HomeMy WebLinkAbout7242 RESOLUTION NO. 7242
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA,
CALIFORNIA, MAKING CERTAIN FISCAL EMERGENCY FINDINGS
WITH RESPECT TO THE GENERAL FUND MID-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW
AND LONG RANGE FINANCIAL FORECAST PLAN
WHEREAS, our residents choose to live in Arcadia because it offers a better
quality of life and services than nearby communities; and
WHEREAS, in keeping with Arcadia's strong tradition of careful spending and
responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars, since 1998, the City has reduced its
operating costs by $3.4 million; and
WHEREAS, the City of Arcadia has continued to be awarded with the Government
Finance Officers Association ("GFOA") Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in
Financial Reporting for the City's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the past 10
years; and
WHEREAS, in 2011, the City of Arcadia implemented pension and benefit reforms,
one of the first cities in the state to do so, saving millions of dollars for taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, recent changes to state law have increased fiscal stress on cities like
Arcadia, and have contributed to increased crime in our City; and
WHEREAS, in December 2016, the PERS Board of Administration approved
lowering the pension fund's discount rate assumption, reducing the expected long-term
rate of return from 7.5% to 7.0%, significantly increasing employer contributions to the
fund; and
WHEREAS, the City of Arcadia has nearly $63.4 million in unfunded capital
improvement project needs, and current and projected revenues are insufficient to
maintain the City's infrastructure; and
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WHEREAS, in Fiscal Year 2016-17, the City of Arcadia began projecting future
deficits in the General Fund which could undermine the City's ability to maintain current
911 emergency response times, to maintain police and fire protection, and to reduce
property crimes like home break-ins, thefts and burglaries; and
WHEREAS, in Fiscal Year 2017-18, the City Council of the City of Arcadia created
a Citizens Financial Advisory Committee, an ad-hoc advisory body of civic volunteers
empaneled by the City Council to review the City's General Fund long-range financial
forecast and provide recommendations to the City Council for cost containment and/or
revenue enhancements strategies; and
WHEREAS, in Fiscal Year 2018-19, for the first time in decades, the City Council
of the City of Arcadia adopted a deficit budget of $3.1 million in the General Fund, with
total sources (revenue) of $64.4 million and total uses (expenses) of$67.5 million; and
WHEREAS, the Citizens Financial Advisory Committee found that the City's
General Fund deficit is projected to increase to $8.0 million by Fiscal Year 2024-25; and
WHEREAS, police and fire services comprise over 60% of the City's General Fund
budget, and unless more revenue is generated to balance the budget, nearly two dozen
police officer, firefighter, and paramedic positions could be cut and the fire station in North
Arcadia could be closed, affecting neighborhood police patrols and 911 emergency
response times; and
WHEREAS, in 2017, Arcadia had the highest number of home break-ins and
neighborhood property crime in recent history, at the same time that state law allowed
early release of prisoners; and
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WHEREAS, the City currently has five fewer police officers than it did in 2008; and
WHEREAS, with property crime continuing to be a concern and the recent effects
of wildfires seen throughout the state, the City can ill afford a reduction in neighborhood
patrols, fire coverage, and lifesaving response times; and
WHEREAS, the Citizens Financial Advisory Committee found that more locally-
controlled revenue is necessary to address the City's budgetary shortfall in order to
maintain 911 emergency response times, to maintain local fire and police protection and
paramedic services, and to maintain the City's finances; and
WHEREAS, the Citizens Financial Advisory Committee recommended that the City
Council declare a fiscal emergency and submit a ballot measure to Arcadia voters seeking
their approval of a 3/4% general sales tax increase; and
WHEREAS, on January 15, 2019, the City Council of the City of Arcadia
unanimously adopted the recommendations contained in the Citizens Financial Advisory
Committee Final Report issued on December 13, 2018; and
WHEREAS, Proposition 218 (California Constitution, Article XIIIC, Section 2(b))
permits the City Council to call a special election to impose, increase or extend a general
tax, only if the City Council finds, by a unanimous vote, that there exists an emergency
requiring a special election to be conducted earlier than the next regularly scheduled
general election at which City Council members are to be elected (April, 2020); and
WHEREAS, the Fiscal Year 2018-19 midyear budget projections show that the
City of Arcadia is still in a budget deficit for this fiscal year and is still projecting budget
deficits through the 10-year term of the City's General Fund Long-Range Financial
Forecast; and
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WHEREAS, should additional revenues not be available, as the City begins to plan
for the Fiscal Year 2019-20 budget, the City Council wants to ensure that the public is
aware of this fiscal emergency as the City explores necessary cuts to services that it will
be forced to make, including public safety, which will have a negative impact upon the
public peace, health, safety, and welfare of the Arcadia community.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA,
CALIFORNIA, HEREBY RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The City Council finds that all of the preceding recitals are true and
correct, are incorporated herein by this reference and are made an operative part hereof.
SECTION 2. Pursuant to California Constitution, Article XIIIC, Section 2(b), the
City Council hereby unanimously declares the existence of an emergency in that there
are imminent financial risks and dangers, as described above, to the public welfare and
the City's financial ability to provide municipal services at current levels and without
disruption, so that a special election is necessary to address such risks and dangers. At
a later meeting, the City Council may, by unanimous vote, call a special election seeking
voter approval of a general sales tax increase in a manner consistent with the City
Charter, California law and this Resolution.
SECTION 3. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution.
[Signatures on the next page]
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Passed, approved and adopted this 5th day of February , 2019.
Mayor of the Cit of Arcadia
ATTEST:
/
4erk _..6,- _
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Stephen P. Deitsch
City Attorney
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS:
CITY OF ARCADIA )
I, GENE GLASCO, City Clerk of the City of Arcadia, hereby certifies that the
foregoing Resolution No. 7242 was passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of
Arcadia, signed by the Mayor and attested to by the City Clerk at a regular meeting of said
Council held on the 5th day of February, 2019 and that said Resolution was adopted by the
following vote, to wit:
AYES: Amundson, Beck, Chandler, Verlato, and Tay
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
-�\ Ci Clerk of th'ty of Arcadia
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