CCMIN052306 - Laserfiche WebLink

Ms. McGovern's final question was regarding Policy 18.5 and periodic revenue audits. She asked if there were periodic expenditure audits to make certain they were within budgets? Ms. Rossi said everything is audited. Weekly expenditures are reviewed by several people with regard to conformance to budget or a more efficient way of doing things. There are also monthly and quarterly reports comparing expense to budget and reports are presented to Council. There is also a mid-year and mid-term report. Ms. McGovern thought only certain departments were audited every year. Mr. Fialho replied that every department is audited every year. The auditors validate the Finance Department's year-end reports to the Council. The outside auditors determine if there were any discrepancies. Jerry Thorne said over the years, people tend to pick up on certain words or terms they want to apply to everything. A few years ago, it seemed people used paradigm for everything. He felt the current popular word was "sustainability." That has a specific definition, but it has been applied in the General Plan to sustainable solutions, sustainable cities, sustainable finances, etc. He wanted to be careful about using that word because over time it could loose its emphasis. On page 16, Strategies, he wanted to include elected officials in the outreach process to bring businesses to the city. He felt there should be a statement somewhere in the Policies that supported BART to Livermore. Mr. Fialho believed Mr. Thorne was referring to the Strategic Plan, which was included as background material for the Fiscal Element. He explained that there is another opportunity to discuss it at a future session. Mr. Thorne referred to page XI-9 and indicated he was glad to see a link between labor costs and revenues. On Page XI-14, he wanted to see a program to benchmark the city's fee structure and have some kind of matrix showing a comparison of Pleasanton to surrounding cities to make certain the city is competitive. Mr. Fialho clarified the request as an opportunity to benchmark existing fees so they do not create a disadvantage for businesses while maintaining the city's revenue stream. Staff will incorporate that somehow. Mr. Thorne felt staff was doing a good job with financial controls. Most cities are dealing with deficits and Pleasanton actually has surpluses. In order to stay that way, staff must look forward and continue to improve its current processes. He had various questions on how and when staff reviews expenses. He suggested various matrixes to reflect fiscal situations. For example, there is a matrix on occupancy (number of square feet per occupant of a building). There could be comparisons of that and benchmarking to make sure the buildings are occupied effectively and efficiently. There could also be benchmarks for utility costs, labor costs vs. percent of revenue. The city could track revenue per employee. Even though the city doesn't make products or make a profit, he would like to see a matrix that tells how effective the headcount is. He reiterated the staff was doing a great job, but he felt he would get more information from these kinds of matrixes than from detailed budgets and expense reports. He wanted the matrixes to include triggers for action points. For instance, if the budget was out of line for two months or quarters, then some kind of defined review would occur to see if a new direction needed to be taken. He felt that too often once a budget is approved, there is not General Plan Workshop City Council 4 OS/23/06