. After commissioning a Revenue
Measure Feasibility Study that took place in January 2020, Council approved a tax
measure to appear on the November 2020 ballot. Atascadero voters approved the Sales
Tax Measure D-20. Council understood the importance of transparency and the need to
insure that the public would have multiple opportunities to provide input on the City’s
priorities and the expenditure of both the tax measure funds and other City funds, and
planned a series of 20 public outreach meetings to discuss the funding.
The formal kickoff session for the public outreach meetings was held at the January 12,
2021, Council meeting. Staff is charged with providing services to the community on a day
to day basis and has a deep understanding of the existing resource constraints that are
barriers to providing services at levels that the community would like to see. In preparation
for the January 12th meeting, staff identified the following key categories of existing
resource deficiencies:
Equipment Replacement and
Additions
Vehicles / Apparatus Replacement
Fire Stations Rehabilitation
Staffing Levels
Employee Retention
Concerns Related to Transients
and the population of unhoused
residents
Deferred Maintenance
Unfunded Infrastructure
Economic Development
Underfunded Operations
Operational Efficiencies
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ITEM NUMBER: 1
DATE: 07/15/21
Following the January 12th meeting, the City held nine separate study sessions. At each
of the study sessions the participants viewed a video prepared by staff on the priorities
that had been identified at the January 12th meeting. The participants were given a brief
opportunity to ask questions about the video and then were broken into smaller breakout
groups. Each breakout group was led by a minimum of two senior staff members and the
participants were asked to brainstorm and answer a series of questions.
Overall, there were over 130 people that attended at least some portion of a session and
about 100 separate individuals who were able to engage for an entire session. Those
sessions generated 150 pages of input and were provided to Council and the public in
preparation for the Council Strategic Planning Session. Below are the Questions asked
of the study session participants and word cloud summaries of the responses:
Q1. What is going well in the City?
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Q2. What things big and small would make
Atascadero better?
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Q3. The City has promised to spend some of these
funds on expenses that have been put off a long time.
Which of these do you think are the most important
and which could be delayed a little longer?
MORE URGENT
LESS URGENT
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Q4. If the City spent the D-20 funds perfectly, what
would success look like as part of the development of
Measure D-20?
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Q5. How should the City measure that success?
Finally, participants were asked what else Council and staff should know that wasn’t
asked. A few participants responded with a mix of answers from appreciation for the
opportunity to provide input, to re-iterating a priority that was important to them, to other
potential funding sources and a variety of other input.
At their Goal Setting Workshop in February 2021, Council, staff and interested members
of the public got together to determine the priorities for not only the expenditure of
Measure D-20 funds, but also the priorities for the expenditure of all funds. Based upon
the input received, City staff began the work of preparing operating budgets, refining
revenue projections, identifying deficiencies, researching solutions for areas of
prioritization, developing cost projections, and generally gathering i nformation.
The City department head team worked with a consultant to develop an action plan. For
each key focus area under the four strategic priorities, actions that would advance the
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ITEM NUMBER: 1
DATE: 07/15/21
key focus areas were brainstormed and categorized into those actions that could be
accomplished within the two-year budget time frame and those actions that would take
longer to accomplish. Council adopted the Action Plan a regularly scheduled Council
meeting on April 27, 2021.
Once the action plan was adopted, then bega n the arduous task of looking at all $25
million in staff-generated supplemental budget requests to determine which were most
effective at advancing the Key Focus areas. All of the budget requests were for much
needed repairs, staffing, equipment, priorities and programs; however, there was not
enough available revenue to fund all of the items on the list, nor was that list exhaustive
of those items needed to serve the community. The City’s executive Management team
refined the list. The City’s Finance Committee met at six different publicly held meetings
in April and May 2021 to review and approve each section of the budget. The
supplemental budget requested items were incorporated into the adopted 2021-2023
budget document and represent continued focus for implementation of the Council’s goals
and priorities.
