Measure K (also known as the Sales Tax Measure)

City staff provided several public presentations at various locations prior to the election.  

The presentations covered:

• Understanding the City’s Budget Deficit
• Why a Sales Tax Measure?
• How Could Measure K Funds Be Used if Passed? 
• What if Measure K Doesn’t Pass?

Followed by an opportunity for questions & answers.

Watch the recording of the last public presentation (October 8) by clicking on this YouTube link.

Thank you to all the residents that took the time to attend a presentation, ask questions, and engage staff in helpful, informative dialogue.

Presentations were held:  

• July 19 - presentation to Rotary Club
• Aug. 22 - public presentation at Municipal Rates and Utilities Committee meeting
• Aug. 28 - presentation to Hot Shots 
• Aug. 29 - public presentation at 2x2 (City/RDUSD) meeting
• Sept. 3 - presentation to Lions Club
• Sept. 3 -  public presentation at City Hall - click here for the recording on YouTube
• Sept. 5 - presentation to Trilogy residents
• Sept. 9 - public presentation at RioVision Community Forum - click here for the recording on YouTube.  
• Sept. 13 - presentation to Trilogy residents
• Sept. 14 - public information booth at Airport Days
• Sept. 19 - presentation to Summit/Liberty
• Sept. 24 - public presentation at Veterans' Memorial Hall
• Oct. 8 - public presentation at City Hall - click here for the recording on YouTube.

Here are the questions you asked about Measure K...

You asked: If Fire is reduced to one engine and that engine is responding to an incident in the Delta District, would Rio Vista be without fire service if for example the bridge is up?

The answer: Potentially, yes. This example could occur anytime we crossed the bridge to provide mutual aid to other agencies in Sacramento County. That is not to say that one of our neighboring agencies could not respond to a mutual aid call, but there are many hypotheticals and factors to consider – those agencies could also be on other calls, what their response time would be, what their level of service would be, etc.

You asked: Would the Fire Dept. need more personnel to run a second station?

The answer: If the daily staffing consists of four personnel, we could staff a second station. We would have 1 engine with 2 people downtown and 1 engine with 2 people at the second station. This is not optimal but could work. However, on days when we are down staffed to only 3 people on duty. One station would be browned out for the shift and all three personnel would respond from one station.

You asked: What is the "Montezuma Fire Station"?   Are they paramedics?  Do they help Rio Vista?  Why don't you just combine the two?

The answer: Montezuma Fire Station 51 is one of two stations operated by the Montezuma Fire Protection District. Their jurisdiction is the unincorporated land around the City of Rio Vista, including Birds Landing and Collinsville. No, they are not an Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedic provider. Montezuma Fire Protection District and Rio Vista Fire Department provide mutual aid to each other.

You asked: The Citizen Oversight Committee - will they be paid consultants?

The answer:  No, this would defeat the purpose of the Committee. 

If Measure K passes, a Citizens Oversight Committee will be formed to hear the community's input and then advise City Council how to prioritize the expenditure of Measure K funds.  It is reasonable to expect the appointment process would be similar to that of other City Committees - that is, Rio Vista residents that are interested in serving the community in this capacity will submit an application and the City Council will select Committee Members in a public meeting. Commission/Committee Members are not paid.   

With the election in November and the effective date of the Measure (should it pass) in April of 2025, there would be approximately four months to allow for the formation of the Committee and for the Committee to begin holding public meetings to gather public input.

Notably, this Committee was written into Measure K per City Council's direction because if the measure passes, City Council wants the residents of Rio Vista to have a say in how the funds will be spent.

If Measure K passes and voters decide they disagree with how the funds are being spent, they can initiate a measure to repeal Measure K.  Also, if Measure K passes and is not ever repealed, it will expire in 5 years (this is legally mandated) - if at that point the City wanted to renew the 1% sales tax, it would again be up to the voters once again.

You asked:  How many employees are in the Public Works Department?  Can the City eliminate positions in this department to help balance the budget?

The answer: There’s a total of 16 funded full-time positions in the Public Works Department. 

Public Works oversees all aspects of the City's infrastructure and facilities including contracted services. Public Works is divided into Engineering, Operations and Maintenance, and Administration and Funding. 

