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City's 2002-'03 budget shortfall may postpone some projects
Mayor promises to fund city essentials
By Kate Carter
San Jose's budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year could postpone community projects recommended by city council members for their districts. But, according to Mayor Ron Gonzales' budget message last month, essential city services and other effective programs will continue to be funded as the city streamlines and prioritizes its expenditures.
Gonzales' budget message begins the city's springtime budget discussions that will culminate with the council's adoption of a final budget in June for the 2002-'03 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
For the first time in about a decade, the city is facing a gap between its income and outgo, which mayoral spokesman David Vossbrink said is between $30 million and $40 million. Although the economy is showing signs of improving, city officials don't know how long that upswing will take to affect their own coffers.
In addition, Vossbrink said, the state's budget deficit could possibly drain up to $5 billion statewide from municipalities.
So, the mayor is proposing a plan of "redeploying resources," Vossbrink said, to keep funding for essential city services and council-directed priorities and look for ways to streamline and consolidate expenses. That means that money allocated for district-specific projects, that council members requested, is down from last year and could possibly not be available at all.
Last year, the city spent $9 million on district projects, which in Willow Glen included creating a city park out of a pocket of open space at the corner of Bird and Fisk avenues and adding lighting around the new Ernesto Galarza Elementary School and River Glen Park. Of that, $6 million had been set aside for district projects, Vossbrink said, and the additional $3 million came from the city's ending fund balance, or what it had left in its 2001-'02 budget after it had spent all it needed.
This year, he said, "we're hoping to have that $6 million, but don't count on it." And the likelihood that any end-of-the-year funds would remain for lower-priority projects is slim, he said.
"Of course, I'm concerned," said District 6 City Councilman Ken Yeager, who represents Willow Glen. "There's less money available throughout the city for discretionary projects."
He said his staff has not yet come up with a list of projects to propose to the mayor, but that the list will probably include improvements to parks, streets and lighting.
"I will argue as persuasively as I can" for the projects, Yeager said. "It's really based a lot on each council member's relationship with the mayor."
In his statement, Gonzales pointed out that the city isn't in financial trouble. It has $25 million in reserve and continues to hold onto its A++ bond rating, demonstrating the financial community's confidence that the city can pay its debts.
Gonzales asked San Jose City Manager Del Borgsdorf and San Jose Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Susan Schick to allocate resources according to the council's priorities of neighborhood improvements, safety, schools, transportation and the economy, including supporting small businesses and nonprofits, continuing to build affordable housing and working to improve education, child care and traffic calming.
To do this, the mayor proposed that programs working and supported by San Joseans, like the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative and parks and library improvements, be maintained, and less effective ones be limited. Gonzales asked that city departments cooperate better with each other, share resources and ideas and work with outside organizations.
To avoid layoffs, Gonzalez asked that city employees receive training in a variety of areas so they can be moved within city departments when reductions in workforce are made. He also recommended selling surplus city property, charging fees for services that are preferential for San Jose residents and phasing out positions that have remained vacant. He also suggested that a reserve be created for security spending.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