Key Priorities
During the Council’s Goal Setting Workshop in February 2021, four categories of priorities
and related key focus areas were determined for the upcoming budget cycle. The four
categories are:
1) Economic and Community Vibrancy: Creating the environment and services to
nurture quality and diverse economic, recreational, and community connections
that create prosperity and enrich our genuine, authentic community.
2) Fiscal and Infrastructure Efficiency and Sustainability: Continuing to be
responsible and accountable stewards of our resources now and into the future by
efficiently and effectively investing in modern and reliable infrastructure and
equipment and maintaining financial stability regardless of economic conditions.
Staff has the tools, technology and resources they need to do their jobs.
3) Ensuring Public Safety and Providing Exceptional City Services: That staff
has the tools, resources, and professional staffing necessary to create and
maintain an environment where our community (residents, businesses, visitors,
and staff) feels safe, served, and mutually respected.
4) Quality of Life. We are embracing our warm, friendly atmosphere and building on
our sense of community by providing attractions, open spaces, outdoor
interactions, and a variety of things to do for all. Atascadero: Where everybody
knows your name and is willing to lend a hand.
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ITEM NUMBER: 1
DATE: 07/15/21
The 2021-2023 budget is focused on the actions to achieve the strategic priorities related
to these four focus areas.
Economic and Community Vibrancy
Key Focus Area: Recreation and Events
o Year 1-2 Action Items
Restart events
Plan and execute events at the new Zoo event center
Design events around new plaza
Hold new/recurring events in Centennial plaza to ensure the space is
shared by all in the community
Encourage events on privately owned vacant properties downtown
(interim until developed)
Encourage more events that focus on downtown (Music, Food, Host a
stage)
Key Focus Area: Downtown
o Year 1-2 Action Items
Pursue funding and complete construction documents for Downtown
Infrastructure Enhancement Plan
Assist development of new restaurants
o Explore ways to reduce start-up costs
Maximize utilization of the plazas (food trucks, etc.)
Look for funding and opportunities to fix existing street trees &
sidewalks in the downtown
Pursue opportunities along East Mall
o Develop land use options for the adapted re-use options of the City-
owned property near Centennial Plaza
Explore programs such as infrastructure assistance, parking flexibility,
and zoning changes to promote new desired development of
underutilized space
Promote the preservation of the theater in Colony square
Pursue the Armory site as a potential location for replacement of fire
station #1
Develop and implement a plan to increase utilization of parking in City-
owned alleys
Communicate collaboratively with businesses to encourage a sense of
pride, ownership, positive attitude, and harmony that promotes downtown
vibrancy
Key Focus Area: Safe and Hospitable Business / Work Environment
o Year 1-2 Action Items
Work to enhance broadband infrastructure
Evaluate areas for restricted time parking
Expand the Outreach for Underrepresented Residents (OUR)Team
Increase pedestrian safety/access downtown through the Downtown
Infrastructure Enhancement Plan
Commence citywide General Plan Update
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ITEM NUMBER: 1
DATE: 07/15/21
Key Focus Area: Business Infrastructure, Technology and Support
o Year 1-2 Action Items
Creatively support development at Del Rio, Dove Creek & San Anselmo
nodes
Implement an online payment and tracking system for City fees and tax
payments
Discuss potential policies related to wastewater capacity charges and
other development fees that may discourage desired business types
Look for opportunities and grants to fund infrastructure
Create and incentivize a new customer satisfaction survey for
permit/planning processes
Support expansion of Bridgeworks through SB1090
Update City Engineering Standards to provide safe and consistent
public improvements
Perform critical third-party review of permitting process towards
essentialism
Explore Community Choice Energy (February 2022)
Fiscal and Infrastructure Efficiency and Sustainability
Key Focus Area: Asset Management / Replacement / Modernization
o Year 1-2 Action Items
Purchase and implement an asset management system
Prepare a detailed inventory w/condition assessment
Develop a sustainable replacement plan for City assets
Begin funding vehicle, technology, equipment, infrastructure and facility
reserves
Replace failing/vulnerable and vital equipment and facilities and
citywide apparatus
Begin Replacement of Fire Station #1
o Prepare needs assessment
o Explore use of Armory site for Fire Station #1 replacement project
o Complete design phase and engineer’s estimates
o Prepare financing plan
Ensure that the resources (tools, equipment, facilities) are available to
assist staff and to build staff capacity.
