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Watch the Dec 2 Council
Meeting |
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City BUDGET REALITIES
The
City of Monterey is preparing for leaner times ahead because the
national recession is reducing City revenues. Hotel and
sales tax revenues are lower than projected for the first quarter of the
fiscal year (July-Oct), with little indication of improvement on the horizon.
The City now faces a $1.6 million deficit in the current fiscal
year (through June 2009), and projects a $2.9 million gap in the next
fiscal year (July 2009 - June 2010). Those numbers are subject to
change, depending on what happens with the economy.
"What keeps me up at night is what I don't know," said City Manager
Fred Meurer. "Even the country's economists can't see a clear road
ahead. But I would rather err on the side of caution than be unprepared."
Faced with economic uncertainty, the City is taking a very conservative
approach to its finances. To stay in the black this fiscal year and
prepare to close a projected gap next year, the City plans to leave job vacancies
unfilled unless absolutely necessary, examine existing
construction and maintenance projects and classify them
as either "essential" or "non-essential" for potential freezes later,
and cut expenditures. "A dollar spent today on a non-essential
expense is a dollar we can't spend tomorrow or next year to maintain an
essential service," said Meurer in a message to City staff.
Budgeting for next year will include several scenarios for possible
service level reductions, to give the City flexibility in responding to
changing economic conditions. City Executives already have agreed to
postpone a 3% cost-of-living increase scheduled for July 2009. Employee
labor organizations will be asked to consider strategies to meet the
economic challenges. The City's goal is to avoid layoffs but if that is
not possible, to minimize potential layoffs. And new revenue sources
from win-win service partnership opportunities, such as the Monterey-Pacific Grove Fire
service contract, are being explored.
The City Council approved the steps outlined above at its Dec. 2nd
meeting. The Council endorsed the recommendations proposed by City Manager Meurer, and
followed a 1st Quarter Financial Review by Finance Director Don Rhoads.
To
keep the community informed about the budget realities facing the City,
the City Manager and Finance Director will be meeting with Boards and
Commissions, Neighborhood Associations, Business Associations and the
community. The latest information about the City's financial health is
available on the City's Web site at
monterey.org/budget/budgetnews.html and on The Monterey Channel on cable
TV25.
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1st Quarter
Financial Review Staff Report
City Manager's Budget
Memo to Executive Management
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Monterey - Pacific Grove
Fire
Service Integration |
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Integration
of the Pacific Grove Fire Department into the City of
Monterey Fire Department will provide a new revenue stream
for the City in the years ahead. Under a contract for
services, approved by the Monterey
and Pacific Grove City Councils, PG will pay
Monterey to provide fire and emergency services for Pacific
Grove.
The integration
will enable both cities to deliver fire and related
emergency services more effectively and economically into
the future as a single organization rather than two separate
departments.
The contract
maintains existing services in Pacific Grove, and adds
enhanced operational flexibility, depth of resources, and
administrative support for both cities.
The combined department will staff five (5) apparatus daily at four (4)
stations, including the existing Pacific Grove station, and will also
offer specialized services such as marine fire and rescue, urban search
and rescue, and hazardous material response. Pacific
Grove firefighters will become Monterey employees as of Dec.
16 when the integration of services officially takes effect. PG Fire Chief Andrew
Miller will be Assistant Chief in Monterey. A total of 67 employees
will operate under a single unified command and administrative
organizational structure based in Monterey. Video:
On the Road with Monterey Fire Department
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Your
Police Dept. - Ready to Respond to Any Challenge
By Chief of Police Tim Shelby
 Fortunately, we live and work in a very safe
community where violent crimes are quite uncommon.
Unfortunately, no city is completely immune to the impacts
of violent crime in our society.
In September of this year, our Department's capacity and expertise
were put to the test when we responded to a reported
robbery/kidnapping on North Fremont. Within a few hours of
the reported crime, our investigations team determined that
it did not occur as reported and had actually been staged to
cover up a homicide, and that the alleged “victim” was
actually responsible for murdering his girlfriend in Marina
and disposing of her body in our City.
Though the murder was determined to have occurred in Marina's
jurisdiction, due to the circumstances of the case, our
Department continued to act as the lead agency on the
investigation. Through excellent teamwork and collaborative
investigative efforts we were able to identify, locate and
arrest an accomplice in the case. Continuous, almost around
the clock efforts ultimately led to the development of a
strong case against the primary suspect, who is now on the
run from police. This case was very complex, with a number
of twists and turns, which challenged but did not deter our
team.
