School district budget forecasts black ink next year; long ago library story sees 'flaming youth'

Two diverse topics this week: Welcome news regarding finances in the 34-campus Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District and an interesting vignette from a long ago edition of the Yorba Linda Star.

First is anticipation of solid black ink in the school district budget, after several years of expenses outpacing an income stream that's been supplemented by reserves built up during better economic times, as noted in a report filed with the county schools superintendent by a March 15 deadline.

This year, officials are expecting expenditures to exceed revenues by $4.2 million, lowering overall reserves to $12.1 million. But by the end of the 2015-16 fiscal year, income is predicted to exceed expenses by $1.3 million, with $13.9 million in reserves.

And, to a lesser extent, the trend is expected to continue into 2016-17, with $17,054 more income than outgo, based on revenues and expenditures approaching $231 million each.

The better picture even includes increased pension costs, rising from the current 8.88 percent to 12.58 percent of certificated salaries and from 11.77 percent to 15 percent of classified pay by 2016-17. Salaries are close to 64 percent of this year's nearly $223 million expenditures.

Enrollment is expected to remain steady during the next two years. This year's 25,608 is predicted to dip to 25,467 next year and 25,327 the year after. Average daily attendance, upon which most funding is based, is very close to 97 percent of enrollment.

Second is a front page story in the Yorba Linda Star on Feb. 22, 1929, when the community population was less than 500, as accessed from the history area of the city library's website.

Headlined “Group Formed to Curb Flaming Youth,” the story begins, “A group of citizens has decided it is time to try something besides gentle words as a means of ending frequent disturbances in front of the public library,” then located in a 1916 Olinda Street building.

“Members of the group have begun taking the names of boys who spit tobacco juice on the library windows, who stop their flivvers before the front door and treat the studious people inside to a serenade of automobile horn and exhaust music, who scuffle in the entrance, whistle and yell at persons passing in and out and otherwise make an evening visit to the library an unpleasant experience,” the story continues.

“'Nothing may happen immediately,' said a member of this group, 'but that will not mean we are asleep. It is up to the boys whether we have to act or not. We have laughed off a lot already. If the disturbances near the library continues, a number of flaming youths will have a painful session with the juvenile court soon,'” the story ends.

Sadly, I failed to find a follow-up article, but I enjoyed the reporter's use of “flivver,” a word I first encountered in the original Hardy boys-Nancy Drew books, and later in histories of the 1920s and Harper Lee's “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

City's audit report reveals interesting numbers

Audit reports are dry documents, packed with numbers and written in a legalese certified public accountants learn in graduate school, so a look at Yorba Linda's latest finance statements can be a mind-numbing experience for a layman.

But within the 80-plus pages of the annual audit of the city's financial reports for the most recently completed fiscal year are nuggets of information that many who've paid the taxes and fees that have kept this city humming for 47 years might find interesting.

The current audit, conducted by Moss, Levy and Hartzheim, was viewed by the City Council at a March 3 meeting. The firm found this city's statements “fairly presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles,” noted city Finance Director Dave Christian.

Here are some highlights from the audit for the fiscal year ending last June 30:

--Add up cash, investments, receivables and capital assets and the city has more than half a billion dollars worth, $503,897,141 to be exact. But subtracting liabilities that total $13.9 mill-ion leaves the city with a total net position less than the half-billion, $489,980,468 to be exact.

The largest component of this city's monetary worth is capital assets – property, plants, equipment and infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, sidewalks and similar items – valued at more than one-third of a billion dollars ($376,278,483).

--A biennial physical condition assessment of one key capital asset – paved streets – is required by the county Transportation Authority and was most recently completed June 2014.

“Using a scale of 0 to 100 with 0 being a badly deteriorated street with virtually no remaining life, and 100 being a brand new street, it has been determined that the expenditure required to maintain the overall condition of the city's streets in 'very good' condition is approximately $6.6 million per year,” the audit stated.

The city spent $4.5 million on streets in 2013-14 and earned an evaluation in the “good” range, which set the current average pavement condition at 76 out of the 100 maximum.

--The city has three funds for business-type activities: Black Gold Golf Club ($5.8 million revenues, $6.1 million expenses); waste disposal ($5.3 million revenues, $5.2 million expenses); and Black Gold-Community Center catering ($102,000 revenues, $157,000 expenses).

Payoff of Black Gold construction bonds to save future interest payments cost the city $14.1 million, with the audit noting the Club “will eventually pay back the advance… (but) currently, there is no repayment schedule in place.”

--As a former independent special district, the library collects separate property taxes, more than $4.6 million last fiscal year. Add other income, including rents, fines and contributions, and revenue approached $5 million. Expenses totaled $3.7 million, and reserves now stand at $15.1 million to help pay for a new facility.

Potential transparency ordinance, advisory panel appointments take hours of City Council's time

Lately, a significant number of City Council meeting hours have involved two matters: discussion of an ordinance to provide more transparency in labor negotiations and an overhaul of five city advisory panels with appointments that disappointed some critics.