Identify and invest in equipment and facilities to increase long-term
operational efficiencies
Key Focus Area: Asset Management / Replacement / Modernization (continued)
o Year 1-2 Action Items (continued)
Use technology where appropriate/right technology applications to save
staff time
Expand energy infrastructure (back-up generators, redundancy)
Consider sidewalk repair amnesty or other limited assistance program
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ITEM NUMBER: 1
DATE: 07/15/21
Key Focus Area: Financial Strategies
o Year 1-2 Action Items
Develop responsible reserves for unfunded liabilities (non-asset)
o Explore and consider funding Section 115 Trust for pension
o Consider additional payments for unfunded pension liability (UAL)
o Look for ways to fund reserve for future State and Federal
mandates
Adopt budgets and fiscal strategies that:
o Continue conservative Council/general fiscal strategy
o Prepare the City for changing economic conditions
o Consider and plan for lifecycle costs and long-term cost
savings/cost-effectiveness
Develop balanced strategy of operational expenditures vs. capital/one-
time expenditures that will accommodate future growth for Measure D-
20 funds
Implement opportunities, strategies and plans to grow the organization
as the community grows
Identify and modestly invest in programs to increase long-term
operational efficiencies
Capitalize on grant opportunities to accomplish action plan goals
Explore public and private partnerships to achieve action plan goals
Key Focus Area: Transparency and Accountability
o Year 1-2 Action Items
Use technology for transparency and accountability
o Overhaul/modernize/simplify/make more efficient website
o Develop and implement strategy to maintain website and
accessibility
Implement records management program to facilitate access to public
records
Prepare, publicize and widely distribute an annual report on the use of
Measure D-20 funds. While the Measure D-20 annual report will not
include detailed accounting of spending, it should include information on
the general areas where the funding was targeted, the goals to be
achieved with the Measure D-20 funding, and objective metrics for
measuring the success in achieving those goals.
Ensuring Public Safety and Providing Exceptional City Services
Key Focus Area: Staffing
o Year 1-2 Action Items
Hire and retain an adequate number of staff to achieve our priorities
Complete an essentialism evaluation of each department
Provide competitive salaries/benefits and appropriate classifications for
all employees
Provide opportunities for employee growth & succession
Explore other retention and attraction strategies
Provide training and professional development opportunities
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ITEM NUMBER: 1
DATE: 07/15/21
Hire for heart
Encourage growth and development of local workforce
o Expand police department explorer program
Explore a wider City employee recognition/commendation program
Work to insure that employees have the tools necessary to do their job
Key Focus Area: Unhoused Population
o Year 1-2 Action Items
Train and educate staff and community members on available support
resources for our unhoused population
Train and educate staff and community members on compassionate
interactions with our underrepresented residents
Establish needed Outreach for Underrepresented Residents (OUR)
Team (formerly known as CAT)
Support partner non-government organizations outreach efforts
Support regional combined approach related to unhoused population
Perform regular clean-ups of problem encampments
Perform vegetation management activities in the Downtown District
Implement strategies to encourage existing unhoused residents to
reduce trash and litter in public and sensitive environmental areas
Implement strategies for ongoing areas of public concern including
design of public spaces
Provide staff resources to maximize effectiveness (use technology)
Look for opportunities and grants to provide resources to respond to
future opportunities to support underrepresented residents
Key Focus Area: Community Engagement
o Year 1-2 Action Items
Hold more public safety outreach events
Ensure that all messaging is accessible and consistent across all media
platforms
Look for more opportunities for public engagement
Continue online and in-person engagement in decision-making
discussions
Improve emergency planning communications with business community
through the fire inspection program
Quality of Life
Key Focus Area: Things to Do
o Year 1-2 Action Items
See Action Items under the “Economic and Community Vibrancy”
section
Discuss long-term capital needs of the zoo and the viability of
