DEPARTMENT: Office of Management and Budget
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Justina Tate
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
City Council Worksession on the FY 2019 Proposed Budget
SUMMARY:
Staff presentation on the FY 2019 Proposed Budget focusing on, but not limited to, the following City policies and initiatives:
A. Solid Waste Management Department
B. Development Services/Code Enforcement
C. Animal Care Services
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The FY 2019 Proposed Budget was presented to City Council on August 9, 2018. The budget is balanced as required by law and reflects the City’s continued commitment to providing public services and programs that enhance the quality of life for San Antonio residents. Guided by City Council policy direction and community input, the proposed budget focuses on streets and sidewalks, affordable housing, and filling police vacancies with no increase to the City’s property tax rate.
The Proposed FY 2019 Consolidated Annual Budget, comprised of all funds, excluding transfers, totals $2.8 billion. The General Fund budget is $1.26 billion; restricted funds such as Airport, Development Services, Solid Waste, and Hotel Occupancy Tax total $889 million; and the Capital Budget totals $690 million.
Following the presentation of the proposed budget a series of city council budget worksessions are scheduled from August 14 to September 5. At these sessions, City staff will review the budget proposals with the Mayor and City Council in detail. The budget is scheduled to be adopted on September 13 for the City’s fiscal year that begins on October 1.
ISSUE:
A budget worksession is scheduled for Wednesday, August 22 from 2:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. at the Municipal Plaza “B” Room. At this session, the City Council will be presented with the FY 2019 Proposed Budgets for the Solid Waste Management, Development Services/Code Enforcement, and Animal Care Services departments.
Solid Waste Management Department
The Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) provides San Antonio residents with garbage, recycling, organics, brush and bulky item collection. SWMD operates drop-off and processing sites for brush, bulky items, and household hazardous waste and manages and maintains the City's closed landfills in compliance with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The Proposed FY 2019 Budget for the Solid Waste Management Department is $145 million and is comprised of the Solid Waste Operating and Maintenance Fund, the Fleet Services Fund and grants. Below is a summary of the funding and position counts included in the FY 2019 Proposed Budget.
|
FUND |
FY 2019 PROPOSED BUDGET |
AUTHORIZED POSITIONS |
|
Solid Waste Operating & Maintenance Fund |
$125,535,927 |
619 |
|
Fleet Services Fund |
19,505,952 |
106 |
|
Grants |
71,357 |
0 |
|
Total |
$145,113,236 |
725 |
The total Solid Waste Management Fleet Services Fund FY 2019 Proposed Budget is $19,819,461, of which $313,509 is transferred to the Solid Waste Operating Fund.
During FY 2017, conversion of all residential household customers to the Pay-as-you Throw (PAYT) program was completed. PAYT includes a variable rate pricing structure for garbage collection service based on the size of the brown cart. PAYT is an integral part to achieving the City Council adopted recycling rate of 60% by 2025.
This year’s proposed budget continues the City’s progress toward attaining a 60% residential recycling rate by 2025 through the PAYT program. This program is designed to incentivize residents to recycle more and move to a smaller garbage cart. To help incentivize recycling, the solid waste fee is being restructured to create a $10 differential between the small brown cart and the large brown cart. The small cart will be $10 per month less, saving residents $120 annually. Additionally, the monthly fees for the small and medium cart are reduced by $0.93 per month. The table below reflects the revised rates.
|
|
Monthly Fee* |
|
Garbage Cart Size |
FY 2018 |
FY 2019 |
|
Small (48 gal) |
$ 19.93 |
$ 19.00 |
|
Medium (64 gal) |
$ 21.93 |
$ 21.00 |
|
Large (96 gal) |
$ 24.68 |
$ 29.00 |
*Includes Environmental Fee of $2.24
The FY 2019 Proposed Budget includes $910,545 to hire a contractor to assist with cart exchanges and deliveries as customers downsize. In order to meet the demand of small and medium cart service calls, this contractor will service approximately 61,000 work orders in FY 2019. In order to reach the average route size of 2,160 homes, $672,229 is included to add two Automated Side Loader trucks to service customer growth.
Development Services/Code Enforcement
The Proposed FY 2019 Budget for the Development Services Department includes funding from the General Fund for Code Enforcement, the Development Services Enterprise Fund, and Grants. Below is a summary of the funding and position counts included in the FY 2019 Proposed Budget.
|
FUND |
FY 2019 PROPOSED BUDGET |
AUTHORIZED POSITIONS |
|
General Fund (Code Enforcement) |
$15,062,082 |
147 |
|
Development Services Fund |
34,218,179 |
278 |
|
Grants |
187,749 |
3 |
|
Total |
$49,468,010 |
428 |
The total General Fund Code Enforcement FY 2019 Proposed Budget is $15,324,511 of which $262,429 is transferred to the Development Services Fund.
Code Enforcement: The FY 2019 Proposed Budget includes $239,669 for two Code Enforcement Officers to address the Mobile Living Park inspection requirement approved by City Council in December 2017. There are approximately 100 registered Mobile Living Parks and approximately 50 unregistered Mobile Living Parks in the City of San Antonio. These positions would allow for monthly inspections of the Mobile Living Parks.
Development Services: The Proposed Budget for the Development Services Fund anticipates further growth in commercial building activity including projects in downtown and beyond. The budget includes $203,081 in funding for three positions. Two of the positions will add resources to the Plan Review Division to ensure the initial review of residential building plans is completed within three business days. The third position will support inspections and will allow the department to achieve its goal of 95% of inspections performed as requested.
Animal Care Services
The Animal Care Services (ACS) Department is funded by the General Fund. Below is a summary of the funding and position count included in the FY 2019 Proposed Budget.
|
FUND |
FY 2019 PROPOSED BUDGET |
AUTHORIZED POSITIONS |
|
General Fund |
$15,537,886 |
141 |
The FY 2019 Proposed Budget for ACS allocates funding in the amount of $307,719 for four positions and associated equipment to improve response times to resident requests.
An additional $101,399 is allocated for one Animal Cruelty Specialist and associated equipment to launch a pilot program to address the illegal sale of puppies online, roadside and at outdoor markets. Under the pilot program, this position would investigate illegal sales, issue citations and file cruelty cases.
The FY 2019 Budget proposes a K9 for Warriors Program. ACS will pilot a partnership with K9 for Warriors, a nonprofit organization that trains rescue dogs into services animals for veterans suffering for post-traumatic stress disorder. ACS will lease City property for K9 for Warriors who in exchange will rescue and transport 200 large, hard to place dogs each year. Success of the pilot program would result in future expansion of the K9 for Warriors to potentially establish a facility in San Antonio to provide services from Texas to the west coast.
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is a scheduled worksession for the FY 2019 Proposed Budget.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This presentation provides a briefing on the major initiatives within the Solid Waste Management, Development Services/Code Enforcement, and Animal Care Services departments. The FY 2019 Budget is scheduled to be adopted by City Council on September 13, 2018.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is a worksession for discussion of the FY 2019 Proposed Budget and is for briefing purposes only.