65B - 1ST QUARTER BUDGET UPDATE - Laserfiche WebLink

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Fiscal Year 2017-18 First Quarter Budget Update November 21, 2017 Page 4 In general, overall first quarter expenditures exceeded last year's expenditures by $1.8 million or 3%. This is largely attributable to increases in labor costs (salaries, retirement, and medical costs). Expenditures will continue to be monitored throughout the fiscal year. Soliciting Cost Saving/Revenue Generating Ideas City staff has solicited input from City employees on revenue enhancement and cost saving ideas and strategies. The result of this input has been a plethora of ideas that are both short term and long term solutions. These strategies are continuing to be reviewed. However, implementation of some of the revenue ideas will require additional analysis and evaluation to determine their feasibility. The employee provided ideas include the sponsorship of parks, recreation centers/facilities, and recreation events; advertising revenue on various city electronic signage; and advertising and potentially marketing of the City logo on merchandise (cups, hats, etc.) through a design competition. Youth Internship Program Additionally, the City is partnering with the Santa Ana Unified School District to market a youth internship program to the local business community. This program will provide opportunities for youth to gain valuable work training and experience to prepare them for the future. The additional $10K appropriation will be used to cover printing and mailing costs. FISCAL YEAR 2017-2018 Vacancy Status The City has a net total of 42 citywide vacancies across all city funds residing mostly with the Police Department. However, the Police Department has been actively recruiting for Police Officers. At the September 12, 2017 Public Safety, Code Enforcement & Neighborhood Empowerment Council Committee meeting, the Police Department reported that its recruiting efforts have resulted in 21 new hires since January with a projected 14 new hires for the remainder of the calendar year. BUDGET PRINCIPLES As part of the discussion on the fiscal year 2017-2018 budget adoption, Council directed staff to prepare budget principles to establish guidelines for the budget process. Some of these principles have been incorporated in the City's Financial Policy. The City Manager will review and prepare a final draft of these administrative guidelines (Exhibt 3) for City Council approval. The following is a listing of the current budget principles: CITY OF SANTA ANA BUDGET PRINCIPLES Structurally Balanced Budget Multi -Year Forecasting. Use of One -Time resources Established Reserves Debt Issuance Employee Compensation (Negotiations) Fees and Charges L.