continuing AZA accreditation
Begin to address key deferred maintenance issues in parks and public
spaces
Fund lake quality program to mitigate algae blooms
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ITEM NUMBER: 1
DATE: 07/15/21
Key Focus Area: Welcoming and Inclusive
o Year 1-2 Action Items
Work with and support community partners and volunteers to advance
diversity, inclusion, and community beautification
Use technology to facilitate volunteer opportunities
See Action Items under “Ensuring Public Safety and Providing
Exceptional City Services”
Key Focus Area: Supporting Families
o Year 1-2 Action Items
Encourage regional organizations that bring attention to childcare needs
in the community
Continue on-going successful partnerships with organizations such as
ECHO, LINK, and AUSD
Remain involved in regional efforts to improve broadband access to
residents and businesses
Educate staff and community members of availability of men tal health
resources that are available in the community
Continue to implement affordable housing policies of the General Plan
Housing Element including minimum densities, objective design
standards, small lot standards, ADU ordinance, and inclusionary
housing ordinance
Explore Community Choice Energy (February 2022)
See “Economic and Community Vibrancy” section for other action items
Measure D-20 funds were budgeted primarily on Public Safety, city staff retention and
attraction, the population of unhoused residents, and infrastructure investments.
Public Safety
Historically, the community has strongly supported investing in Police and Fire services for
the safety of the residents. This priority has become even more evident throughout the
public outreach and budget processes, and therefore, the budget reflects this priority. The
Police Department, in particular, has been experiencing exceptional difficulty in recruiting
Police Officers and Public Safety Dispatchers. The nationwide negative attitude toward law
enforcement has sharply reduced the number of potential candidates interested in a career
in law enforcement. Agencies across the nation are having similar challenges filling
vacancies due to a lack of qualified candidates. The City’s Police Department competes
with other local agencies for job candidates. Because Atascadero has historically had the
one of the lowest per capita General Fund revenues, the City couldn’t offer salaries as high
as other, more well-funded agencies. The limited budget also restricted the number of
officer positions budgeted. For example, as of fiscal year 2019, Atascadero had less than
1 officer per thousand residents. Morro Bay had over 1.5, San Luis Obispo had about 1.3,
and Paso Robles had about 1.1 officers per one thousand residents. That meant that
officers in Atascadero essentially had a heavier work load and lower pay than other
agencies. That made it difficult to recruit and retain quality employees. In order to attract
recruits, police departments across the nation have now transitioned to sponsoring police
officer candidates through the Police Academy. This shifts more costs onto the City and
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ITEM NUMBER: 1
DATE: 07/15/21
extends the period between hiring and getting the officer on the street. However, even
finding quality recruits to sponsor has been an issue.
The passage of Measure D-20 has provided much needed funding to support public
safety. The 2021-2023 budget includes the addition of four officers for general rotation,
one additional officer to be part of the Outreach for Underrepresented Residents (OUR)
Team (formerly knows at the Community Action Team, or “CAT”), funding to contract with
a mental health worker and a community outreach representative as part of the OUR
Team, and an additional Public Safety Dispatcher. Revenues are also able to increase
salaries to be more competitive with other agencies, to try to keep the great officers that
are currently part of the department, and to attract more similar quality individuals.
Fire safety is also an important priority to the residents. Measure D-20 revenue was able
to fund the cost of a Battalion Chief. The City was able to secure a three -year Staffing
for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant beginning in fiscal year 2019
that would pay part of the cost of a firefighter. During the co urse of this grant, the City
was able to add one firefighter for the three -year period, and also transition one employee
up to a Battalion Chief position. Measure D-20 revenue allowed the City to keep the
Battalion Chief position even after the expiration of the grant.
