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17 <br /> <br />25. Police and Fire - Reduce or eliminate Alternative Response Unit - $800,000 <br />The Alternative Response Unit (ARU) is an award-winning service that provides <br />emergency support for critically in-need members of the community, often by <br />diverting calls that would otherwise be directed to police patrol staff. This program <br />has also been well used by PUSD. Eliminating these services would result in other <br />patrol staff needing to respond to calls for service that would otherwise be redirected <br />and could increase overall response times. In addition, this program reduction is <br />strongly opposed by both the community and the BAC. <br /> <br />26. Community Support and Human Services - Reduce Firehouse Arts Center hours - <br />$250,000 <br />This reduction would yield approximately $250,000 in net savings after reducing <br />temporary staff and eliminating 3.0 FTE non-vacant personnel positions that support <br />both the Firehouse Arts Center (FAC) and the Senior Center (this item is tied to the <br />staffing in item F. below). Community impacts would include loss of City-run <br />programs, including Presenting Series performances, specialty theater programs, <br />and youth classes. To achieve these savings, the staff reduction at the Senior <br />Center (discussed below) would have to occur simultaneously. This item is not <br />recommended at this time due to the impact on non-vacant staff positions, as well as <br />the value of these services to vulnerable populations, including youth and seniors. <br /> <br />27. Community Support and Human Services - Reduce Senior Center hours - $250,000 <br />As stated above, this reduction would yield approximately $250,000 in net savings <br />after reducing temporary staff and eliminating 3.0 FTE non-vacant personnel <br />positions that support both the Firehouse Arts Center (FAC) and the Senior Center <br />(this item is tied to the staffing in item E. above). Community impacts would include <br />reduced center operations from five to three days per week, impacting seniors rely <br />on those programs and senior services. To achieve these savings, the staff <br />reduction at the Senior Center (discussed above) would have to occur <br />simultaneously with the reduction at the FAC. This item is not recommended at this <br />time due to the impact on non-vacant staff positions, as well as the value of these <br />services to vulnerable populations, including youth and seniors. <br /> <br />28. Parks, Streets, and Facilities - Update City sidewalk maintenance obligations - <br />$100,000 <br />This reduction would shift responsibility for sidewalk maintenance to property <br />owners, where feasible, consistent with other surrounding jurisdictions. While this <br />reduction could save costs, it could also potentially increase risk and liability, as <br />some property owners may face challenges in maintaining sidewalks adequately. <br />Finally, this is something that the City should consider in the future, but it will take <br />more time and simply doesn’t yield significant savings at this time. For these <br />reasons, as well as strong opposition in community engagement about budget <br />reductions, this item is not recommended at this time but could be studied further <br />and brought back for consideration at a future date. <br /> <br />Page 19 of 40