Throughout the investigation, our detectives and support staff
performed in exemplary fashion. I want to thank and commend
all of our personnel that were involved in this
investigation. Their performance makes it clear that they
are true professionals in every sense of the word and that
we continue to perform as one of the premier police agencies
in Monterey County.
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Graffiti Program
Nabs Suspects
By Sergeant Frank Russo
T he Monterey Police
Department has closed
a number of graffiti cases and prosecuted several individuals. Based
on information provided by alert City staff who reported
graffiti, School Resource Officer Paul Oelfke
identified several suspects responsible for “tags”
throughout the City.
As a result, "taggers” such as SX/SIXTO, KEEP, STUCK, PHANK, OATH,
SECO, FAH, WANTED, REC, SMASH, and DUZE, are being held
responsible for their actions. The
Police Department identified
suspects, linked previous cases and made arrests.
The Police Department
thanks everyone
in the City for caring enough
to make the extra effort to report incidents. As a reminder, please report graffiti as soon as
possible, but do it safely; don’t approach suspects on your
own. If the vandalism is “in progress,” call 9-1-1.
If no
suspect is present, call 646-3921(Plans &
Public Works
Admin.), or
complete an online service request. Working together we can ensure Monterey remains
safe, beautiful and blight-free.
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Park
Your Car and Charge it Too
By Associate Planner Megan Tolbert
The
City recently installed electric vehicle charging stations
at the West Custom House Parking Garage in downtown Old
Monterey, and behind City Hall on Pacific Street. The
parking spaces are marked Electric Vehicles Only, allow four
hour parking, and a free electric vehicle charge.
Electric vehicles use less fluids. Therefore, less
maintenance and less leakage onto City streets that may
otherwise result in storm water runoff of toxins. They also
use less energy for travel, and may be “fueled” with locally
produced electricity as opposed to foreign oil. Electric
vehicles referred to as Zero Emissions Vehicles, are
effective in the fight against climate change due to global
warming.
The state rebates certain electric vehicles, and continues to
review additional models to add to the list of rebated
alternative fuel vehicles (AFV’s). Are you in the market
for an electric vehicle? For a list of AFV’s that qualify
for rebates from the State of California, please go to:
www.energycenter.org/
For information on the electric vehicle chargers at West Custom House
Garage, please visit
www.evchargernews.com/
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Storm Water Protections
Through Fuel Program
by Associate Planner Megan Tolbert
 In
the spirit of Monterey’s efforts to be a model city for
sustainability, waste reduction staff recently launched the
Fryer to Fuel program. Involving a combination of
education, good business practices and appropriate
containment, this program supports effective waste vegetable
oil collection from local restaurants. The Fryer to Fuel
program not only reduces unintended oil spillage, the
efforts result in increased waste oil processed into biofuel
and used in City vehicles. Restaurants are mandated to
legally dispose of waste oil, but unintended spillage is
simply an occupational hazard. When 200 degree oil is
carried from kitchen to an outdoor container in an open
bucket, then poured into another container, there are
several opportunities for spillage to occur, and several
opportunities for contributing to storm water
pollution. Through the Fryer to Fuel program,
restaurant staff receive training, education materials and
special signage, and new large red metal bins with lockable
particle screens, which are easier to pour hot oil into than
previous bins. Improving restaurant staff education and
waste oil containment reduces the accidental spillage that
ends up in our storm drains, ocean waters, and urban
streams. The Monterey Fryer to Fuel program is
directly modeled after the Santa Cruz Fryer to Fuel program.
For more information contact Megan Tolbert at
646-8744.
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RECREATION GUIDE
AVAILABLE
By Recreation Supervisor Shannon Beltran
The
Recreation & Community Services Department Winter
2008/Spring 2009 Activities Guide lists
all of the programs and activities available from Dec. through May.
Several new programs will be
offered including Cupcake Masters, Kids Kitchen Caper,
Dinner With My Valentine, Animation for Teens, Stress
Reduction, Boogie With Your Baby, and many more classes for
the entire family.
You can pick up a copy of the Activities Guide
at the Recreation & Community Services Main Office, the
Monterey Sports Center, the Monterey Library and all four
community centers, or view it online at
monterey.org/rec/guide.html
Registration for classes and programs
can be done in-person, by mail, fax
or online. In order to register online, you must complete
the online account application form prior to the date you
intend to register.