A Civic Openness in Negotiations ordinance has been on council agendas since proposed by Craig Young in December.

As adopted by the county and other cities, the ordinances “are intended to increase government transparency by requiring public disclosure of certain aspects of labor negotiations with public employee unions,” according to City Attorney Todd Litfin.

Such ordinances require the public release of offers and counteroffers from closed-door negotiations and using outside negotiators instead of top-level staff to represent the city.

Outside negotiators avoid perceived conflicts of interest, since city management usually receive the same salary and benefit increases that are negotiated for employees.

An obstacle to possible adoption of a similar ordinance is an “unfair labor practices” complaint against the county by the Orange County Employees Association, which also represents 69 of 96 Yorba Linda employees.

Changes to the collective bargaining process, Litfin noted, “could trigger a legal challenge from the city's employee unions,” so he suggested awaiting the outcome of the complaint, which could take six to 12 months, “potentially longer if appealed.”

Council also spent nearly 15 hours in five special meetings interviewing 55 applicants for 20 commission and up to nine landscape committee slots.

Thirteen individuals were reappointed, three didn't seek retention, six were dropped and eight new members were added. Selected library commissioners weren't formally appointed, since council might expand the panel to seven members.

The new planning commission lineup: reappointed Bob Lyons, Bob Pease, Karalee Watson; dropped Jim Nebel, Jim Wohlt; added J. Minton Brown, Dan Mole.

New parks and recreation lineup: reappointed Doug Dickerson, Stewart Rixson, Tom Watts; dropped Doug Knarr; added Tara Campbell, Sandy McKinney. Terri Memole didn't reapply.

New traffic lineup: reappointed Nathaniel Behura, Jerry Brakebill; dropped Mary Carbone; added Ed Camarena, Clint Kirkwood, Lynn Melton. Mark Long and Al Yalda didn't reapply.

New library lineup will be reappointed Carin Benner, Cheri Hansen and Natalie Odebunmi, joined by reappointments Marilyn Adams and Randi Noell and new appointees Ryan Bent and Debbie Burks, if the body expands. If not, two will be chosen from the latter four.

New landscape lineup: reappointed Eileen Barme, Bobbi Cooper, Greg Gianelli, Bill Schuler. Dan Hildebrandt also was reappointed but resigned soon after, blasting council's decision to drop Judy Murray and Ken Peterson, past council candidates who opposed current council members, among other objections. Newly named was Randy Kuroda.

City employees to pay more into pension fund; record set for council election race spending

Two topics merit ink this week: a new two-year agreement with nearly 100 city workers continues to increase the dollars employees contribute to their pension plans, and a record has been set for spending by political action committees in City Council elections.

For several years – through June 2013 – both the employer and employee portions of pay-ments to the state Public Employees Retirement System for full-time, permanent city employees were paid by the city as part of negotiated compensation.

But beginning July 2013, employees started contributing 2.5 percent of salary for pensions, a figure that jumped another 2.5 percent to 5 percent beginning July 2014. Payments will increase another 1 percent this July and 1 percent again July 2016, for a 7 percent total.

The city will continue picking up the remainder of the required contributions, which can vary yearly, based on investment return, actuarial assumptions and other factors, currently about 20 percent of salaries.

Most employees are labeled “classic members,” since they were hired before Jan. 1, 2013. Workers hired after that date who are not already plan members fall under the Pension Reform Act of 2013, which sets specific contribution levels for public employees.

However, Yorba Linda workers won't be taking home less money due to the increased contributions, since they're getting a 3 percent pay boost retroactive to Oct. 1, 2014, and another 1.5 percent hike this Oct. 1, under agreements recently approved by the council.

Most employees also are receiving an increase to $1,130 monthly, retroactive to Jan. 1, in a “cafeteria plan” benefit for health insurance premiums, with any residual amount received as cash or deferred compensation, a figure that jumps to $1,165 monthly next Jan. 1.

The agreements apply to 69 miscellaneous employees, 21 mid-management workers and six managers and include dental, vision and life insurance, vacation buybacks, bilingual pay, sick leave and 12 annual holidays, among other benefits.

Last year's busy election season, with recall and regular council elections a month apart, drew a record number of dollars spent for candidates and causes by two dueling political action committees, based on state-required reports filed by a Jan. 31 deadline.

Biggest spender was the relatively new Residents for a Better Yorba Linda, with $73,569 to oppose the recall of Tom Lindsey and Craig Young in October and support winners Lindsey and Peggy Huang in November. The group raised $58,137 in cash, including developer do-nations, and noted $15,726 in “unpaid bills.”

The 10-year-old Yorba Linda Residents for Responsible Representation initiated the recall drive and supported runners-up Jeff Decker and Judy Murray on the November ballot with $49,794, raised from cash contributions, loans and donated goods.

Add the dollars raised by candidates and the total spent in 2014 was more than $230,000.