CITY MANAGER BUDGET MESSAGE
The City of Irvine is proud to be ranked number one in the nation in fiscal strength by Truth in Accounting, and the City’s leadership has spent the last several months working to implement the fiscal discipline required to ensure long-term fiscal sustainability of our great City. The Proposed Biennial Budget is structurally balanced as a result of a collaborative effort of management, employees, business partners, and the community in meeting significant financial challenges initially projected in the five-year forecast. The baseline forecast indicated a General Fund annual shortfall of $12-16 million over the five- year period. To balance the gap with sustainable measures, City management and staff first took steps to tighten our belts, reduce costs, and find more efficient ways to provide services. As a result, expenditure reductions accounted for over $11 million of balancing measures annually. Revenue measures, such as fee increases and reinstating previously approved fees, add up to $2.6 million. The proposed balancing measures are listed below, and reflect the feedback received from residents at four community meetings. These meetings, held throughout the month of March 2019, were the City’s first ever attempt at both informing our constituents about the City’s finances and seeking input on spending priorities before the budget is proposed. We heard the community loud and clear: our residents and businesses want a safe, clean, well maintained City that continues to support our schools. To create a sustainable, structurally balanced, and priority driven budget, we reviewed staffing levels on a case by case basis, proposed reductions in vacancies with remaining staff doing more, shifted existing personnel to high demand areas, and leveraged technology to increase efficiencies. These measures are expected to save the City $2.4 million annually. Citywide supplies, business expenses, and training expenditures were reviewed and assessed, and efficiencies resulting in cost savings were put in place, saving $0.4 million in General Fund resources annually. Staff reviewed and renegotiated contracts with vendors and service providers resulting in $2.5 million of annual cost savings. We have been able to utilize $3.3 million in special funds, such as traditional gas tax funds to address rising landscape maintenance costs for City streetscapes and medians. Special funds will be utilized for front line law enforcement equipment, supplies, training, and focused enforcement operations, saving $1.1 million in General Fund resources. We are realigning our budget to more appropriately reflect the actual City staff time dedicated to the newly opened amenities at the Orange County Great Park. Particularly in Community Services, Public Works, Marketing, and Planning, allocating $1 million in General Fund Expenditures to the Great Park thereby faithfully observing the City’s policy that the General Fund should not be used to subsidize the Great Park. Lastly, just under 10 percent of the City’s annual school funding of over $10 million will be paid by the revenues generated within the Great Park, to account for the schools located in that geographic area (5 out of 42, including the forthcoming Loma Ridge Elementary School). Expenditure measures
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FY 2019-21 Proposed Budget
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