For more information, call x3866 or visit
www.monterey.org/rec
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Welcome Aboard Monterey's New Bookmobile!
By Library
Special Services Jeanne McCoombs
The Monterey Public Library invites everyone to
join us on Saturday, December 6, from 2 - 4 p.m. to celebrate
the arrival of the new Bookmobile! The event will include tours,
food, fun and prizes. The celebration will take place in the parking
lot behind the Library at 625 Pacific Street, which will be closed
to automobiles. Parking will be available in the Cypress lot on
Pacific Street, just south of the Library, and in the Civic Center
lot behind the Police and Fire stations.
This is Monterey's third generation Bookmobile,
the first introduced in 1956, and the second in 1984. The vehicle
makes
regular stops in outlying neighborhoods throughout Monterey.
Some of the features of the new Bookmobile include a solar-powered
generator for lighting and electricity and the capability to run on
bio-diesel fuel. Other improvements include an extra low floor,
which means no stairs to climb, and public access to the Internet.
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Library e-Newsletter
The
Monterey Public Library has started an online newsletter
that you can subscribe to as easily as you subscribe to City
Focus online. To view the Library's IDEA newsletter,
click
here.
Library Resource
Surviving Difficult Times
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What a Wonderful Resource!
by Monterey Sports Center Fitness Manager William F. Rothschild
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Our licensed Physical Therapists can assist you with aquatic or land
exercise programs. Whether you are recovering from a back injury, joint
injury or other physical condition, our expert Physical Therapists are
well qualified to provide the right program for you. We accept most
forms of insurance. |
Thirty-four percent of all adults aged 20 and over are now
considered obese based on the most recent statistics from
the Centers for Disease Control. This is up from 15% in
1980.
This has led to an explosion in the number of individuals diagnosed
with hypertension, osteoarthritis, dyslipidemia, type 2
diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder
disease, sleep apnea and respiratory problems and some
cancers. The estimated costs attributed to obesity have also
skyrocketed, accounting for nearly 10% of total U.S. medical
expenditures.
The Surgeon General has called on all communities to find solutions
to the problem.
The City of Monterey’s Monterey Sports Center is uniquely qualified
to assist the employees and residents of the Monterey
peninsula. The Monterey Sports Center has the resources and
staff to help individuals establish a fit lifestyle. We
offer fitness evaluations, nutritional education, exercise
prescriptions, supervised training and ongoing support. Our
staff includes licensed Physical Therapists, Exercise
Physiologists and fitness instructors certified as Medical
Exercise Specialists.
Did you know that we are preferred providers for Medicare, Tricare,
Blue Shield, Community Health Plan and many other insurance
carriers?
Our programs include 1-on-1 and group training in aquatic exercise,
functional strength, aerobics, pilates, yoga, pre- and
post-natal, swimming, recreational sports including
basketball, volleyball, ping pong, and badminton, martial
arts and supervised Physical Therapy programs including
aquatic, spinal and joint stabilization, postural and
ergonomic training, therapeutic exercise, balance training
and fall prevention training.
What a wonderful resource the Monterey Sports Center is to the
community.
Feel free to give me a call at 831-646-3492, email me at
Rothschi@ci.monterey.ca.us or drop by the Monterey
Sports Center at 301 East Franklin Street. I’d be happy to
give you a tour and show you what makes the Monterey Sports
Center such an outstanding facility.
Take
a video tour of the Sports Center.
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Events
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view all holiday events |
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Dec. 5 |
Christmas Tree Lighting
at 6:15 in front of Colton Hall. Watch last year's event |
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Dec. 11&13 |
Christmas in the Adobes from
5 - 9 p.m. Twenty adobes, clustered in a five-block area, are open to
visitors. This self-guided tour of Monterey's past features hosts and
hostesses in period costumes, musical entertainment and refreshments. |
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Dec. 14 |
Brighten the Harbor - Monterey Yacht Club's lighted holiday boat
parade
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Dec. 20 |
Santa Arrives in Monterey with free wagon rides for the public
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thru Jan 4 |
Monterey on Ice - ice skating rink at Custom House Plaza |
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City Focus online is
published twice a year in July and December. It augments the City's
printed newsletter, City Focus, which comes out in September and April.
City Focus online saves paper and printing costs. We would like to know
what you think about City Focus online. Send your comments,
suggestions and story ideas to us at the link below. |
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