Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCorrespondence - #1 Orozco, Norma From: Tori Reno <torireno03@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2023 2:18 PM To: eComment Subject: Thursday's Budget Meeting Please please please, we need low cost/no cost spay/neuter resources since our useless shelter has all this money and this great state of the art facility with surgery rooms that are being wasted. Please help!! 1 Hall, Jennifer From:Jacqueline Wu | AASCSC <jacqueline.wu@aascsc.org> Sent:Wednesday, May 10, 2023 4:30 PM To:Amezcua, Valerie; Phan, Thai; Lopez, Jessie; Hernandez, Johnathan; Bacerra, Phil; Vazquez, Benjamin; Penaloza, David Cc:Ridge, Kristine; Hall, Jennifer; Jennifer S. Wang | AASCSC Subject:AASCSC Letter on FY2023-2024 Budget Attachments:AASCSC FY2023-24 Budget Letter to Santa Ana City Council.pdf Dear Honorable Mayor Amezcua and Members of the Santa Ana City Council, On behalf of the Asian American Senior Citizens Service Center (AASCSC), it is my pleasure to share a letter from Executive Director Jennifer S. Wang on the FY 2023-2024 budget. We are grateful for the opportunities AASCSC has had in 2022 and in the past to work together with the City of Santa Ana, and we look forward to future opportunities to collaborate and build new partnerships together to serve the residents of Santa Ana. Should you have any questions or would like to set up a meeting to discuss further, please do not hesitate to let us know. Thank you, Jackie Wu Asian American Senior Citizens Service Center (AASCSC) 850 N. Birch Street Santa Ana, CA 92701 www.aascsc.org www.fb.com/aascsc www.instagram.com/aascsc NOTICE: This email message and/or its attachments may contain information that is confidential or restricted. It is intended only for the individuals named as recipients in the message. If you are NOT an authorized recipient, you are prohibited from using, delivering, distributing, printing, copying, or disclosing the message or content to others and must delete the message from your computer. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by return email. 1 May 10, 2023 Santa Ana City Council Santa Ana City Hall 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 Dear Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council, Thank you so much for co -hosting the inaugural Mid-Autumn Festival in 2022 to highlight Asian cultures and celebrate Santa Ana’s large Vietnamese community. This multicultural event was hosted at Rosita Park, which is in a health equity zip code, and attracted approximately 4,0 00 attendees, including many families and children, to build stronger cultural bridges and understanding between neighbors. We’re excited that the Mid-Autumn Festival will be an annual event in the City of Santa Ana and look forward to supporting the event for years to come. To build upon this foundation, I am reaching out on behalf of Asian American Senior Citizen Service Center to propose a deeper partnership to serve Santa Ana’s community , especially the Asian Pacific Islander community. The City of Santa Ana is home to one of the largest Asian American populations in Orange County, and I am bringing forth an idea for the City of Santa Ana to co-host events in recognition of several important holidays to the Asian American community as the City of Santa Ana considers its budget for FY 2023-2024. According to data from the Census as of July 2021, 12.1% of Santa Ana’s 310,000 residents are Asian American and 0.2% of Santa Ana’s residents are Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander. Lunar New Year (Tết) is an especially meaningful holiday to the Asian American population and we would also like to propose hosting events that celebrate Asian Pacific Islander culture with the City of Santa Ana’s Library Services Department. By hosting a family-friendly events that are both large and small scale, we have an opportunity to instill an appreciation of cultural exchanges by multigenerational families earlier and often. Asian American Senior Citizens Service Center can support in p lanning and coordinating the se events and highlight the City of Santa Ana’s commitment to serving our community. Holiday / Event Proposed Budget Description Lunar New Year (Tết) $70,000 The Lunar New Year (Tết) is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunar calendar. In 2024, Lunar New Year (Tết) will fall on Saturday, February 10th. Santa Ana Library – Asian Pacific Islander Culture Events $20,000 Events can be hosted throughout the year and complement the City’s programming by other departments (i.e., Lunar New Year (proposed), Mid-Autumn Festival, Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month) and be held at either library location or hosted at a mobile location. The figures are estimates based on population size, event costs, and staffing. The se events are scalable and the estimates can be adjusted accordingly. Thank you for your consideration, and please do not hesitate to contact me at 714 -866-7593 or Jennifer.S.Wang@aascsc.org with any questions or requests for more information. Sincerely, Jennifer S. Wang Chief Operating Officer CC: Kristine Ridge, City Manager, City of Santa Ana Jennifer L. Hall, City Clerk, City of Santa Ana Orozco, Norma From: McCarron, Shannon Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 10:06 AM To: eComment Subject: FW: Community Budget Input From: McCarron, Shannon <smccarron@santa-ana.org> Sent:Thursday,April 27, 2023 12:56 PM To: Rivera,Alan <arivera@santa-ana.org> Subject: Fwd: Community Budget Input Please add to your spreadsheet. Begin forwarded message: From: Katie Mayberry<katie.i.mayberrv@gmail.com> Date:April 27, 2023 at 12:50:41 PDT To: BudgetOffice<BudgetOffice@santa-ana.org> Subject: Community Budget Input Hello, I am a resident of Santa Ana's Floral Park Neighborhood. I would like to express my support for the inclusion of the following priorities in the 2023-24 fiscal year budget. 1)Traffic calming measures within Floral Park, such as the creation of a roundabout at the corner of N. Flower, Riverside, and Park Street. 2) Funding to provide for youth programming and gang intervention for the Santa Ana Triangle Neighborhood, including a PAAL Program. Thank You, Katie Mayberry 2405 Bonnie Brea 1 Orozco, Norma From: McCarron, Shannon Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 10:04 AM To: eComment Subject: FW: Community Budget Input -----Original Message----- From: Katre Kruus<katre_kruus@yahoo.com> Sent:Thursday, May 4, 2023 10:29 AM To: BudgetOffice<BudgetOffice@santa-ana.org> Subject: Community Budget Input Hello, I am a resident of Santa Ana's Triangle Neighborhood. I would like to express my support for the inclusion of the following priorities in the 2023-24 fiscal year budget. 1) Funding to provide for youth programming and gang intervention for the Santa Ana Triangle Neighborhood, including a PAAL Program. 2)Alley way(between Bush St and Main St) permanent re-pavement project. 3)Traffic calming measures within Floral Park, such as the creation of a roundabout at the corner of N. Flower, Riverside, and Park Street. Thank You, Katre Kruus North Bush Street resident Sent from my iPhone z Orozco, Norma From: McCarron, Shannon Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 10:04 AM To: eComment Subject: FW: Community Budget Input -----Original Message----- From:Tony Bujan <bujantbujan@aol.com> Sent: Saturday, May 6, 2023 4:40 PM To: BudgetOffice<BudgetOffice@santa-ana.org> Subject: Community Budget Input Hello, I am a resident of Santa Ana Triangle Neighborhood. I would like to express my support for the inclusion of the following priorities in the 2023-24 fiscal year budget. 1) Funding to provide for youth programming and gang intervention for the Santa Ana Triangle Neighborhood, including a PAAL Program. 2)Alley way(between Main and Bush st) permanent re-pavement project Thank You, Anthony Bujan SA Triangle Resident Sent from my iPad 3 Orozco, Norma From: McCarron, Shannon Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 10:03 AM To: eComment Subject: FW: Community Budget Input -----Original Message----- From: david Snipes<snipesda@gmail.com> Sent: Monday, May 8, 2023 6:27 PM To: BudgetOffice<BudgetOffice@santa-ana.org> Subject: Community Budget Input Hello, I am a resident of Santa Ana's Floral Park Neighborhood. I would like to express my support for the inclusion of the following priorities in the 2023-24 fiscal year budget. 1)Traffic calming measures within Floral Park, such as the creation of a roundabout at the corner of N. Flower, Riverside, and Park Street. 2) Funding to provide for youth programming and gang intervention for the Santa Ana Triangle Neighborhood, including a PAAL Program. Thank You, David Snipes 4 Orozco, Norma From: McCarron, Shannon Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 10:02 AM To: eComment Subject: FW: FY 2023-2024 Budget Request - Santa Ana Triangle From:Joe Baldo<joebaldo@highergroundoc.org> Sent:Thursday, May 11, 2023 9:39 AM To: Evan Miles<evan.c.miles@gmail.com> Cc: BudgetOffice<BudgetOffice@santa-ana.org>;Jeffrey Katz<jeffrey.katz@kesherlawgroup.com>; Katre Kruus <katre_kruus@yahoo.com>; Eddie Burciaga <eddieburciaga@highergroundoc.org>;tgomez@fca.org; steven@projectkinship.org; Nati Alvarado<nati.a Iva rado@ngservices.org>; Shane Parr <shane.parr@teenchallenge.org>; Kevin Brown <livesworthsaving@gmail.com>; Sandra Ortega <sanortegal@gmail.com> Subject: Re: FY 2023-2024 Budget Request-Santa Ana Triangle Good Morning Good People, Higher Ground is in agreement with everything that is expressed here. One clarification - the requested$200K is not to be used for the purpose of renting a location to engage the community, nor is it to be used to upgrade, remodel, etc. an existing venue. The money will be utilized solely to engage the community with goods, services, equipment and supplies, as well as compensation for HG's human capital, as we serve the youth and their families in the Santa Ana community. Please let us know if you have any questions. In His Service, Joe On Wed, May 10, 2023 at 10:21 PM Evan Miles<evan.c.miles@gmail.com>wrote: Hello, In February of 2023, members of the Neighborhood Association for the Santa Ana Triangle began hosting regular community meetings. The meetings have been focused on identifying the needs of the Santa Ana Triangle and other surrounding neighborhoods in order to develop community based solutions. Residents of the Santa Ana Triangle, Floral Park, and French Court have been in attendance at these meetings along with the Mayor, City Council members, Police, Fire, SAUSD Staff, and at least 7 local non-profits. One of the primary issues identified by residents is the need for additional after school activities for youth as well as gang prevention/diversion programs. 5 Higher Ground has stepped forward, within the collaborative, to support the efforts of this group. Higher Ground has a remarkable history of success, as a non-profit entity, in both its work with youth and general community development in the City of Anaheim. Please see the attached for more information about Higher Ground. Also, Tony Gomez, Resident of the French Court neighborhood and Area Representative for FCA (a non-profit engaged in sports based youth interventions), hopes to partner with Higher Ground in leading this endeavor. Residents and other members of the collaborative will lend resources and expertise, where necessary. There is a request for an allocation of$200,000 in the FY 2023-2024 City budget for the following activities and initiatives, which will be kickstarted this coming Summer: • Door to door interaction in neighborhoods to increase community engagement • Talk to other stakeholders in the neighborhood to further identify existing assets and challenges. Partner with the community to identify and implement solutions. • Provide youth and gang prevention workers. • Secure appropriate locations for sports activities, mentorship programs, and community based afterschool programs. • Host neighborhood events to engage youth within these communities • Engage families through community events. For example a dinner and/or potluck or community beautification/service days. • Assisting in any programs in the French Court neighborhood in collaboration with local residents and Davis Elementary Organizations involved in recent Collaborative meetings include: Lead Partners: Higher Ground and Tony Gomez, FCA Collaborative Participants: Project Kinship, Neutral Ground, Teen Challenge Participants in an Advisory Role: Lives Worth Saving/ Side by Side Church, Kidworks Thank You, Jeff Katz, Katre Kruus, and Evan Miles Joe Baldo aoebaldo@highergroundoc.org https://Iinktr.ee/highergroundyouthandfamily Higher Ground Youth &Family Services HIGHER GROUND 6 Orozco, Norma From: Irma Jauregui <irmapj@yahoo.com> Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 12:17 PM To: eComment Subject: Fwd: Letter to Mayor and Council 5/11/2023 Re: Budget meeting Attachments: Mayor and Council members, re budget meeting 5.11.2023.pdf i 5/11/202 Dear Mayor Amezcua, Mayor Pro Tern Lopez and Honorables Council members Mr Penaloza, Mr Bacerra, Mr Hernandez, Ms Pham and Mr Vazquez As decisions are made for the budget of our City, we trust and support that you all will continue to work on the Mission statement that so wisely guides to priorities for our city, "public safety, a prosperous, economic environment, opportunities for youth, and a high quality of life for residents", For that reason, we at the Santa Ana Healthy Neighborhood Alliance (SAHNA) encourages and support the PAAI_ program, because it wisely encompasses three of those items, safety, opportunities for youth, and due to the design of the program, high quality of life for those involved in the programs, extended, family and community at large... And in the Guiding Principles are; collaboration, efficiency and fiscal responsibility which are also paramount. The building and strengthening of relationships of our youth and Police in a positive and joyful environment, has many many dividends and benefits for all. For that reason, please fund more programs throughout the city where our youth and community has children a risk and high crime areas that the McFadden location has proved to have multiple benefits just by their sheer presence. Our residents in the South Corridor are very excited to see our beloved Firehouse become a flagship of that program included with a senior component and a substation for safety, truly a benefit for all! In humble appreciation, Irma P Jauregui and Susana Canett Sandoval Co-founders of the Santa Ana Healthy Neighborhood Alliance "Safety, Health and Education" Orozco, Norma From: Tim Johnson <tjohnson@jlkrllp.com> Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 12:09 PM To: eComment; Amezcua, Valerie; Phan, Thai; Bacerra, Phil; Penaloza, David; Hernandez, Johnathan; Lopez, Jessie; Vazquez, Benjamin Cc: Downs, Kathryn; Mendoza, Steven; Ridge, Kristine Subject: City Budget- Agenda Item (5/11/23) Good day mayor, council, and selected city leaders...I am writing today about tonight's special council session agenda item 1,Work Study Session on the FY 23/24 Budget. I pray that tonight's session is productive for the council receiving and providing information as well as for the residents and staff. I have a few thoughts that I think are relevant-they may be a little scattered but the theme is that we need to prepare today for the future. We are not as financially stable as many may think. We have a significant reduction in revenue on the horizon with the Measure X rate reduction AND our city has a deficit net position balance meaning that we do not have assets to cover the liabilities that have accrued to date. We need a plan to improve. Disclosure...I am on the Measure X Citizen Oversight Committee but these thoughts are my own only as an interested and vested resident of Ward 3 in our great city and may not reflect the Measure X Citizen Oversight Committee's thoughts/recommendations. Although some of my thoughts will echo those presented in the Oversight Committee's Annual Report which you received at your April 18t" meeting, again,these thoughts are my own. Summary If you think our city is on secure sound financial ground, I ask that you be open to additional information and to look at the long game financially. Our city is able to pay its current bills and provide a level of services according to the revenue being generated presently. However,when you look at the big picture I believe you will see that: • Our city is not prepared for the 1/3 drop in Measure X (MX) sales tax revenue (1.5%to 1.0%; 0.5%= 1/3). In today's dollars,that is around $29.5M (using the proposed 23/24 budget MX revenue of$88.616M). Ask yourself,what our city will look like with reduced revenue of$29.5M. That is what will be coming. We need to prepare today because next year or 5 years from now may be too late and will only make it that much tougher to make meaningful change. • Our city has an extreme unfunded debt burden to our residents. Even though we are paying our bills, our city has a deficit Unrestricted Net Position from Governmental Activities of$468.4M as of 6/30/22. That is approx $1518 of debt allocated to each of our 308,459 residents. Let that sink in...each of us are in debt to the tune of $1518. My family of 5 would be$7592 in debt. We need to understand and recognize that, determine if it is acceptable, and then come up with a plan to tackle it assuming the council agrees that our city's residents should not be in debt or at least commits to decreasing the level of debt. We are using today's revenue to pay for liabilities generated in the past...we need to make headway. We need to take steps now to address both of the above items. This needs to be part of a long term financial strategic plan which would contain goals, steps to achieve those goals, and monitoring of the progress. This also means that such a plan will span across multiple councils, councilmembers, and possibly even other city leaders such as our city manager and police chief. We need to take long term financial stability seriously. We need to implement change now in order secure a better future. Ten Year Outlook Director Downs previously provided to you at the April 18t" council meeting on Agenda Item 22,the below Ten Year Outlook. She has previously provided the a similar schedule multiple times over the past few years. Fortunately, due to MX,the city's revenue is projected to cover its expenses for the next few years. However,the concern lies when the MX sales tax rate is reduced from 1.5%to 1% in 2029. As you can see there is a huge gap when this drop off occurs. The city 1 NEEDS to prepare for this drop in revenue now. I applaud the council members/mayor that brought this up at your May 2nd meeting. Even if the city is utilizing MX funds for one time expenditures,when one time expenditures are utilized each year,which they have been,they become viewed as recurring expenditures. Expenditures which the city become reliant upon. If something is truly one-time, ask yourself, can we just not do that this year and save the money? If the answer is yes, well,then it is time to start making those decisions. If the answer is no we need to do that...I question whether it is truly meets the spirit one-time spending. If we make changes to our spending now, couple that with increasing business activity and hence revenue in our city,we may be able to make the MX rate reduction impact more of a gradual slide instead of a drastic cut. Again, I know that it will be easy to say that MX spending is focused on one time items, but when that spending is happening year after year, it becomes part of the fabric of our city. I dub this Ten Year Outlook as my"scary chart" because it is scary to look at in 2029 and forward. The yellow(I added) below is the scary part. That shows our shortfall where projected Spending will exceed projected Revenue. What will the city look like with a $35M+shortfall year after year? What can we do now to prepare for that shortfall? The earlier we plan for this gap,the easier it will be to lessen the impact on our residents, businesses,visitors, and city as a whole. V, $EW fi $613.7 Sao-a $482.5 $489.9 S4U., $470 S455.0 5474.7 $440.2 $458.'3 5460.2 9453.3 $420.6 $446.8 $430 5413,0 5438.2 5 399.8 5425,5 $404-0 $390 5397.3 $350 FY23-24 FY24.25 F'Y25-26 FY26-27 FY27-26 FY20-29 FY29-30 FY30-31 FY31-32 FY32-33 -RCYCrtut{ F1L°i14�1KkSJ I ask that our city consider a few action items now in order to prepare for the drop: 1. Direct staff to prepare a big picture pro-forma budget(not line by line but big picture)to illustrate what our city services will look like based upon the drop. What services will need to be lessened, how this will impact our residents/business, etc...By doing this,we will see what our city will look like after the MX rate reduction. 2. Direct staff to come up with a MX Sunset Plan with goals of such plan and concreate action steps to achieve those goals. Presumably,this council's feedback is imperative in coming up with any Sunset Plan. I would anticipate that this plan would include both spending reductions AND also revenue generation. 2 3. Create a MX Sunset Stabilization Reserve Fund now. Build it in to the 23/24 budget. Build it into any surpluses from the 22/23 fiscal year(if any). Our city needs to put money away now to prepare for the MX rate reduction to lessen the impact and absorb such impact over multiple years instead of at once. MX revenue is such a large amount and if we truly are favoring one-time spending on MX revenue,we certainly should be able to come up with a plan now to put aside some of the revenue generated to help with the sunset. 4. Although I am not in favor of extending the 1.5% rate for MX and I believe I have heard current councilmembers (and past) indicate that they are looking forward to a lower MX sales tax rate, IF the council is going to count on the full 1.5%of MX revenue in 2029 and forward,they need to be honest with our residents, businesses, and visitors and tell us now. Obviously, it is not up to the council to make this decision but the council likely will be the body that would put it on a ballot for the residents to vote upon. IF the current council wants to go that direction,then they should say so. IF the current council does not want to have a 1.5% MX rate,then they need to begin take financially prudent steps NOW...to do otherwise is not financially wise in my opinion. 5. Consider forming a MX Sunset council committee to meet, in public,to discuss and recommend a MX Sunset Plan. I would prefer that this committee meet in public but if that is not the council's desire, I would ask that such a committee be tasked with regular reporting to the council and the public. City Debt(Unrestricted Net Position Deficit) According to the city's latest Statement of Net Position June 30, 2022 which was present previously, our city has an Unrestricted Net Position deficit balance from Governmental Activities of$468,389,289 ($468M for ease of conversation). This$468M is the amount that our city's liabilities exceed its assets adjusted for exclusion of investment in capital assets and also restricted assets. Overall,the city has a positive Net Position from Governmental Activities of$685.1M but that figure includes net capital assets and restricted assets. The city cannot use restricted assets to cover general liabilities due to external restrictions on use of funds and so it seems prudent to exclude such assets when determining operating debt. Additionally, since the city is not really able to sell most of its capital assets (such as rights of way, street trees, infrastructure such as streets and sewer projects) it would also seem appropriate to exclude the net capital assets (net means that included in this figure is the city's debt on that the capital assets0. After you exclude net positions that are not applicable to covering general debts,we are at a deficit of$468M. This is approx$1518 of debt per resident of our city. Let that sink in please...If each resident of our city were asked to pay up for a one time assessment so the city could have assets that equal our liabilities,we each (including our kids) would be writing a check to the city for$1518. This$1518 would not be used to provide additional services to our residents such as fixing streets, improving parks, or increasing public safety but instead would just get us on sound footing. That$1518 would be every resident regardless of their ability to pay including those who are already struggling to find housing,feed their families, and meet general every day needs. So,when we focus on current Revenue covering our Spending,which seems to be true right now,this is just one part of the picture...the bigger picture shows we are in debt. Now a lot of our fellow cities are also in debt though too but that should not make us feel any better IMO. As of 6/30/21 (1 have not looked at the 6/30/22 financials for each city),there are 17 cities in Orange County that actually have per capita surpluses meaning their unrestricted net position from government activities is positive. For example, residents of Cypress each have approx$1800 of surplus, Irvine approx $1400 surplus,Tustin $1300. These are cities whose residents are not in debt just because of where they live. These are cities that can choose to make investments in services and capital. The other 17 cities are in debt. Santa Ana is 31 out of 34 on that list...Brea,Anaheim, and Costa Mesa all have higher per capital deficits than Santa Ana but just imagine if we had a goal to erode that deficit year by year and ultimately be one of the cities that has a surplus. When we say we want to be a top city in the county, we need to have our financial status reflect that also. The city made progress in reducing its deficit during the HE June 30, 2022 which is great to see but that likely was due to a favorable stock/bond market impacting the pension obligations which we may find that flipping in future years due to the more recent markets especially when combined with a looming/lingering recession and inflationary pressures. 3 Our city needs to make progress in reducing its deficit balance of our unrestricted net position. The vast majority of our city's deficit appears to be generated by our pension obligations and retiree benefits (OPEB plan). We have committed to pay benefits, including pension,to our city workers that we have not funded. We do not have the cash on hand to pay these obligations currently. We have committed to this yet we will be using future revenue to pay for these obligations. We need to start making progress, in a meaningful and large way, in reducing our deficit net position otherwise we are committing to spending future revenue and further burdening our residents now and into the future. I suggest that our council do the following: 1. Direct staff to provide further detail on our deficit balance in the unrestricted net position for governmental activities. Essentially, educate our residents and other leaders about the current financial position of the city. Our focus is usually on our Revenue and Spending,which is appropriate on a year by year basis, but the future is just as important and to be truly thriving city,the long term needs to be addressed also. 2. Direct staff to come up with a plan to reduce the deficit balance into a neutral position or even a surplus over time. Nothing will happen overnight but if nothing is done presently,we will be in even more of surprise in the future. A start is needed and that start needs to be done now. 3. Direct staff to come up with a savings plan built into the current budget to implement the plan in#2 above. Yes, this means that we will need to increase revenue and control spending. We need to fund the liabilities that we have accrued yet have not funded. 4. If council feels that using continually having a deficit net position is acceptable, then the public should know...flat out tell us. Are we OK in being one of the lowest financially stable cities? Again, let's be transparent about it if we are...if we are not,then let's come up with a plan to improve...year by year. The above information can be seen in the city's June 30, 2022 Financial Statements on page 27 (See picture below...this is the summary in millions) and the second picture is the detailed Statement of Net Position on page 41. Many will focus on the Total Net Position but as discussed above,this included restricted net position and the net investment in capital assets. The more appropriate measure is the unrestricted net position. 4 XLA AGEA-H-N- 'S I3BC! SSIO--N AND ANALYSIS CitY-of Sauta qua Statement of Net Position Govvnmm=1 lirr mess-type Actaities Actucmes Total 2022 2021 2022 2021 2022 2021 A asets: cash and in-astmenis. 4{7.4 5 3 76.6 S 86.8 $ 959 $ 544.2 $ 472.5 Cunmd and other assets 194.3 181.7 17.4 14.9 211.7 196.6 Capital assets 1:031.4 1.008.2 157.5 142.5 1,188.4 1,150.7 Totdamets 1,b83.1 1.566.5 261_7 253.3 1,444.8 1,819.8 Deferredcutflow of resDurces: Unamwrtaed loss on band deleasance 2.1 2.9 0-1 0.2 2.2 3.1 Def2n-ed amxiuts on pension plans 497.7 81.2 20-0 4-4 517.7 85.6 Befmuad arrnucLs on OPEB plan 4.3 2.6 0.7 0.4 5.0 3.0 Total defernedorf$owsofresaurces 504.1 86.7 20.E 5-0 524-9 91.7 Liabilitie s: Lorg-tum 1ab&be:s 576.9 178.3 30.5 14.9 607A 1932 Netpe=-w3aliabiky 480.1 667.6 183 34.9 498.E 702.5 Tot31CPES lab3-kty 46.9 47.7 7.b 7-5 54.5 552 Chbe habilihes 2?5.9 171.E 16-8 12.7 242.7 184.5 Totalbabilies 1,324.E 1.065.4 73.6 70.0 1,403A 1,135.4 Deferredmila3rs of reso-unces: Defemd anraums on pension plans 160.2 - 10.8 - 171.0 - Defen-ed amaunts or.O PEB plan 5.9 3.3 1.0 05 6.4 3.8 Lleferred amaums on leases 6.2 - 0.4 - 6.6 - Tot ldefen-ed nfiGvm ofresorffcea 172.3 3.3 122 0.5 184.5 3.8 e#position, 'Net im.estnaecrtmrapitalasseta 941.9 909.6 1413 129.3 1,083.2 1,038.9 Restricted 211.E 208.4 2.5 1.8 214.1 2102 il.,.esvi be (468.4) (533.5) 529 563 (415.5) (476.8) Tot3l net pasnon $ 1585.1 5 584.5 $ 196-7 $ 187_8 $ 881.8 772.3 27 5 CHY ANA. Sratement of Ner Po5ir on YFe Acliyitie i AcbN-ibR i LOW Assem C-3Gh andiusP,-W1M+: S 44--7185,2'33 S 85,815,343 $ 533-.000,576 R LCMables: Taxes 5,M,847 - 5.373,847 interest 907,011 198&9 1,105,815 Accaucts,netCf allowances 4 890.040 16,683,629 21,573,60 hAT9- l 80,170,835 - M170,835 Leases 6,343,255 483,3516 6,826,611 Loans and oatEn 87,993,725 - 87,993,725 Depasits IR30D 10,300 IMMotG Y of supphes 597,116 597,116 Prepaid MM2Z 265,421 265,421 1i a-ri,rmd assets: C-a>h and IMM tCOME 7,024,990 965,540 7 990,520 Caah and msmsW3En=with fiscal ageins Z670,152 - 2,670'152 Pemaustabihtyfimd 523,156 - 523,156 Land held far resale 7.775,611 - 7,775,641 Capital assets,notbeimg depreciated 660,383.477 29,951,865 690..335,342 Capital assets.being&-prae��i-k net of xern�&pwaatm 361.454-189 127,-631,129 489.085,318 Leased assets,bemg mxwLzed,net of actunm3lated amubmrft:az 9.550.755 - 9,SSQ;755 Total as:,ets 11683,119133 261,729,666 1,944,84879 Deferred aut{lc s of resources: lrn:maiti:ed less on bonddefea=e �097,249 126,397 2223,646 Defeara-,niaurtson pensicmpi= 49�962a838 20,016,360 517,679,ln Defemea mm=t:on OPEB pl.M 4;294,654 698,412 4-993,066 Total defenedoutfow-,afr ces 504,054341 20,841,169 524,895,910 Liabilities: Account:Pa';•a nle 21,796 27b 14,510,767 36307,043 Interest pzyal<le 4,660.219 344,98b 5.a05,205 R,ete>=b-pa{-&ale 1,488.667 801,250 2289917 Due ro city Ala BEL 6,530,639 - 6,530,-639 Due roat6ergutimmtientdagew-;es 5S,6K791 - 58-608,791 Jeaos L &fi88y4i'1 F,1'f 41 8,U61 '11 Uneamedie vmre 125,813.,597 - 125,813,597 Long-term lial:alitier-due within one vem: 25,954,209 1,648,075 27.6DI284 Total OPEB liability-dne within one}eM 1,443,356 297,623 11740,979 Claims Parable-due aithm cne ye= 9,600,000 - 9,60Q,OW Due in mcae thm aces Tear. Lmg-termliabilities 498,957,168 28,830,488 527,78T-656 Net pensionliabil • 480,076,589 18,'733,051 498.809,640 Total OPEB liability 45,482,84b 7,333,714 52.81.6,56O C Z=i payable 42,361,080 - 42361,080 Total amlities 1,.329,661.874 73,672,896 1,403-334,-770 Deferred inflows of resources: Defeirea aanoutt:on pension pl= 16OX6,078 10;783,844 171,039,882 Defeirea anGimt:on OPEB phm 5,926,119 963,733 6.889,852 Deferred amni t anleasea 6,186.242 463,987 6,650,229 Total defined iri laws of xe ora+ce� 172,368439 12,211,524 184-579,963 het Position: �4et un-e eflt mcapital assets 941,9W-.878 141,332,453 1,0 3,233 31 Re:tli,c[,-,i far: De:--4 mice 94,049 - %,049 C,.Pitalprgje 58,O14.677 - 59014,t 77 N atior-al polhrbx z urge eYL�an system - 2,451,629 2,453,b29 C(>my=vDL-�aiopmEal 7,807,162 - T807,162 Co*+-+n=iy Smaces&Phrrnrm 505,9M - 505966 Ra-Teatian&Cm=mry Sen>ces 2,632,404 - 1632,004 Public Safety 5,253,386 - 5?53,3M Pu lic W-aalcs 104,064,097 - 104-064,087 Spem-i r-mnie hou=LE 311±01ityprojects 32,737,485 - 32737,485 Peastcn SU.bLt+ 523,156 - 523,156 Unrestricted (4b8,3892M 52,900,333 (415-488,956) Total net no-anou S 695,143,561 S 196,686,415 S 88 11.&-' ,976 See ac cocnamn ins Notes to the Basic Fir a -11 Stags. - 41 Further to illustrate the above, I point you to Truth In Accounting's analysis of the City of Santa Ana in the "Financial State of the Cities 2023" report found here: https://www.truthinaccounting.org/library/doclib/FSOC-2023.pdf Their analsysi ranks us as#50 out of the 75 largest cities in the US. They utilize a similar analysis as I have above in trying to determine the city's ability to pay its bills. I believe that there most recent study is based on the 6/30/21 6 information. Based on the 6/30/21 financials, it puts our deficit(money needed to pay bills) at$565M which is close, although not exactly at,the unrestricted net position balance at the same period per the above. Their breakdown is useful, although because of pandemic funds and an increasing investment market, our 6/30/22 1 expect will be better. Truth in Accounting grades us as a D....and at 50t" in the nation out of 75 (#1 is best btw). Even though I say that each resident's share of the city's deficit is about$1500, they have it pegged at$5600. Their population basis is only those in the city that have a positive federal tax burden per the IRS. I believe for our city,that reducing the spread of the burden from about 300K people to only about 100K people. I personally think that is not appropriate to spread the city debt burden across all residents though for a city especially because our city revenue is driven more by sales tax, property taxes, and other non-income tax related items. The theme is the same though...each of us is in debt and we don't even know it. Here is their analysis of our city: Santa Ana, CA Earned 'W Grade for Fiscal Health m I t he Truth e ■ Money Needed to Ny Bills$565.7 ruillion Twxpayer Burden fFinancial Grade Ronking I out of Financial State of Santa Ana After the Covid-pandemic, in par due to iederal government stimulus money, Santa Ana's financial condition appeared to improve.. Despite apparent improvements, 'Santa Aria had a Taxpayer Burr#en1h, of $5,600, earning it a`D" grade from Truth in Accounting. Santa Ana's financial problems stem mostly from unfunded retirement obligations that have accumulated over the years, Unfortunately, the amounts of unfunded pension and retiree health care benefits used by 5anta Ana end in this report were the same as 2020, because newer data could not be found.The outdated numbers used do not reffiecr the unusual market gains experienced 15y t ALPers in 2021. In 2022, the city had set aside only fib cents for every dollar of promised pension benefits and had no money set aside for promised retiree health care benefits, Santa Ana's elected officials have repeatedly made financial visions that left tfie city with a debt burden of$565,7 million.That burden came to $5,600 for every city taxpayer, ITT 2022, markets produced negative market returns and federal CO ID relief waned.These conditions may increase the per taxpayer Tax Ourden. Santa Ana could struggle to maintain current levels of government services and benefits without further negative impact on its financial health. 11111111111110 The data included in this report is derived from Santa Ana's 2021 audited Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and retirement plans' reports.To compare prior years and other cities' financial, demographic,and economic information, gar to Data-Z.org. Daniels College of Business L' IIVERSIT-YO: DENVER www.daia-z.org School of Accountancy 8 Seats Ana's Financial Breakdown Fast Felts * Santa Ana needed $565.7 rnlilion to pay its bills. • This means each taxpayer would have to pay $5,600 in future taxes for which they would receive no related services or txenefits. • Santa Ana's unfunded pension and retiree health carc' amounts did not change bmause new valuations could not be found_ The City's Bills Exceeded Its Assets Total Assets 1,8 1-r),8s()„li{)0 Minus: Capital assets - 1, it 50,707,000 Restricted Assets -S210,213,000 Assets Available to pay Bills $458,939,000 inU5: Total Bills* -$I,024,E,4 ,000 or}ev Needed to Ray R i I I s $565,707,{]00 Each Taxpayers Share of this Burden $5,600 *Breakdown of Total Bills Finds S7:3,947,000 Other Liabilities $303,78(),000 r inu-.;: Debt Related to Capital Assets - 111,794,000 UniUnded Pension Benefits $703,312,005 Unfunded Retiree Health Care Benefits $55,401,000 Total Bills $1,024,646,000 Bottom line: Santa Ana would need $5,600 from each of its taxpayers to pay al of its hills, so it has received a "D" for its finances. According to Truth in Accounting's grading scale, any government with a Taxpayer Borden between $5,000 and $20,000 receiv(,s a "13" grade. Truth in Accounting is a 501(c)(3)nonprofit committed to educating and empowering you with understandable, reliable,and transparent government financial information so you can be a knowledgeable participant in your government and its hudget process. 11 Here are a couple of interesting pages from the same Truth in Accounting report that is related to our city's situation also: 9 gntroduction "unif All of the 7:5 cities we analyze have balanced budget requirements,which are in place to assert future financial€fiffii<utties and to enhance accountability-As the Gawernmental Accounting Standards linaffI (GASS)points out, the ,retfuiremenis are"to requimi financing and slxcnding practice;that c tmblr° governmental entities to avoid financial difficulty and to livq within their mans," AwAher objec#ive of ba landed budget requirements is accountability;elected officials should be accountable I'm ihr,tax dollars they sfwnd.F wnwr U.S.Trearsury caff-rc:iat Fra4 Gwanaugh said it biest,'Polliticians should not have ilie pleasure of spending(getting woes)without the pain of'taxing(bring vvtest,k By de4i nit iorl, if as city has a balanced budw r"uirertwi, then"ndFng should nm exceed eatried rev&oue brotiglrt in during a specific year, balanced hudget rrerluireroterrts arcz meant preventelecW officials from shifting theburden of payingforcurreni-yelrservices onto(uture-year laxpa)Trs. So how can cities claim their budgets are balanced while our re#0rt AKm,s marry of them are in debt?The answer is in The accounting tricks used io calculate budgets. Municipalities balance budgets by using accounting tricks such as the(ollawing: s Inflating revenue assumptions * Count!ng borrowed money as income Undersiating the true costs of government + Delaying the payment of current bills until the start of the next fiscal year so they aren't included in the cal€ularions The mast comrmin accounting trick cities use is to hide-employee benefits such as healthcare, life insurance, and pensions,from the current budgeting process by not acknowledging they exist.Cities become obligated to pay fcxr these benefits as employees earn therm_Although these rc.Mirement benefits will not be paid until the emplcx}m retire,they still represent current compensation costs because they were earned and incurred thnoughout the empleq*0 tenon Furthernvwe,that dinnisey mum be pal into the refire-ment fund to acc uinu late+investment earnings_Unfortunately,some etected officials have used portions of the nxis y (3%VLXi to txtnsion and OFEB funds in k-%-p tam low and pity far politically fx-)pularr programs. Instead of funding promised benefits now,they have been charged to future laxp Ayers.shifting these,payments to future taxpayers allows the budget to appear balanced while city debt is increasing, verrrments are able to accumulate debt While c:ta inning halantwf I I srid gets h ausi?the Vast makttity of buclfwts are prq)ared on the cash-basis.This is an aatklUatekf acroarntin,method chat includes cash inflows, including Wo prod as revenue, and otgi<lowt—in[3ther wrartt , frnly CheelC%+Wit#er1. Wv rvi-ommend FACT-based budgeting and acc auiting,which stands for(till accrual taltufatians and techniques.tFACV.FACTS budgeting and acamnling turves bey cl cash-basis to provide More n0ijb[e and truthful budgeting and financial reporting€k curnents. This is the motivation and foundation for the norapartisara mission of TIA:to educate and empower citizens with understandable, reliable,and tramparent government financial information.TIA is a 501Icl(3)nonprofit, nonpartisan orgaoisitian composed cd business, community,and academic leaders interested in improving government financial reporting.TiA makes no policy recommendations beyond improvements(0 budgeting arid accounting practices that will enhance the public's understanding of governmeot finances, ,MMCPAIMI, 10 �Pensions & Market Volatilit A government's 'e[Penslon Liability is calculated by sub[raciing the markei value of its pension plan assets fmm the estimated arrmunt of po nisi.wl 1*nelfils,When using the n-.ad et value cif pension plan assets,the Net PenAon Liability+gill fluctuate based upon market conditicm-Some argue that because Net Ptansjon tiabilily is a coaiTgwwnt of a gomnments Net Position lasrsets minus liabi€itiesl,fluctuations in market values would result in great volatility in the Net Position.To avoid such fluctuatium,the Covernmental Accounting,Standards Board allows,governments to atmortize the fluctuation in market values otrer Nme. Truth in Accounting,heliews that the Net Position should not be shielded ire i'n market il'u tuations.Users of the financial report, especially taxpayers, need to understand the reality of pensickn plan investrsrents.We highlight that reporting,including,the marker ralue in the pension liability does not cause great volatifih,in a governmen6 Net l'osilion. Reality does.Taxpayem need to understand this volatility acid the risk ta1~en asn to WA-i-rnmunis,which in turn is a risk to taxpayv*. Therefore. our money needed to pay gills is calculated rising the market value of pension assets without any arimrtiaatkm(A the unrealized gains in market value.We"od That for most cities in fiscal year 2021 p-mion assess"i ncr,wasecl dra,-natically,because of strong markets.The mulling pension lia6i I icy and money needed to pay hilts decreased equally dramatically_ In reviewving cities whose pension plans' fnamial reports fur fiscal year 2022 were available,we usually found that these unrea.li;ted gains either t#rrapiped greatly cx svvitchecd tip uorealized Imes,.Therefore,we spat"t cities'pension liabilities and money needed to pay bills will increase when we issue our next Financial State of the Cities, In faedr in 5OMe c;tic—s we fcxind that Ih4 dramatic gains ci 2021 resulted in their pension plans appearing to be rnrerfunded,laui irlvewtnk•rit 14A"in?'W-)hrcts[rght their pen-.iim plash lack to an unckwhinded status. Foe' example,on Junk 30,2020. Los Ailgeles Hire and Police Pension System reported a Net Pension Liability of 2.57 billion.in fiscal year 2021 its pension assets experienced unrealized gainstA 32.560%which caused the pension system to appear to 1>0 ovedunded by$2.7 billion. In liscll}ear 2022 the funds'pension asset value experienced unrealized lus". of 7.23'1/6,which played a large part in bringing the system back to an underfunded status awiih a hc•I P nsian Liability of$6,48.8 million. This highlight_;the volatility and risk surrounding pension plan assets and ccwresponding pensions liabilities. Taxpayers can only hope that when pension plan investments roved to be sold to pay frx benefilsr the market value of thow investments#will Iw high, If", taxpayers will he on the hark ttt pay higlser taxis*cr ww the promise+rl lrtie#its. As in the case of a few cities,pension plans should be overfunded during market upturns,5n they ran weather downturms in the markcm. Elected officials nvy see this temporary; unrealized awrfu„ded status as an oppoqun ity to rrfluce pension contributions and/or increase benefits.5ueh actions are ripe advisable,lwcause of fuiure downturns in the markets, as happened in 2022.The 2022 downturn is switching many overfunded pension plans back into an underfunded p,516o e.. 'For many cities prior year(2020)amounts were used to calculate their pension liability, including IN,rowkel value of pension assets.WhenTruith in Accpunling researchers could find the 2021 year numbers, we used those slumbers for nur 2021 calculai ions.Because of the high market valuations that occurred in 2021. the use of outdated numbers greatly affected the cities'pension liability numbers. �i WOO 6 -0-amnambih, I hope that you find the above information useful for your discussion tonight and in the future. I believe that our city Finance Dept is great btw. I don't think they are trying to hide things or are playing accounting tricks (some of the Truth in Accounting language above implies that). We are fortunate that we have a great finance team which also provides me hope that they can help be part of the solution here with your guidance. Thank you for each of your attention to our city. Your time is much appreciated. MROscubergwr I Tim Johnson, CPA cAK("Ud*L Partner 11 Proudly part of the Wglobal family QD (949) 860-9892 (714) 743-1065 9100 tjohnson@jlkrllp.com 2601 Main Street,Suite 580, Irvine,CA 92614 See our latest business news and insights by clicking here This message(including any attachments)contains confidential information intended for a specific individual and purpose,and is protected by law.If you are not the intended recipient,you should delete this message.Any disclosure,copying,or distribution of this message,or the taking of any action based on it,is strictly prohibited.JLK Rosenberger is a California Limited Liability Partnership and a member firm of PKF International Limited,a family of legally independent member firms and does not accept any responsibility or liability for the actions or inactions on the part of any other individual member or correspondent firm or firms. 12 Orozco, Norma From: James&Sonia Ruiz-Young <jamessonia2019@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 12:57 PM To: eComment Subject: Riverview Park Good afternoon, I am a resident at Riverview. I am emailing to respectfully request that our Mayor, Mayor Pro Tern, and City Council members consider allocating funds to add shading to the Riverview Park playground as well as funds for the resurfacing of the Riverview Park parking lot. The playground gets very hot over summer making it unusable. Further, I recently had a meeting with acting Deputy Public Works Director, Michael Ortiz,who indicated the parking lot needs resurfacing to make it ADA accessible. This project will make it possible to add additional parking slots which can relieve our park visitors from having to park in the neighborhood. The resurfacing would give the parking lot 20+years of life. Thank you so much for your consideration and for funding Riverview parks restroom renovation project. Sincerely, Sonia Young Ruiz Riverview 1 Orozco, Norma From: Andi Friedman <andiattheark@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 1:58 PM To: eComment Subject: Comments on Santa Ana Budget Meeting: URGENT: Pls Budget for Spay and Neuter Clinics and Vouchers for OC Animal Rescues to Save Animals and Save Your City Money Dear Council Members and Mayor: I work for a local animal rescue that is a rescue partner with OCAC, the shelter for all of OC, that you have contracted with for your animal services and animal control. OCAC stopped almost all of its spay and neuter programs for 14 cities in OC during Covid and never restarted them. As a result our rescue, The Ark of San Juan and all the other OC rescues has been inundated with homeless, sick, injured animals and the amount of animals we are rescuing is untenable as a nonprofit rescue. We do not have the funding if nothing is done to stop the overpopulation of animals. Your City has one of the highest numbers of animals that end up at the OC shelter, suffering from hunger, disease, abandonment and abuse, and ultimately get killed! To solve this problem, we urge you to please approve and budget for mobile spay and neuter clinics and vouchers or reimbursements for spay and neuter services provided by nonprofit animal rescues that are working on the overpopulation crisis in Orange County and specifically in the City of Santa Ana. Unfortunately, most of the dogs and cats in your city get euthanized daily by the OCAC, as there is almost a non-existent concern for spay and neuter by the OCAC, so the dogs and cats keep reproducing. This is inhumane and costly for your city and taxpayers. If you implemented spay and neuter mobile clinics and provided vouchers for TNR to rescues, the overpopulation crisis would be improved, and you would actually reduce the number of dogs and cats entering the OCAC, thus saving animals' lives and saving the City of Santa Ana money! We must stop this inhumane killing of animals and solve the overpopulation crisis, while saving your city and taxpayers money. I appreciate your consideration on this issue. Respectively, Andrea Friedman i Hall, Jennifer From:McCarron, Shannon Sent:Thursday, May 11, 2023 4:00 PM To:eComment Subject:FW: Community Budget Input -----Original Message----- From: Ben Mayberry <benjamin.k.mayberry@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 2:40 PM To: BudgetOffice <BudgetOffice@santa-ana.org> Subject: Community Budget Input Hello, I am a resident of Santa Ana's Floral Park Neighborhood. I would like to express my support for the inclusion of the following priorities in the 2023-24 fiscal year budget. 1) Traffic calming measures within Floral Park, such as the creation of a roundabout at the corner of N. Flower, Riverside, and Park Street. 2) Funding to provide for youth programming and gang intervention for the Santa Ana Triangle Neighborhood, including a PAAL Program. Thank You, Ben Mayberry Sent from my iPhone 1 Hall, Jennifer From: pjl < Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2023 7:57 PM To: eComment Subject: BUDGET WORKSHOP BUDGET FY2024 The largest item in the Santa Ana budget is for public safety. It stands to reason that this is the one single item that being addressed, has the greatest potential for cost containment. The pension and retirement benefits in Santa Ana are the single largest liability component. https://www.auditor.ca.gov/local high risk/at-a-glance-csa FILTER M 0MALL 1167: L1 00 �.® aa!���ar.L�uno-r�scYmx "-wx•••"r .i �. � � � �, � � acre Au77MW Lv� Y� YYYYYYY �r Y� WYYYIIIW These two items are obviously interrelated. Santa Ana historically has one of highest, if not the highest, crime rates in the County. https://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Santa-Ana-California.html Santa Ana 251 Costa Mesa 247 Westminster 226 Anaheim 219 Garden Grove 207 Tustin 180 Huntington Beach 160 Orange 121 Fountain Valley 127 Irvine 87 The Santa Ana Police Department has not been staffed to the authorized complement for years; even with money allocated and available in the budget. This is again obviously interrelated. So. Santa Ana has high public safety costs. Santa Ana has high pension liabilities. Santa Ana has high crime rates. Santa Ana cannot fully staff the police department. Regardless of the genesis of this situation, the current Council has the obligation to address these issues. We all want to feel safe in our community. We all want to know that our money is being spent well and productively. We all want to know that we're not passing debt on to our kids. There is an opportunity to address all of these issues simultaneously. OPPORTUNITY ONE Increase the use of dogs in the police force. Recently there was a stand-off / suspect search in a South Santa Ana neighborhood. Several police cars. A helicopter circled for well over an hour. What brought the suspect out? The 1 arrival of a K-9. Minutes after the K-9 arrival, the suspect nonchalantly came out, and was taken into custody. JUST THE ARRIVAL OF THE K-9 did it. What was the cost of the helicopter for over an hour? The cost of multiple cars and officers for that time? What other calls were not addressed in a timely manner because of this response? K-9s can be more effective than an officer. They are able to search an area quicker than an officer. They are a smaller target than an officer. They can be more stealthy and subtle than an officer. They can detect a suspect, or a small lost child, or a missing adult with dementia often much better than an officer. They can often access a small area or jump a wall that might slow an officer. They don't need 8 hours of sleep a night; they can take a small nap between calls. They typically don't have a bad day because of a disagreement with the family, co-worker, or boss. Most always they are happy and enthusiastic about their work. We don't have to get into an escalation or bidding contest with neighboring cities; the dogs won't move to Irvine for chicken in place of kibble. They are less expensive overall. Easier to recruit. Their training regimen takes less time than a new officer from scratch. They don't go on strike. They don't have a 10-20-30 year pension. They don't have City paid medical for 10-20- 30 years. They don't have residual family benefits. They don't post on social media or threaten to burn the City. They don't require thousands of dollars in equipment. They don't get weeks of paid time off. (Yes, they're off the job when the handler is. But it's not paid.) Their weekly maintenance costs are an order of magnitude less than an experienced officer's salary. And this doesn't account for what a sworn officer often does; education before applying, physical fitness on one's own time, and specialized training. They are a force multiplier. An officer with a dog can respond in place of two (or more?) officers. This frees up other officers for other calls, and / or more flexibility in shifts. This means that the same number of officers that we currently have can be more effectively deployed. Less overtime. Less stress. Fewer medical / stress / health issues and cost. They can be a great bridge between the department and the public. Kids (and most people) love dogs. Presentations of approachability and skills. Ambassadors in schools and public events (Pet Expo, for example). Demonstrations of public service (finding objects, evidence, people.) Dogs working for people goes back far beyond Hannibal or the Pharaohs. Let's use that unique relationship to make our city better, safer, and more economically sound. Better address the crime rate. Reduce the pending long term debt. Reduce the overtime. Give our police a better life / work balance. Make our current budget more balanced. OPPORTUNITYTWO Implement and expand a system of monitored cameras. Cameras are widely used throughout the country and world to monitor potential problem areas; traffic, limited access areas, toxic environments, airports, private property, hospitals, and senior services. Speed and red light cameras are used every day to significant effectiveness, lowering costs, enhancing safety, encouraging compliance. Most police agencies have body cameras. There are cameras in many of Santa Ana's schools and school parking lots for child safety. Cameras assist in monitoring and risk assessment in natural disaster; fire, flood, earthquake, etc. Witness the ubiquitous RING (and other) resident cameras. People in all our neighborhoods obviously see the usefulness and applicability to cameras for their homes, yards, and businesses. They enhance safety and lower insurance costs. They provide peace of mind tracking children and pets. They deter crime. A camera can operate 24 /7 /365. It doesn't need vacation. It works every shift. It works through inclement weather. A camera is very discrete and unobtrusive. It works when a marked (or unmarked) car can easily be identified and avoided. It can operate in low light or infrared mode, situations that might challenge an officer. Cameras have been shown to reduce crime rates. Good video helps place an incident in context, and reduces reliance on witnesses that may have motives for shading the facts; or not remembering well. One unsworn employee can monitor several locations simultaneously; a lower cost force multiplier. Being monitored, a situation needing attention can be detected in real time. This enables appropriate response in a more timely manner. Being recorded, there is a record of the actual events; making documentation faster and more reliable. Many young / veterans could be qualified, especially vets with drone experience, or highly capable gamers. Storage of data is relatively inexpensive. Less expensive and quicker than hiring new officers. Much lower probationary time line; easy to implement rapidly. It doesn't require weeks of additional training every year. Much easier and cheaper to replace or update as technology advances. pil One-time costs for a well -placed camera can be much less than the first year cost of a typical patrol officer. Maintenance costs thereafter are much less than an officer. Cameras don't recruit from the neighboring agencies, causing bidding issues. Cameras don't have confrontation or escalation issues. No long-term budget issues; healthcare, pensions, disability, lawsuits, insurance. Makes our current complement of officers able to cover more area more efficiently. Cameras are MUCH cheaper than helicopters; and don't make as much noise. Buena Park is installing cameras in their parks https://voiceofoc.org/2023/05/buena-park-to-install-security-cameras-at-3-parks/ "Ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation to the prejudice and oppression of another is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy ... An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy." Benjamin Franklin Please help prevent spam. Use the BCC feature if you need to broadcast e mail. Please do not forward this e mail address. If you have received this in error, please notify sender and delete the original. This message is confidential and should not be rebroadcast without permission.