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The Pleasanton City Council approved a record-high $105-million budget for fiscal 2016/17 Tuesday that includes a 46% increase in estimated capital improvement expenditures over a year ago.
While the General Fund operating budget remains balanced at $105.4-million, it includes a reserve of $20.1 million. Additional operating surpluses of $2.2-million will go into the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and also to be used for pre-funding pension liabilities and funds needed to repair and replacement.
The new fiscal year budget is based on city staff’s estimated of current financial conditions for the second year of the two-year budget cycle.
“Being fiscally prudent means tracking anticipated revenues and expenditures such that we can be confident the city’s operating expenses are covered by operating revenues,” said Tina Olson, Pleasanton’s finance director. “Going through this mid-term review allows us to update our spending plan with those priorities in mind but, more importantly, it allows us to communicate that to the city’s policy makers and taxpayers.”
City Manager Nelson Fialho agreed.
“Once again, we are very pleased to have these new revenues that are the result of a robust economy,” he said. “Over the course of five years, we have been able to increase the amount the city pension liabilities are funded to 72.3%, up by 22% from 2009 when only 50.8% of (those) liabilities were funded.”
The FY 2016/17 budget estimates total capital improvement expenditures at $28.8 million, an increase of $8.9 million over a year ago, or a 46% increase. Projects in the upcoming fiscal year that starts July 1 include 14 already budgeted but being revised upward and 12 new projects.
These include $3.3 million for acquiring and installing advanced wireless meters for homes and businesses starting in August, $1.3 million to install recycled water pipes when Valley Avenue is resurfaced, plus another $600,000 for repaving, and $700,000 to fund various studies and plans that will help guide future capital improvement project planning.
Another $752,000 is being allocated to increase funding for repair and replacement projects, $200,000 for needed maintenance management software, $350,000 for additional contingency for the Bernal Park project, and $100,000 to build a path for emergency and maintenance vehicles in Kottinger Park.
Also included in the new capital improvement expenditures are $300,000 for a trash capture device required for the city’s storm drain program, $85,000 for bocce ball courts, $120,000 to convert tennis court lights to LED, and $33,000 in matching funds to federal grants to repair and upgrade city bridges.
In addition, $1 million is being allocated to the CIP reserve.
Wow, the money keeps coming I’m assuming not just the “robust economy” but more from all the housing that is unfortunately going up all over Pleasanton. Not sure where all of these kids are going to be attending school. Our city is so crowded now and will be A LOT more crowded soon!
Anyway, I am shocked to see another $350,000 going towards “Bernal Park Contingency”. I was thinking we should be getting a kickback at this point. That has to be the slowest park ever made. i am in shock how long it has taken. I hardly see anyone ever working on it. I don’t know who is in charge but I certainly wouldn’t be giving them a raise or not sure if they should still have their job. The city could be making money on camps, tournaments, etc by now instead of spending more money. That is the one thing I am most disappointed with government management. Nobody is ever held accountable for a budget. The same happens with school building budgets. Contractors believe governments have open wallets and they add additional costs. Nobody says a word….
Hopefully the park will be done in the next year or 2!
I am please to see the Bernal Park progressing.
When can resident use the paved paths ?? I could care less about the sports facilities…
One comment to City Team… when can you get some professionals involved with project management ? So far no one has skin in the game to proactively communicate OUTBOUND where citizens are aware of project “slippage”. Specifically when a paving project had sign up for no parking in our neighborhood… there was no work performed that whole week… then 2 weeks later trucks with paving equipment arrived with NO NOTICE… and your contractors bought me a new windshield for my car when rocks went flying… The city also was very RUDE in follow-up to my windshield, letter from lawyer’s office dismissing any responsibility… but, some how a check arrived in the mail from the contractor… your staff is despicable !!! You have turned city staffers into an “OAKLAND” like city… sucks…
Please correct me here if I am wrong but I recall seeing resident use only signs at Kottinger Park. If that is true, why would city funds be used for enhancements?
What about our schools? When will schools be allotted money to fund kindergarten programs so that they can resume full time? Most bay area cities have started kindergarten back to full time like the rest of the US. But we in Pleasanton still value our bocce ball courts more than our early childhood education!
Jane, the city budget has nothing to do with schools, school district money is from the state.
Also, I just talked to a K teacher friend of mine, who disagrees with your statement “Most bay area cities have started kindergarten back to full time”. This teacher states that Palo Alto has done this, but is aware of no others in the Bay Area. I would like you to back this statement with a link or something to corroborate this, as I would be very interested to know which districts have switched K to full-time (or if they go closer to full-time, like 2:00 or so).
Thanks for telling me that. As far as I know, Cupertino, San Jose and Livermore have full time kindergarten amongst others.
Thanks
Pleasanton needs to get it’s budget in line before we build a new city hall that benefits mostly city employees. We still have a $160 million unfunded pension pension and retiree health care liability. We should split the library from the city hall project because it benefits residents.
And I too am still very peeved that Pleasanton asked local youth teams to raise $2 million for the Bernal facilities, that quite frankly just put our facilities on par with San Ramon & Danville.
I just checked the San Ramon and Ptown 2016 budgets, San Ramon has 259 staff and is cutting back, we have 408 growing to 412. What’s up with that?
Livermore has K students go until 1:30, but I think it is dependent on space. If the site has room for all of their K classes, then they can do this. If there is not enough space, then they have to share rooms.
So it seems clear that the standard for kindergarten is not a full day. Don’t know if that is a good or bad thing, I suppose that is subjective.
Regardless, this thread is about the city budget, which has nothing to do with schools.
Will we be getting a refund on the grass at Bernal Park? They sprayed a new layer of weeds not grass. I wonder what it cost for five fire trucks, two captains, and a CDF truck and bulldozer to show up when the weeds caught on fire? Talk about a waste of money. We still have Pleasanton Readymix wasting thousands and thousands of gallons of water a day to keep their trucks looking new.