Piedmont’s City Council has directed staff to immediately recruit an additional 9-1-1 dispatcher if voters approve Measure F, a proposed renewal and increase of the longstanding City Services Tax on the March 5 election ballot. The Council provided the direction after receiving a mid-year status update on the City budget from Finance Director Mike Szczech on Tuesday, February 20^th.

Staffing in Piedmont’s 9-1-1 dispatch center has remained unchanged since 1978. Identified by Police Chief Jeremy Bowers as the single greatest resource needed to support community safety, additional dispatch staffing is the City’s top service improvement priority.

Although no long-term funding was available to support additional staff, City Council agreed the dispatch need was urgent enough to include one of two requested new positions in the FY23-24 budget using one-time State funding. The Council further stated they would reconsider funding for the second new dispatcher at mid-year.

With the longstanding City Services Tax – which accounts for 7% of the Piedmont’s General Fund – set to expire in June 2025, the City Council voted in November to place a renewal on the March 5^th ballot, with two modifications:

• the tax rate would be increased by 20%, which amounts to an additional $11-19/month, in order to provide funding for the new dispatcher positions as well as future technology investments, such as expansion of the Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) program
• the tax would be extended from a 4-year term to a 12-year term, in order to ensure long-term stable funding for the new positions, among other core City services

The first new dispatcher position was filled in February 2024. If Measure F passes, the City will begin the hiring process for a second new dispatcher. If it fails, the City will need to begin contingency planning for associated service level reductions.

Mid-year update shows City in sound financial health

Piedmont has long budgeted conservatively, with a lean staffing model focused on providing high quality core services – police and fire response, street and sidewalk maintenance, parks, and recreational facilities. The City also maintains an 18% General Fund reserve, intended to provide stability in the event of a natural disaster or other unforeseen circumstance that disrupts revenue flow.

Budget projections are based on 10-year history and structured to minimize volatility. This approach continues to serve the City well. As of December, revenue and expenditures are largely on track with what was budgeted despite a significant drop in year-over-year revenue from Real Estate Transfer Tax – the amount received as of December was 27% lower than during the same period last year.

Expenditures deviated from budgeted assumptions in three main areas:

• Fire Department overtime: The department has faced high overtime costs for several years due to the need to backfill vacant positions. Like agencies across the region, the department has faced staffing shortages and a challenging recruitment environment. A targeted recruitment campaign in summer 2023 resulted in the successful hiring of 7 new firefighters, bringing the department to full staffing for the first time in over five years. Because of this, the City does not anticipate similar overtime needs going forward.

• Recreation programming: In the Recreation Department, both revenues and expenditures were substantially higher than budgeted due to strong enrollment in summer camps and the overwhelming success of Camp Kaleidoscope, a new program launched in Fall 2023 intended to better support working families during the first few weeks of the school year. Camp Kaleidoscope alone brought in an additional $200,000 in revenue. Recreation programming is cost recovery, so the overall impact on the City budget is neutral.

• Planning & Building permit support: On Tuesday, the City Council allocated an additional $100,000 to fund part-time staff in the Planning & Building Department to support the continued reduction of permit-processing turnaround times. Multiple initiatives are currently underway to improve the permit application experience long-term. In December, the Department launched the eTRAKiT online permitting portal – the first major online service offered by the City. While workflows are still adapting to the new system, this transition to fully online permitting is expected to create significant efficiencies in the long term. The City is also in the process of engaging an outside consultant to conduct a detailed staffing and operational analysis and make recommendations for optimizing structure and workflows.

Budget Oversight and Accountability

Before coming to Council, the mid-year budget update was reviewed by the City’s Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee, a volunteer resident body composed of experienced finance professionals who advise the City Council on budgetary matters.

The Committee plays a critical role in shaping the City’s budget and helping the City plan for future needs. Holding a minimum of four meetings a year – which are open to the public – the Committee reviews the annual budget before Council consideration, at mid-year, and at year end. Additionally, the Committee conducts an in-depth review of the City’s 10-year financial plan as well as longer-term obligations including 25-year projections of pension liabilities. The Committee also reviews the rate and need for the parcel tax based on 10-year projections.