Dublin Slashes City Programs to Reduce Budget Deficit
Dublin’s City Council approved $1.5M of public safety, parks and recreation, and administrative cuts last week as part of an ongoing effort to reduce the City’s projected 2010-2011 operating budget deficit. These reductions will bring City Hall closer to bridging next year’s projected $3.1M-$4.6M deficit. The rest of the deficit will be covered by Dublin’s economic stability reserve, a rainy day fund.
Roughly $750K in reductions will be from the police and fire services budget, which means less overtime for police officers, the elimination of an office administrative position in the police department, deferred purchases of furniture and equipment, and fewer police officers. While these cuts are substantial, Dublin is still spending $1M more for police and fire services in 2010-2011 than the prior year.
Another $550K of cuts will be in Dublin’s Culture & Leisure programs. These cuts include cancellation of Day on the Glen, reduction in parks and recreation staff hours, and fewer library hours. Starting in a few months, the Dublin Library will be closed on Fridays and open for fewer hours during the other days of the week. In addition, Dublin’s 2010 Summer Concert Series will also be cancelled.
Dublin’s cost reductions for 2010-2011 are roughly 3% of the total annual budget. Dublin certainly is not the only city in the East Bay forced to reel in expenses. Walnut Creek, for example, is faced with a $20M budget deficit, which is about 16% of its total current budget.
Dublin’s city leaders must continue to work towards reducing expenses while minimizing the impact on residents. Additionally, City Hall must take full advantage of new development by ensuring that developers pay their fair share through impact fees, permit fees, and community benefit payments. We can get through these challenging financial times with a combination of ingenuity, hard work, and fiscal discipline.
10:37 AM on May 10th, 2010
Oh good! The Day at the Glen is always a huge hassle in our neighborhood and there’s nothing really there.
7:07 AM on June 16th, 2010
We love Day on the Glen. It has a positive family atmosphere and we’ll miss it.
10:39 AM on May 10th, 2010
Can we Craigslist the Eternal Ribbon?
11:03 AM on May 10th, 2010
That’s hilarious! I actually like the Eternal Ribbon sculpture, but I realize that a lot of people don’t. Your Craigslist comment really made me laugh. It’s nice to see some clever humor on this blog. Thanks!
Which reminds me, what ever happened to Tim Hall? He used to comment on here a lot and his remarks were usually very clever and funny, although a bit more subtle than the Craigslist comment above. Did Tim leave Dublin? I miss his writings.
Dan
11:25 AM on May 10th, 2010
Good to hear you liked my CL joke!
In reality, i like the ribbon more than other public art (like the underpass murals that to me, remind me of inner city/ ghetto murals or graffiti). I do think the $570k spent on the ribbon seems very high, but when it’s done maybe we’ll see… I just don’t know how it fits with the Irish-theme of our city, which is something Dublin has always tried to push (Shannon Center, Emerald Glen Park, Tralee,etc..)..
On this topic though, I am happy to see the mayor and council making the cuts they are indeed making.
Off topic, I’m wondering about these things (John, you or anyone else have any insight?):
1) Emerald Glen Park– Main jungle-gyms are peeling away paint, very badly. Poses a danger for toddlers who pick up the peelings and eat the paint or whatever it is coming off (plus shows rust underneath- Is there something that’s going to be done about this soon? I hate seeing new things being spent money on (Ribbon, new sports park, etc) while our crown jewel of a park is falling apart..
2) New “Dublin” sign on Tassajara!– I love it!–But it’s kind of obscured by two signs next to it that I don’t think are required (one is a BART parking lot or RideShare sign and the other is an arrow sign telling people to avoid the median.. I’d love to see those two signs removed and have some lights set into the ground, shining on the Dublin sign.. Without lights the sign gets lost at night… Anyone know if there are any additional modifications that will be done to the spot where the new Dublin sign on Tassajara was put up?
6:02 PM on May 10th, 2010
Hi Anonymous – The City Council authorized the replacement of the Emerald Glen furniture at the April 6th meeting. It will likely be installed in June.
Thx, John Z.
10:54 PM on May 10th, 2010
John-
Thanks for the heads up on the approval to do work at Emerald Glen. Can you clarify what was approved? You state “furniture”- does this include maintenance of the playground equipment? Or does that mean specifically benches and picnic tables? Thanks!
Lucas
4:49 AM on May 11th, 2010
Hi Lucas – the City will actually be purchasing new play equipment, having the old equipment removed, and then installing the new equipment at Emerald Glen Park. Here’s a bit more detail in the Staff report:
http://citydocs.ci.dublin.ca.us/weblink7/DocView.aspx?id=284331
Thx, John Z.
11:32 AM on May 11th, 2010
seems such a waste throwing the old stuff away. can’t they repair it?
11:33 AM on May 10th, 2010
That’s too bad about the reduction in library hours. The flip side of the current economic climate is that more families rely on the free services the library offers: books, DVDs, children’s programming, homework help… I really appreciated when the library expanded its hours a few years ago. It’s hard for people who work and commute to use the library during the day.
12:47 PM on May 10th, 2010
“While these cuts are substantial, Dublin is still spending $1M more for police and fire services in 2010-2011 than the prior year.” This says it all and is why our city and the rest of California is bankrupt.
1:19 PM on May 10th, 2010
CA will take care of the rest of the cuts (schools again). How about we cut some of the entitlements and welfare benefits? At this rate of “cost cutting” we and the rest of this great country will be a third world dump in a few years. The economic climate is here to stay for decades – this is what happens with spend today pay tomorrow. We should all get used to it.
4:26 PM on May 10th, 2010
I really appreciate the job the fire department does and the police department does.. However, it really is time for our local/state/county governments to look at the pension plans.. They are one of the main reasons we are bankrupt… Yes, there are other reasons and we should look at those too, but let’s see about paying out a settlement for those pensions (i know, the argument will be “that’s my pension, it’s illegal for you to cut it!” and so on, but in reality we will go bankrupt and many will leave the state and there will eventually be NO ONE LEFT TO PAY THE TAXES TO PAY FOR YOUR PENSIONS)… So with that said, we can take a realistic approach and say, “hmm, what can we do, what kind of of settlement can we make about these pensions” or we can bury our heads in the sand, bullheaded, and never discuss it.. the state will go more and more bankrupt and we’ll try to raise taxes more and more on people and businesses and tourists, to pay for those pensions and finally many companies will move out of state (my company is seriously considering this, which would suck for me), many residents will move (um, have you noticed, it’s already happening) and we’ll be stuck with nowhere to go—- Someone needs to step up and start the discussion–
2:27 PM on September 4th, 2010
I think you just did. Pension costs will skyrocket over the next five years for all city employees, public safety, and teachers. These costs will crowd out funding for evrything the unions deem non-essential. Tax increases, parcel taxes, and 911 fees will become part of every Dublin budget session conversation. The only thing we wont here about is compensation cuts, even as employee costs continue to rise.
5:03 PM on May 10th, 2010
what’s with the rice in the picture for this article?
6:16 PM on May 10th, 2010
Excellent question. The rice and the soy sauce are meant to represent the belt-tightening Dublin is going through in the face of the budget deficit. Putting soy sauce on rice signifies financial difficulty, because it suggests that one has nothing else to eat other than two of the most basic staples in a Chinese kitchen.
10:47 PM on May 10th, 2010
You mean the 100K+ and the gold clad benefits is not cutting it? In a state with 15% unemployment, its funny how some people have guaranteed job security.
9:24 PM on May 10th, 2010
John, is the grading on Sorrento East for the new school? Did they vote to go ahead with that construction?
10:01 PM on May 10th, 2010
Hi Anonymous – I believe that the grading is for the new school. I’ll see if I can get a confirmation on the DUSD’s decision on moving forward with construction. Having Kolb open in a year or two would be magnificent for Dublin. A definite win!
Thx, John Z.
4:44 AM on May 11th, 2010
Hi Anonymous – the Kolb Elementary school construction project was approved by the DUSD Board at their April 27th meeting.
Thx, John Z.
10:54 PM on May 11th, 2010
I see from the article what the police department cut. What did the Fire Department cut??? Also, how come when I go to the public employees salary survey, there is no one from the ALCO Fire Department listed. How were they able to avoid public scrutiny
4:46 AM on May 12th, 2010
Hi Anonymous – about $750K of cuts came from both police and fire services.
Thx, John Z.
7:18 PM on May 13th, 2010
To achieve 750K in cuts, what services were cut by the FD to achieve that goal???
9:26 PM on May 13th, 2010
Hi Anonymous – I believe that the Dublin FD was able to realize some savings through cost sharing with the Newark and Union City FDs. I’m not real clear on if the cost sharing is related to a reduction in admin costs, equipment, or something else. Mayor Sbranti was pretty involved with setting up the cost sharing arrangement and could definitely provide more detail.
Thx, John Z.
12:15 PM on May 14th, 2010
John, to be clear, are you saying after the $750k in cuts we’re still spending $1M more in police/firefighter services vs prior year?
12:52 PM on May 14th, 2010
Hi Anonymous – that is correct. The City expected to increase funding for police and fire services by $1.75M in 2010. With $750K of cuts, the City is still expecting to spend an extra $1M.
Thx, John Z.
1:00 PM on May 14th, 2010
Ha! Only in government could you increase spending by $1M and STILL try to sell it as spending cut! I encourage everyone to vote against any future bond measure or PARCEL TAX. The only way to stop this runaway spending is to.. Yeah, I’m saying it: CUT SPENDING!
11:33 AM on May 15th, 2010
Please.
11:52 AM on June 10th, 2010
With all these cuts how did the city afford all the new city of dublin signs that are down Dublin Blvd. at just about every intersection.
3:41 PM on June 10th, 2010
i think it’s a waste of money. sure, we got the grant, but i think there are cities that needs it more. i don’t think the signs/bus stops/green leaves on the bridges make dublin blvd look any better.
what’s the point of build BMR to get grants we don’t need.