Additionally, the costs of public outreach and maintenance for the Zonehaven program
are being funded through Measure D-20 revenues. Atascadero has a significant
wildland/urban interface, meaning that there are many areas of the City wit h high fire
potential. Zonehaven is an online program that provides rapid, accurate communication
and exit paths to residents that may be threatened by various types of emergencies or
natural disasters, including wildland fires.
More ongoing and one-time Police and Fire related necessities were also included in the
budget such as funds for vehicle and equipment replacement, along with replacement of
Fire Station #1.
Funding was also allocated for Public Works related public safety items including vehicle
and equipment replacement, a trash cleanup program, vegetation management, and
camp cleanups.
Staffing Retention and Attraction
The City has been able to stay within its limited financial constraints with the cooperation
of its employees. The employees are used to doing more with less and this often carries
over into salaries and wages. As with the Police Department, there is significant
competition from other agencies whom are able to offer more generous salaries than
Atascadero is able to. The market for labor is tight and employers are competing, and it
is difficult to match salaries to other agencies.
While there are some differences in benefit packages between jurisdictions, the City is
consistently amongst the lowest total compensation for most positions at the City. While
compensation is often not the only reason an employee chooses to work for an employer,
when there are significant differences in pay, it is an important consideration. Because the
cost of living is high in the area, and neighboring jurisdictions are able to pay more, the City’s
low wages are often a barrier to attracting, hiring and most importantly, retaining professional
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employees. This has a large effect on City operations as vacancies lead to even lower
staffing levels, inefficiencies and additional incurred costs as new employees are trained.
This challenge is not uncommon throughout the City. There have been recruitments in
several departments where the City did not receive a single qualified applicant. In these
cases, after sometimes two or more recruitments, the City has chosen to re-organize, find
a way to contract out, or hire someone at a lower level and provide a lot of training. The
inability to offer competitive salaries with neighboring agencies has resulted in the loss of
many quality, experienced employees from every department in the City. Losses of key
employees with institutional knowledge cause delays, inefficiencies and additional
overtime costs in order to complete the work needed to provide service to the City.
Revenue from Measure D-20 has been allocated to increasing salaries citywide, in an
effort to bring those salaries more in line with other comparable agencies. The intention
is to increase staff efficiencies, provide improved service to the public, and to reduce long -
term costs by attracting and retaining qualified professional employees.
Population of Residents that are Unhoused
The human impact of the unhoused population crisis is tragic and must be addressed.
People should not have to live unprotected from the elements. Solving the unhoused
population crisis will take an enormous amount of resources and coordination from all
sectors of the nation. While not as heartbreaking, there is also a very real impact to
government services and in particular local services as cities that were never designed,
nor funded to provide social services, deal with the inherent conflicts and problems of
people living on the streets, creeks, riverbeds and parks.
Atascadero, like many other cities throughout California and the rest of the nation, were
not intended or equipped to handle the additional workload associated with the unhoused
crisis. It is important to note that individuals are not being classified because of their
housing status. The reference is to those people who are engaged in behavior that
precipitates a call for service for public safety or other City resources.
The influx of people who are living on the streets have impacted every department in the
City. Many of those living in these areas are suffering from mental health issues and/or
substance abuse problems. Many of these individuals have underlying health problems.
The Fire Department is frequently called to treat and assist everything from a minor cut to
shortness of breath, a stroke or mental illness. This takes one of the two on-duty engine
companies out of service. When further treatment is necessary for the individual, they are
transported to a local hospital, taking an ambulance out of service for an extended time.
The impact to the Police Department has also been significant. In 2018, the department
received 513 calls for service related to illegal camping and 81 calls for panhandling. The
Department coordinated with County Behavioral Health and partnered a County social
worker with a department detective to form a part -time Community Action Team (now
known as the Outreach for Underrepresented Residents Team). These teams have been
highly successful in other communities. The goal of the team is to identify those
individuals who would benefit from available resources and be the intermediary so those
services are utilized. The program has been successful in Atascadero as well, and with
the additional funding from Measure D-20, has now been expanded.
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DATE: 07/15/21
The illegal camps throughout the City have a significant impact on the environment and
the general quality of life for the neighborhoods. The creeks, rivers, underpasses and
other areas of encampment were never designed to be someone’s home. The homeless
crisis/addiction issues have led people to establish camps where there are no sanitary
services, no heat, no water and no other basic necessities for life. The camps contain a
large amount of trash and personal refuse. Legally, notices must be posted at the camps
before cleanup and property removed must be retained for a substantial period of time
before disposal. Clean-up of these camps is also a fairly time consuming job as clean-
up workers must be extremely cautious as dirty needles and other bio hazards are often
found amongst the camp debris. The workload involved in the cleanups and debris
removal must be balanced with the workload and pr imary responsibilities of a Public
Works Department that is already stretched thin. Measure D-20 revenue has allowed
some funding to mitigate some of the issues discussed here, such as for Camp Cleanup
and a community Trash Cleanup program.
Investments in Infrastructure
Infrastructure includes the basic facilities and assets needed to run the City. It includes
the basic underlying capital assets needed for the day-to-day operations of the City
including computers, software, radios, breathing apparatus, police cars, tractors, fire
engines, and other equipment and tools. It also includes public infrastructure such as
roads, storm drains, street lights, traffic signals, sidewalks, bridges, wastewater collection
and treatment, other large capital items needed to support households, businesses, and
industries, and facilities such as fire stations, police station, parks, the Charles Paddock
Zoo, the Pavilion on the Lake, City Hall and other large capital assets that are needed to
provide services to the public.
Each department has specialized vehicles equipment that assists employees in
performing their duties as expected. Office staff need office machines such as
computers, police officers need radios and radio repeaters, fire fighters need breathing
apparatuses and jaws of life, and parks employees need mowers and irrigation
equipment. While Staff does their best to keep existing equipment running for the
maximum amount of time, eventually equipment ceases to be effective. Often times,
specific items of equipment must be replaced to comply with new regulations or safety
requirements.
Additionally, Fire Station #1 is 70 years old and is showing sign of its age. Water-stained
ceiling tiles, masonry cracks throughout the station flooring, driveway and exterior
columns, diesel exhaust stained walls, small rooms and limited storage all speak to the
underlying issues that the current budget has been unable to fix. Safety items to be
addressed include the structural stability and earthquake retrofit of both the roof structure
and the hose tower. Included in this budget, $750,000 a year has been allocated toward
expected financing costs for full replacement of Fire Station #1.
Park facilities are in need of replacement including parking lots, sidewalks, benches,
picnic tables, playgrounds, restrooms, and athletic facilities. The shoreline retaining walls
and dock on Atascadero Lake needs significant work, and the lake requires costly periodic
dredging to keep it healthy.
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ITEM NUMBER: 1
DATE: 07/15/21
Replacing and repairing these assets has h istorically been put off in order to make ends
meet. Revenues from Measure D-20 has been able to fund many of these infrastructure
items that are so critical to effective day-to-day operations of the City.
Revenue from Measure D-20 allows the City to fund many of the community’s and
Council’s key priorities, and was an important component of building the 2021 -2023
budget. Measure D-20 revenue is expected to total just under $12 million, for three fiscal
years (beginning with the first quarter it became effective, April 1, 2021 through June 30,
2021, and for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscal years.) The following chart outlines the
strategic priorities that are possible to fund due to the revenues from the new Measure.
Each funded item listed in the left column is linked to one or more of the Action Items as
discussed in the Key Priorities section above.