• Maintenance and Operations is responsible for City facilities and oversight of the associated programs. City facilities include the Airport, Boat Dock and Boat Launch Area, Domestic Water System, Equipment and Fleet Vehicles, City Buildings, Landscaping, Parks, Streets and Sidewalks, Storm Drains, City Pool, and more.
• Administration and Funding is responsible for overall department operations, strategic priorities, alternative funding programs, grants, Airport management, special events, contract management, transit program, and much more.

Public Works does not impact the General Fund to a significant degree, and therefore there is not a huge opportunity for General Fund savings from this Department.  The salaries and benefits of the Public Works Department employees are paid out of various funds: 9% is paid from the General Fund and 91% is paid from other funds (such as Airport, Gas Tax, Water and Sewer Enterprises).

You asked:  Has the city considered selling any of the buildings or property it owns to cover this rather than adding to an already burdened society?

The answer: Yes, the City is selling vacant properties it owns. Property sales are one-time revenues to the City that do not resolve its structural deficit.

You asked:  We heard earlier that the City is owed $24 million - can you tell us where that money is?

The answer: The City is not owed $24 million.  An explanation can be found at: https://cityofriovistaca.nextrequest.com/documents/36807402 

You asked: Do the staffing provisions of the Sheriff's Contract affect the City's budget?

The answer:  Yes, the contract’s single-largest line item is listed as “Salary and Benefits,” which includes the overall cost to the Sheriff’s Office of maintaining the employees assigned to the contract, including salary and benefit increases during the term of the agreement. Other line items, the costs of which are affected by the quantity and rank held by the employees assigned to the contract, are also included. 

Should the City request more or fewer officers, a contract amendment can be negotiated.

You asked: Why did the city waste money on the rebranding consultant; even after the majority of residents were against it? Isn't the contract over 10% of the budget deficit?

The answer: Rio Vista needs economic development. In 2014, the R/UDAT report identified branding as one of the first things needed to attract prospective investors in Rio Vista. In 2023, the City’s Economic Development Strategy Plan was completed by an expert consultant and once again branding was identified as the very first goal of many to begin strategic economic development. 

We know it may be difficult to support the idea of spending money (while in a deficit) on branding, but economic development is needed and if we don’t spend money on branding first, we simply cannot get there.  Therefore, earlier this year, City Council approved a contract in the amount of $72,500 for Branding, Marketing, and Placemaking. This project is funded in part ($30,000) by federal American Rescue Plan Act funds identified for economic development. The rest ($42,500) from the Business Park Fund (designated by City Council to further the health, welfare, and economic vitality of the City). This does not impact the General Fund at all.  A brand is not just a logo – it’s a focused identity to build on, to attract businesses, to attract visitors to patronize Rio Vista businesses, to focus economic development efforts and incentives, and to generate the sustainable revenue we need to maintain infrastructure and public services.

You asked: Based on the city managers poor budgeting skills are they over paid? Or, how did they not see this coming?
Regarding the salary Rio Vista pays our City Manager: the comparison with nearby cities indicate Rio Vista pays an extremely high salary to the manager given the small city that we are. Why is that? 

The answer: The more information we provide, the more questions we get asked – and that is a good thing!  Unfortunately, we cannot prevent information from being misconstrued or taken out of context.  Sadly, we are hearing some rumors based on misinformation.

One of the rumors swirling in the community is that the City has mismanaged funds. We want to address that because the City’s Finance team deserves recognition for the great work they’ve done. 

•             The City’s General Fund has been managed at a surplus for the last seven years (from Fiscal Year 16/17 to Fiscal Year 22/23) and accumulated a healthy fund balance at 97% of General Fund expenditures in the Budget of FY24/25. The proposal of a sales tax increase is proactive in addressing our upcoming fiscal cliff. We don’t want to wait until the City is at the point of facing bankruptcy.

•             Healthy General Fund reserves are necessary to appropriately respond in the event of a natural disaster or other type of emergency, fund equipment replacement, and City building replacement. Should the City drain its General Fund reserves it would not have a funding pot available for these purposes, placing the City at risk. 

