CITY MANAGER BUDGET MESSAGE
Strategic Priorities The Proposed FY 2019-2021 Two-Year Budget and Five-Year Strategic Financial Plan support the City strategic priorities, stated below. Maintain high quality essential City services: When budget balancing measures were developed to address the $12-16 million General Fund deficit, City management strived to minimize any major service impacts. Staffing reductions are only proposed to the extent they reduce levels of bureaucracy and lead to more efficiencies. For example, we are eliminating one of two Assistant City Manager positions, with the remaining Assistant carrying the workload of two people; eliminating the Great Park Director position with the City Manager assuming this role; and reducing 5 administrative support positions in the City Manager’s Office. Public Works is eliminating three positions with no service impacts to maintenance operations and several part-time positions are being consolidated in Community Services. The City of Irvine’s commitment to public safety is evidenced by the City’s continual standing as the nation’s safest city. To maintain our current service levels, and our response times within reasonable timeframes, five police officers, one police sergeant, and two civilian positions are added to existing staff in the Proposed FY 2019-20 Budget. Additionally, four more police officers, an additional crime analyst, and an upgrade from a part-time to full-time senior public safety assistant are included in the FY 2020-21 Budget. We are also adding staff in Community Services to operate new community facilities. In the current fiscal year, the City’s 11 th and 12 th community centers, at Los Olivos and Portola, were successfully opened. Planning and design continues for implementation of other Parks Master Plan priorities, including Bommer Canyon Cattle Camp Rehabilitation Project, Heritage Community Park Improvements Master Plan, and Plaza Park Playground and ADA Improvements. Community Services offers resources and activities that support children, youth and families. These programs include Irvine Children’s Health Program, FOR Families, Child Resource Center, Youth development and resiliency programming, the Irvine Child Care Project and parent and child care provider education workshops. To address child care capacity, the Irvine Child Care Project added 500 new school-aged child care slots within the last two years. Recreational activities and programs keep our City’s young people engaged in positive activities, thereby decreasing potential involvement in high-risk activity. Department activities include Mobile Recreation, Youth Action Teams, Middle School Programs, Fine Arts, Aquatics, Youth Athletics and Leaders in Training. ln addition to thriving activities, Park Ambassadors provide valuable oversight functions at parks, City athletic fields and tennis courts to ensure groups use City amenities respectfully and safely. Enhance City-wide mobility through transportation improvements: The Proposed FY 2019- 21 Budget includes funding for the construction phase of the University Drive Widening (Ridgeline to I-405), signal synchronization at MacArthur Boulevard and Redhill Avenue to
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FY 2019-21 Proposed Budget
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