Supplemental Budget Requests- Measure D20 Tier 1
Description Economic VibrancyFiscal StrategiesPublic Safety & Exceptional City ServicesQuality of LifeMandatoryD-20HighMedium2020-20212021-20222022-2023Other Funds1 Police Staffing- 4 officers & 1 dispatcher X **-$ 521,850$ 696,760$ 160,000$
2 OUR Team (previously known as "CAT" Team)X **- 254,820 342,320 69,000
3 CAD/RMS System Replacement X **- 600,000 - -
4 Handheld Police radio replacement X **- 227,700 - -
5 Battalion Chief and SAFER Firefighter- Staff Laborcost X **- 247,200 279,180 65,000
6 Fire Station #1 Rebuild X **- 750,000 750,000 -
7 Increase Fire Operating Budget Items X **- 30,000 30,000 -
8 Zonehaven maintenance X **- 9,500 9,500 -
9 Emergency Planning X **10,000 5,000 5,000 -
10 Fire Radio Repeater Replacement X **- 180,000 - -
11 Handheld Fire radio replacement X **- 253,000 - -
12 Replacement of Ambulance X **- 60,000 - -
13 Jaws of Life Replacement X **- - - 180,000
14 Life Pak ECG Modem X X **4,800 - - -
15 Fire Equipment Replacement Deficit X **645,010 - - -
16 Replace Chain Saws X **4,910 - - -
17 Patch Fire Station #2 Roof X **4,000 - - -
18 Vehicle Replacement Increase - Public Safety X **- 240,020 240,020 -
19 Compensation Changes - Public Safety X **- 760,230 1,066,010 -
20 Vehicle Reserves Deficit X **158,120 - - -
21 Annual Equipment Reserve - Public Safety X **- 225,000 225,000 -
22 Equipment Reserves- Radio Repeater equipment Deficit X **- 104,230 -
23 Equipment Reserves- Other Public Safety Equipment Deficit **236,500
24 Generator for Templeton repeater X **- - - 100,000
25 Public Works Radio Repeater Replacement X **- 90,000 - -
26 Vegetation Management in Downtown Creek area X X **- 55,000 55,000 -
27 Camp Cleanups X X **- 50,000 50,000 -
28 Trash community cleanup program X X **- 5,000 5,000 -
29 Vehicle Replacement Increase - Public Works X **- 38,230 38,230 -
30 Building Maint and Replacement Reserves X **- 250,000 250,000 -
31 Parks Replacements- dock, benches, sidewalk repairs, etc X X **- 150,000 - -
32 Equipment Reserves- Parks Deficit X X **59,580 118,240
33 Compensation Changes- Other X **- 628,530 886,690 -
34 Asset Management System X **- - 30,000 420,000
35 NeoGov X **- 3,500 12,320 -
Totals 826,840$ 5,694,160$ 5,430,000$ 994,000$
D-20SortingStrategic Priorities
Of the $12 million in projected Measure D-20 revenue, about $9.5 million will be used for
Public Safety (including items related to unhoused residents), $1 million will be used for
infrastructure investments, and $1.5 million will go toward other priorities, including staff
retention and attraction.
Page 19 of 20
ITEM NUMBER: 1
DATE: 07/15/21
$-
$2,000,000
$4,000,000
$6,000,000
$8,000,000
$10,000,000
Public Safety Infrastructure Other
Priorities
D-20 Funds
Budgeted 2020-2023
The 2021 Measure D-20 Annual Report includes the list of supplemental budget request
items that were funded with the new transaction tax, and also has a narrative of the
manner in which the residents worked with City Council, Committees, and staff to identify
the key priorities for the most important areas to focus funding. Staff recommends that
the Citizens’ Sales Tax Oversight Committee and the Finance Committee approve the
Annual Report and recommend to the City Council that it be finalized and distributed via
U.S. mail to all properties in the City. The Report will also be made available at City Hall
and on the City’s website.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Distribution of the 2021 Measure D-20 Annual Report is estimated to cost about $5,000
in budgeted General Funds.
ATTACHMENT:
2021 Sales Tax Measure D-20 Annual Report (To be posted to the website prior to the
meeting.)
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