•             The City is supporting local businesses. The City negotiated with the Local Bank, F&M Bank, to match the Interest Rate with the current Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF) interest rate to benefit the local business while receiving a rate of return consistent with LAIF.

•             City Council approved and opened a Section 115 Trust to set up a restricted fund for future payment of Pension Unfunded Liability and Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB). This account is earning an average rate of return at 11.13% per annum. If we had kept these funds in LAIF the average yield for this same time period would have been 3.05%.  The current value as of July 31, 2024, is $672,372.87 - an increase of $122,372.87 since initial deposit. 

•             The Finance Department successfully applied for and received Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance for the reimbursement of expenses for the COVID-19 Pandemic and the January Storm Emergency 2023, for a total of $192,373.55.

•             The Finance Department successfully applied for and received the California Water & Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program in FY21/22 and FY23/24 for a total of $286,407 – this was monies paid to the City by the State to reimburse the City for residential and commercial water and sewer accounts in delinquency during the COVID-19 pandemic. This would have created extreme hardship for residents and businesses if the City had not applied for these funds.

The City’s Finance Department has received: 

•             The highest possible audit rating for 12 consecutive years and received no audit findings for the eighth consecutive year; 

•             The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association for the City Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the last five fiscal years (Fiscal Year 2018/19 to Fiscal Year 22/23); 

•             The Operating Budget Excellence Award presented by California Society of Municipal Finance Officers of the Budget Book for the last five years (Fiscal Year 19/20 to Fiscal Year 23/24); and

•             The Government Finance Officers Association Distinguished Budget Presentation Award of the Budget Book for the last six years (Fiscal Year 18/19 to Fiscal Year 23/24). 

All of this and they are now doing more with less! City Council approved a Finance Department reorganization in 2023, eliminating the Accounting Supervisor position and replacing with an Account Clerk position. This change was recommended by the Finance Director after her thoughtful review and analysis of operations, and reduced salary costs by about $80,000 per annum. 

The current fiscal situation is not due to poor financial management – it’s because we’re not getting enough revenue.  

As a side note, the current City Manager has only been with the City for one year. All budgetary decisions are approved by the City Council. The City Manager cannot unilaterally make budget decisions.  

Cities do not typically pay City Managers on a per capita basis. 

You asked: If the city added three Fire Engineers in 2021 in response to the Cannabis businesses, why would they not cut them now that the business has not materialized? Who is responsible for missing this downturn? 

The answer: The City’s General Fund has been managed at a surplus for the last seven years (from Fiscal Year 16/17 to Fiscal Year 22/23) and accumulated a healthy fund balance at 97% of General Fund expenditures in the Budget of FY24/25. The proposal of a sales tax increase is proactive in addressing our upcoming fiscal cliff. We don’t want to wait until the City is at the point of facing bankruptcy. Yes, it is possible to reduce back to only one engine operating. This comes with the risk that if two or more emergency calls are received at the same time, there could be time delays and reductions in service quality by relying on mutual aid with only basic life support training. 

At the time revenue increased in 2021, adding fire staff was an identified priority. As part of the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget, the City already made adjustments to the Fire Department staffing and operations by unfunding the Battalion Chief position and dropping from two engines to one in situations where two engines would require the use of excess overtime. Further reducing Fire Department staffing will be a consideration if Measure K doesn't pass.

You asked: How much does the City pay in credit cards fees per month for customers who pay their water bill by credit card or PayPal?   

The answer: At the May 2, 2017 City Council meeting the City Council authorized accepting payments by credit card to encourage timely payment and to reduce staff time manually processing payments. The staff report explains the credit card processing fee charged to the consumer would be $3.95 per transaction. Alternatively, the cost if the City paid the fee would be $2.50 per transaction. The City Council chose to cover the cost of the credit card processing fee because it was estimated to save an equal amount of time in staff time by offering the online payment and it would encourage timely payment.  The cost each year is approximately $75,000 and is paid by the water and sewer funds. This does not impact the General Fund. The City can look at adjusting this policy.

