City takes budget down to the wire

The Belmont City Council is set to adopt its fiscal year 2010-11 budget tonight as last-minute negotiations take place between the city and four labor groups. Belmont faces a $1.3 million deficit and sought wage concessions from city workers to the tune of $455,000 to help trim the deficit. The deadline to adopt a budget is Wednesday as FY 2010 starts July 1. Acting City Manager Carlos de Melo met in closed session with the labor units last night and is scheduled to meet again tonight in closed session prior to the regular council meeting. The Belmont Police Officers Association, Mid-management and Confidential Employees Association and unrepresented management all agreed to wage concessions previously. City workers belonging to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, however, have yet to reach a deal with the city. The council requested AFSCME to present a proposal last Thursday, which they did, said Vice Mayor Coralin Feierbach. Feierbach and Councilman David Braunstein said making tough decisions on the budget at the last minute made them uncomfortable. The council was set to approve the budget last week, but voted to delay adoption so Councilman Dave Warden could have a vote. Warden missed last week's council meeting. Belmont's reserve is dwindling rapidly, down nearly $1.5 million from just two years ago when it was $4 million. The reserve is projected to dip just below the $2 million mark by 2014. "I'm not going to dip into our reserves," Feierbach said yesterday. "Our reserves are precious. We need it for emergencies. The water department has more in reserves than we do." Going forward, Feierbach says she intends to take a closer look at the city's reserves. "I want a close report of when we dip into our reserves. I want a much closer look at what's going on," she said. De Melo, Finance Director Thomas Fil and Police Chief Don Mattei have all represented the city in labor negotiations as Belmont has not hired a replacement for Jack Crist, the city's former city manager who retired in February. The council met in closed session Sunday to interview potential city manager candidates and will meet again tonight in closed session to discuss the hiring. The city's appropriations limit is $12.5 million. Its base revenue budget for fiscal year 2010-11 is roughly $58 million, which includes the Belmont Fire Protection District, Redevelopment Agency debt service and the city's sewer enterprise fund. The Capital Improvement Program budget is $23.5 million and the city will maintain permanent staffing at 131.65 full-time equivalents. Sales and use tax in the city is down by more than $663,000 and the hotel tax is down by more than $291,000, comprising most of Belmont's general fund revenue shortfall. The Belmont City Council meets tonight, 7:30 p.m., City Hall, 1 Twin Pines, Belmont. Bill Silverfarb can be reached by e-mail: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.