Monte Sereno finds itself sitting pretty

By Jeff Kearns

With revenue and spending balanced at $1,073,167, the Monte Sereno City Council's first budget hearing of the year was, well, serene.

After councilmembers took their first look at the proposed FY 1999­2000 budget May 4 and requested some minor tweaking, they decided to bring the final version back for approval May 18.

After staff changes and a new franchise fee that will give city officials more cash to play with, finances are looking good, but some of the savings will be gobbled up by a major road improvement that's been on hold for several years.

After the council decided to merge the duties of city manager and city planner last year, and give both jobs to planner and interim manager Brian Loventhal, the city will be spending about $87,000 less on staff.

"I hate to pat ourselves on the back, but I think we're doing a hell of a good job here," said Councilmember Joel Gambord.

City officials also decided last year to contract city engineering duties to an outside contractor, a move which is expected to save the city another $30,000.

And this year, the council decided to stop giving Green Valley Disposal a free ride for its $30,000 franchise fee, which it pays to cover the costs of collecting recyclables in the city. In the two years since the program started, the council has voted to waive the fee collection and pass the change along to residents.

A major repaving job on Withey Road set for the upcoming fiscal year is expected to set the city back $264,000. Officials have been saving money in a reserve fund for streets for the last few years with the intent of eventually using it for a major project.

The city is also planning a new $44,000 storm drain system for Andrews Avenue between Rose and Mays avenues. The city has never installed storm drains in that location, and the new drain is expected to fix the standing water problems that plague the area when it rains.

Another $25,000 was budgeted for new directional, stop and parking lot signs at City Hall, and minor parking lot improvements.

City staff recommended decreasing the city attorney's litigation and code enforcement fees from $25,000 to $10,000, based on City Attorney Bob Logan's anticipation that litigation defense activity would be on the decline over the next year. But councilmembers weren't so sure. They bumped it back up to $15,000. This will be on top of Logan's $45,150 retainer for the upcoming year.

The council also requested a $500 increase in its total allowance for travel and meetings to $5,000.

The price of the city's police protection is on the rise. Under the city's contract with the town of Los Gatos, Monte Sereno's law enforcement services rate will increase by 7.14 percent for the next fiscal year, to a total of $229,759.

The increase is due to a 5.4 percent increase in compensation for police officers--which, according to Police Chief Larry Todd, brings officer salaries closer to the going rate at most South Bay police departments--and a 3.8 percent increase that's tied to the Consumer Price Index.

One budget item still up in the air is the $4,900 set aside for the animal control services, which the city contracts from the Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley.

The Humane Society announced in December that it would not renew its contract with several cities in the county, including Monte Sereno, because of a change in state law. But state lawmakers are still deciding if that new law will go into effect by its June deadline.

Whatever the outcome, animal control costs are certain to increase over the next year or two, but nobody knows when or by how much.

In other action, councilmembers also approved a controversial modification to a home at 16095 Ridgecrest Ave.

The item was Robert Dobkin's appeal of an earlier denial by the Site and Architectural Committee of his request to change the entrance portico of the house he's building.

The design was originally approved two years ago, after a very contentious review process. Neighbors didn't like the architectural style of the original design or the modifications, and said it wasn't compatible with the character of the neighborhood.

Also, on a separate agenda item, councilmembers considered adding photos or illustrations to the city's forthcoming design guideline manual, which the city hopes will cut down on neighbors battling one another over what designs fit what neighborhoods.

Councilmembers continued the discussion to a later meeting, but didn't pick a date to return to the subject.

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