You asked: On page 7 of the RV 2023-24 adopted budget dated July 1, 2023, is these statements: General Fund reserves are healthy. The General Fund balance is expected to be a healthy $7,291,222 as of June 30, 2023, and $6,854,883 as of June 30, 2024. What caused our healthy General Fund reserves to fall off a cliff? What was our General Fund balance on June 30, 2024? What drained the GF reserves?

The answer: The City of Rio Vista is anticipating a General Fund Budget Deficit in the amount of $496,866 in Fiscal Year 2024-25, which will draw down the General Fund Reserve Fund Balance from $9,130,915, the Projected Fund Balance on 6/30/24, to $8,634,049, the Estimated Fund Balance on 6/30/25. The budget deficit reflects the estimated expenditures are in excess of the estimated revenue of the General Fund in the fiscal year of 2024-25. 

This general fund structural budget deficit is mainly due to the following: 

1. Cost of police salaries (through the City’s contract with the County for law enforcement services) are outpacing inflation. This is due to a low supply and high demand for law enforcement personnel nationwide. 
2. Fire Dept Operating costs increased over the last four years and current year from $3,314,371 in 2020/21 to $4,032,517 in 2024/25, by $718,146 or 22%. During this time at the request of the public, the City began staffing a second engine 24/7 to ensure advanced life support service levels are maintained in instances where there are duplicate calls. 
3. Since 2021 General Fund revenue has only increased 3.4%, while inflation has increased 12.80%* 
4. There has also been a decrease in Cannabis Facility and Gross Sales Fee – Due to the initial and anticipated continued increase in Cannabis Revenue, the City added three Fire Engineer positions in the year 2021; however, the Cannabis Revenue declined significantly by 47% from 2021. Total Salaries and Benefits for three Fire Engineers in FY24/25 is ~$559,695.

(*Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index for the Urban West Series Id: CUURS49BSA0)

You asked: Regarding Measure O, is there a plan in place when this funding source expires?  How will the lack of these funds affect the City budget?

The answer: Even if Measure K passes, the City fully anticipates the need for Measure O after it expires in March 2027.  While ultimately this is a City Council decision that will need to be made in the future, the current thought is to combine both into one sales tax measure so that it is less confusing for the voter.

Lack of Measure O funds would contribute to an additional budget deficit of about $1.4 million if it is not renewed in 2027. 99% of Measure O funding is currently allocated to support Fire Department Personnel Costs.

You asked: Why does the City hire so many consultants?

The answer: There are a number of reasons consultants are sometimes the best option to do certain work for the City. 

The City does not have an overabundance of staff for the regular operations of the City. New projects demand either reprioritization of regular employees’ core responsibilities or additional staff.  Hiring new employees doesn’t always make sense – on top of salaries, there are long-term costs associated with employees such as benefits and retirement that would place a financial burden on the City far longer than the project lasts.  Plus, many or most of these projects are “one-offs” and best suited for a limited time contract.

Moreover, not only do consultants have specialized skills that are advantageous for these projects, but they are often able to provide valuable perspective on what works (or not) based on their work in other jurisdictions.   

The City also utilizes certain consultants for terms longer than just a project (good examples are Engineering and Planning services); this is work that fluctuates in demand. Sometimes there is a great deal of work all at once that the consultant (and their team if needed) can accomplish and other times there is not much work to do at all. Therefore, it’s more cost- and time-efficient to retain a consultant rather than to have full-time staff for this work. 

You asked: How much does the City Manager get paid? 

The answer:  $215,000.00 annually. For comparison, below is a chart of the Solano County City Manager salaries.

You asked: How much do the City Council Members and Mayor get paid? 

The answer: $535 per month, pursuant to Rio Vista Municipal Code 2.04.020.

You asked: What caused the City’s budget deficit?

The answer: Numerous factors resulted in the current budget deficit, namely the following, not listed in any particular order:

• Annual increases in operating expenses due to inflation and cost of living adjustments, including Personnel Costs, Insurance, Fire and Police Dispatch Service Fees, Maintenance and Repair, etc. have outpaced the increase in Property Taxes and other General Fund revenue. Since 2021, General Fund revenue has only increased 3.4%, while inflation has increased 12.80%*.

_{*Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index for the Urban West Series Id: CUURS49BSA0}

• Increase in Solano County Sheriff Contract for Police Services: