Some City Council members have responded to Councilman Tony Young’s request for ideas for the 2009-10 budget. Here are some highlights:
- Young proposed creating a city revenue commission, encompassing Independent Budget Analyst Andrea Tevlin’s idea of creating a citizen committee to study charging for trash collection at single-family homes or increasing fees to prevent stormwater pollution.
However, Young also wants the commission to also review a “revenue audit” of the city’s revenue sources. Young’s memo said the audit should include “the level of compliance with existing taxes and fees” and a “comparison with other California cities to possibly find any under-utilized revenue sources.”
- Councilwoman Marti Emerald doesn’t agree with the mayor’s proposal to use $22 million in reserves to balance the budget, saying the city should save that money in case the state raids city funds.
She wants to solicit ideas from department managers, an initiative she called EAR for “eliminate, absorb, reduce.” Emerald’s memo to Young includes a form — complete with a drawing of a person with a bullhorn speaking into a giant ear — that she plans to distribute to department leaders.
- Councilman Kevin Faulconer notes in his memo that the Audit Committee, which he leads, recommended adding a fraud investigator and three auditors at a cost of $399,065 for the upcoming financial year. He says those new positions will ultimately save money.