City sees positive midyear budget report

After the midpoint of each fiscal year, Yorba Linda Finance Director Dave Christian compiles a report outlining how closely the city's actual income and expenses match amounts anticipated at the beginning of the budget year, providing a glimpse into the state of the city's economy.

This time, Christian's report is mostly positive for the current fiscal year (July 1, 2014, - June 30, 2015), with higher-than-expected income from property taxes – the city's largest revenue source – and sales taxes, but less-than-expected income from building permits.

Overall, Christian, who also serves as city treasurer and assistant city manager, predicts the nearly $30 million operating budget will be balanced with a $550,000 surplus, even including the almost $1.5 million in City Council-approved expenses added since the prior fiscal year.

Property tax revenue is expected to jump more than $1 million over estimates “due mainly to the continuing strong recovery of the real estate market, as well as the redistribution of the former property tax increment as the result of redevelopment dissolution,” Christian stated.

Dollars once collected for the city's Redevelopment Agency, dissolved by state mandate in 2012, will add $400,000 to general fund coffers. The cash is part of increased property tax revenue from redevelopment zones that previously financed projects and a housing fund.

Although Christian last year lowered sales tax projections by $100,000 for 2014-15, he now sees “much better than expected results,” with income exceeding the estimate by $150,000.

A $520,000 drop in building permits and plan checks fees is due to timing, Christian noted, since “building activity has begun to pick up.” However, projects have been “delayed in the entitlement process,” with the revenue “most likely” to be realized in the next fiscal year.

Much of the increased income is offset by nearly $1.5 million in added expenses approved by the council in last year's midterm adjustment ($720,000), since the start of the current budget year ($247,000) and this month ($517,500, including $194,000 in raises for city workers).

Cost savings due to vacant positions total $590,000, including building department slots at $307,000 and savings and credits in the county Sheriff's Department contract for $283,000. (Temporary personnel costing $184,000 were added to the building department budget.)

The city has been operating on a two-year budget for 2013-14 and 2014-15. The council is expected to start examining finances for the 2015-16 fiscal year within the next few months.

Also, the City Council, as successor to the former Redevelopment Agency, plans to spend nearly $4.7 million of redevelopment tax increment the second half of this year, including some $3.3 million for Town Center and about $1.2 million for lower-cost housing, upon state approval

The city lists $112.7 million in outstanding debt or obligations from the dissolved agency.

Supreme Court ruling might affect election signs

Calls to alter Yorba Linda's existing regulations regarding the placement of temporary signs in public rights-of-way are one constant after nearly every city election, especially for signs posted along Yorba Linda Boulevard, Imperial Highway and other heavily traveled thoroughfares.

Some residents view the biennial glut of signage advocating candidates and causes as welcome evidence of a vibrant local democracy, while others see only waste, clutter and examples of an increasingly negative tone taken by candidates and groups to demean opponents.

Usually, requests for stricter regulations are ignored or just forgotten after an election, and if reports outlining potential changes come before the City Council, they're “received and filed.”

But now, a decision expected by June in a case before the United States Supreme Court could establish standards for Yorba Linda and other cities to regulate temporary signage, according to a report presented council members from the City Attorney's office.

The report came in response to a council request to place the issue of regulating temporary signs located on public rights-of-way on the Feb. 3 council agenda. City Attorney Todd Litfin recommended deferring action due to the upcoming court decision.

A ruling in the case, Reed v. Gilbert, “may substantially change the laws pertaining to temporary signs,” the report noted. The case challenges portions of an Arizona city's differing rules for categories of signs, such as political and church and real estate-related directional signs.

The city's ordinance was upheld by a Court of Appeals ruling on a 2-1 vote that the regulations were content-neutral and based on objective factors, not on the wording on the signs. The Supreme Court granted review of the appeal court ruling, with argument heard Jan. 12.

The city attorney's report noted: “Although 'content-neutrality' seems like a simple concept, applying it in particular cases has produced a confusing array of definitions from courts, particularly in the context of sign regulation.”

And since the Supreme Court's decision in the Reed case “has the potential to change the state of the law in a dramatic way,” waiting for the ruling “prior to assessing existing regulations is recommended.”

This city's current rules for signs in public rights-of-way apply to all types of signs and are in place for public safety reasons, according to guidelines issued to candidates who seek council positions.

The regulations, some of which are routinely ignored, especially within the Main Street business district, apply to owner identification, size, placement and quick post-election removal.

The most recent quest to change the city's rules came in a six-page proposed ordinance presented to the council in July 2013. It was received and filed on a 3-1 vote, with Craig Young dissenting. He said the signs were a “major issue” that needed to be addressed.   

Updates on Black Gold Golf Club, city's library

Updates on two of Yorba Linda's most utilized city-owned facilities are worthy of attention: the Black Gold Golf Club for a new incentive-oriented management contract and the public library for a notable increase in the circulation of e-books and other digital materials.

The new golf course pact with KemperSports, approved on a 5-0 City Council vote, extends the firm's 15-year management of Black Gold another five years, into 2020, but with a lower base fee than past years plus two levels of fees calculated on a percentage of revenues.

The firm's fixed fee drops from $250,000 to $150,000 yearly, with the greater of a consumer price index or 2 percent annual increase, supplemented by 7 percent of revenues from $4.6 million to $6 million and 9 percent of revenues above $6 million.

Black Gold annual income, now about $5.6 million, isn't expected to exceed $6 million until 2020. The percentage portion of the fee is projected to range from $76,000 in 2016 to near $99,000 in 2020 and is capped at $250,000 per year.

Savings over current fees are estimated at $24,000 for 2016, dropping to under $4,000 in 2019, and could reach $52,000 over five years.

“However, if revenues exceed projections, the fees to KemperSports could be higher. Conversely, if revenues do not meet expectations, the fees would be reduced accordingly,” the city's parks and recreation superintendent, Mike Kudron, reported to council members.

The fee for handling Community Center catering remains at 4 percent of revenue (no fixed fee), which is not added to the income thresholds that mandate increased golf course fees.

The Yorba Linda library's noteworthy report to the California State Library, part of a national collection of data coordinated by the Institute for Museum and Library Science, was presented to the council recently by Library Director Carrie Lixey.

“Not surprisingly, the rise in our digital culture has created a paradigm shift in how the comm-unity uses the library. Despite the decrease in the circulation of print materials . . . circulation continues to increase because e-book and digital check-outs continue to grow,” Lixey noted.

Circulation declines include 0.5 percent in children's materials, 2.7 percent in adult materials, 7.1 percent in young adult materials and 8 percent for magazines in the most recently completed fiscal year over the prior year.

But a 54 percent increase in the circulation of electronic materials kept total circulation in the plus column, up 2.9 percent, or 917,134 items for 2013-14 over 891,041 for 2012-13.

Similarly, the library's print book collection dropped 5.5 percent, from 135,576 to 128,133, while the number of electronic books jumped close to 162 percent, from 20,181 to 52,854.

Patrons with library cards increased nearly 30 percent to 6,858, but library visits declined 1 percent to 334,942, an average of about 1,100 per day. Web site visits increased 11.4 per-cent to 213,565.

An updated General Plan and a revamp of city commissions await action by the City Council

Key decisions regarding Yorba Linda's updated General Plan and completing a controversial overhaul of the city's commissions and advisory committees await action by the City Council.

The city's revision of the state-required General Plan – often called a constitution for land-use decisions at the local level – is close to completion, with a citizens advisory committee scheduled to finish work next month.

The committee, with two members from each of the city's four commissions and five at-large members plus alternates, has met since June 2012. The plan was first adopted in 1971 and updated in 1993.

A plan must include seven elements: land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space, noise and safety. Optional are urban design, economic and fiscal development, capital improvements, public facilities, air quality, energy, flood management, geothermal resources and water

The process, guided by city-hired consultants, allows cities to create a plan reflecting a city's unique needs. The Planning Commission will review the document before making a recommendation to the council.

Also proceeding is council's 4-1 decision to align appointments to commissions and committees with council elections cycles and hold interviews to fill 29 positions, including some that had terms scheduled to run through 2017.

First appointments, for the Planning Commission, came Jan. 17 and included replacing two members. Karalee Watson, a six-year resident who has served three years, received unanimous council support to continue.

Also reappointed, with four votes each, were 29-year resident and seven-year member Robert Lyons and 35-year resident and one-year member Robert Pease. Dropped were 31-year resident and four-year member Jim Nebel and 21-year resident and seven-year member James Wohlt.

New appointees are 37-year resident J. Minton Brown, with four votes, and 33-year resident Dan Mole, with three votes. Nebel received two votes and Wohlt one vote.

Brown ran in the October recall election as a replacement for Craig Young, although Brown opposed the recall. Young kept his seat, but Brown beat Nancy Rikel, who fought for Young's recall, by 97 votes. Mole chairs the Yorba Linda Water District's citizens advisory committee.

One interesting aspect of the vote, especially for residents who follow the permutations of local politics, was Councilman Mark Schwing's vote for Jan Horton, one of 18 applicants for the posi-tions (two withdrew before interviews) and a council member 2006-2010.

Schwing opposed Horton's re-election bid in 2010, which she lost. Horton opposed Schwing in his 2008 and 2012 wins, and she's been a strong critic of Schwing and former council members Rikel and John Anderson.

Interviews for 15 Parks and Recreation, Traffic and Library commissions seats and nine land-scape committee slots are upcoming. General Plan committee members will continue until their final report in March.