Fiscal Year 2013-2015 Special Budget Meeting

POLICY TRADEOFFS & SERVICE BUYBACKS 9) Maintenance of Former Redevelopment Parcels When the former Oakland Redevelopment Agency was dissolved, it transferred a number of vacant parcels to the City. No funding was transferred from the Agency to the City for the ongoing maintenance of the sites, which need continual weed, litter, and graffiti abatement, fencing and lighting maintenance, etc.; nor can these costs be recovered as recognizable obligations of the Agency. The cost for this ongoing maintenance, estimated at approximately $516,464 annually, is not included in the proposed budget. Note that the City’s responsibilities and costs associated with these properties might change depending on State action. In addition, the City will create a comprehensive asset management plan that might impact the City’s ownership and maintenance of these properties. TOTAL COST $516,464 10) City Attorney Positions The proposed budget funds three new attorney positions in the City Attorney’s Office. The intention is to have the City conduct more work in house rather than contracting the work out to private law firms that likely have higher costs. The argument is that using private law firms restricts flexibility, capacity, and is a more costly method of obtaining legal services. The City Attorney’s Office has requested an additional eight positions for similar purposes, at a cost of approximately $1,361,972. TOTAL COST $1,361,972 11) Additional Repair and Replacement of City Facilities The Proposed Capital Improvement Program identifies specific funding for a limited number of facility and infrastructure projects as well as some critical projects that are deferred for lack of funding. The proposed budget includes an investment of $2.0M annually for critical City facility repairs. The City Council might wish to consider investment in repair and replacement to reduce the total lifecycle cost of ownership of facilities and infrastructure, such as City buildings and roads. TOTAL COST $TBD/Various Scenarios 12) Additional City Vehicles The City is in the process of purchasing the replacement of a number of vehicles and other equipment recently approved by City Council. Although this is a step in the right direction as the City has deferred these expenditures in the recent past, it should be noted that subsequent to this purchase the City’s fleet will still have a number of vehicles overdue for replacement, as reported in Public Works’ recent Infrastructure Report: Vehicle and Equipment Fleet. The City Council might wish to consider investment in new vehicles and equipment to reduce the total lifecycle cost of ownership of these items. TOTAL COST $TBD/Various Scenarios 13) Additional Information Technology Although the proposed budget funds a number of critical information technology systems and necessary on- going ITD operating costs to begin to address many years of under investment, the updated Capital Improvement Program report indicates that there is still a substantial number of critical projects that are unfunded and that will require investment in the very near term. TOTAL COST $TBD/Various Scenarios A - 8