A little over 2 months since the COVID shut-down began, less than 6 months into the year, and CARD has a $440,000 deficit?
According to Enterprise Record reporter Laura Urseny, “Unable to collect revenue from halted programming and hall rentals, the Chico Area Recreation and Park District is looking at ways to cut expenses, including the possible abandonment of Shapiro Pool. It faces a $440,000 deficit in its preliminary 2020-21 budget.”
Looking at their 2019-20 budget,
https://www.chicorec.com/district-budget
I see that program fees and facility rentals brought in about $4.3 million last year – wow, that’s about $338,000/month. But that’s divided over 12 months – they make most of their money between May and September, with weddings and kids’ camps. Urseny also reports, “On the good news side, however, the CARD office at 545 Vallombrosa Ave. opened to the public Friday, and youth summer camps are on the horizon.“
So let’s remember, like the figure the city has thrown out – these “losses” are projected. They don’t know what they would have made, who could know that. Let’s see CARD’s totals from the same period last year, and then we’ll talk.
Here’s one of the real sources of CARD’s money problems – Miss Management. She is a silly gal. For some reason, she’s been spending $11,000 to fill and maintain a swimming pool that has not been open to the public for swimming since 2016. “CARD has leased Shapiro Pool from the Chico Unified School District for decades, but over the past few years shut it to the public because of the expensive and public health risk of the old equipment, which it can’t afford to replace. It cost CARD about $11,000 a year in supplies and 300 staff hours, with only one event — a dog splash gathering — all year.”
First they deferred maintenance on that pool for years, allowing it to sink into sub-code condition, Willmann admitted that several times over the course of the Measure A campaign. It’s also in the budget – look – they spend millions on their own salaries and pensions but only about a $2.5 million on “maintenance and supplies”, roughly half million of that is utility bills. Meanwhile, last year, they spent $1.7 million (see 2018-19 budget) on their Unfunded Actuarial Liability, or Pension Deficit.
Willmann would also have us believe that “programming and rental fees are the majority revenue source for the special district…” That is not true. Again, look at the budget. While program fees and rentals brought in $4.3 million, TAXES brought in over $4.5 million, especially when you add in Park Impact Fees (payed by developers and added to the price of a house) and Neighborhood Assessments (paid by residents in newer subdivisions) – over $200,000/year.
Willmann persists in denying that RDA pass through comes from taxes. Wrap your head around this – RDA pass through money is generated from bonds that are guaranteed with the 2% annual increase in property taxes. That money is borrowed at a rate of $2 interest for every $1 spent. Taxpayers are on the hook to pay it – how is that not a tax Ann? She wanted to put us another $30 million in bond debt with Measure A – that’s Miss Management popping up her potato head again.
Another persistent lie Willmann keeps spreading is that ” Property tax is the next largest income source, which could also be down.” Two lies in one, really. As I just explained, property tax is their Number 1 source of income, not their “next largest“. Furthermore, it’s hardly going down. Again, look at the budget, it’s right there, up every year, even given the losses from Paradise (that’s another conversation). In fact, CARD’s total revenues increase by at least a million a year. Given the current building boom, it will continue to go up more and more each year.
Here’s their real problem: as the revenues go up a million or so a year, payroll costs also go up a million or so a year. And, they seem to outstrip revenues by about a million a year. This year’s budget shows a $166,000 increase in pension payroll payments. Part of that was Willmann’s recent salary increase.
And here’s another reason CARD is in decline – every time they sense a dip in revenues, they cut workers instead of management. Ann Willmann took a raise this year, and every year she’s been General Manager. She now makes over $127,000/year, and pays only 8% of her benefits costs. But here she says, again, they will cut workers if they don’t get their money.
“’Everything’s on the table,’ she said, in reference to pay cuts, fee increases and layoffs.”
Everything? Will she take a pay cut? Offer to pay more than 8% toward 70% of her $127,000/year salary for the rest of her life?
“The preliminary 2020-21 budget presented Thursday showed total revenue of $8,890,128 — down about $34,000 from the previous year. It also shows operating expenses at $9,329,919, with a projected net income loss of $444,291…”
Hmmm, “operating expenses” (about 2/3’s payroll) are up by just about exactly the amount projected to be lost? It’s like walking into the kitchen, and finding somebody with one hand in the cookie jar and the other hand in their mouth, and having them tell you that you need to better stock your cookie jar.
But, Miss Management stands firm over her own best interests, throwing the taxpayers under the bus with this threat, “The preliminary budget includes a conservative estimate and will require difficult decisions that will affect program offerings and operations in the future.”
CHICO — Unable to collect revenue from halted programming and hall rentals, the Chico Area Recreation and Park District is looking at ways to cut expenses, including the possible abandonment of Shapiro Pool. It faces a $440,000 deficit in its preliminary 2020-21 budget.On the good news side, however, the CARD office at 545 Vallombrosa Ave. opened to the public Friday, and youth summer camps are on the horizon.
CARD has leased Shapiro Pool from the Chico Unified School District for decades, but over the past few years shut it to the public because of the expensive and public health risk of the old equipment, which it can’t afford to replace. It cost CARD about $11,000 a year in supplies and 300 staff hours, with only one event — a dog splash gathering — all year.
At Thursday’s board virtual meeting, General Manager Ann Willmann asked the board for preference, which was unanimously for “giving it back to the school district.” The matter will come back to the board at the next meeting — June 18 — giving the public a chance to weigh in on the pool, along with the preliminary 2020-21 budget.Because programming and rental fees are the majority revenue source for the special district, without the usual spring recreation selections and halls being closed because of coronavirus, the district is down in revenue. Property tax is the next largest income source, which could also be down.
“We had zero programming in April and May, and afterschool programs bring in about $150,000 a month. There’s expenses there too.
“We’ve definitely had a loss of revenue,” Willmann said Friday.
The board Thursday approved a preliminary budget required by law that shows a roughly $440,000 deficit, but chair Tom Lando said what guides the district will look nothing like the preliminary budget. Willmann noted Friday that CARD needs a balanced budget, and will be looking at a combination of strategies.
“Everything’s on the table,” she said, in reference to pay cuts, fee increases and layoffs.”
The preliminary 2020-21 budget presented Thursday showed total revenue of $8,890,128 — down about $34,000 from the previous year. It also shows operating expenses at $9,329,919, with a projected net income loss of $444,291.
It’s hard to guess the revenue and expenditures, said Willmann, because changes occur daily. Resources like parks and activities fields have to be kept up, even though unused. Some part-time staff has been brought back to help with that, but partial staff related to programming have been let go. Some maintenance projects are being delayed.
The sooner the county re-opening occurs, the sooner revenue from programs and facility rentals can come to CARD. But the reopening schedule is still fluid, so predictions are difficult.
Willmann told the board in a written statement that, “The preliminary budget includes a conservative estimate and will require difficult decisions that will affect program offerings and operations in the future.”
Willmann told the board that online registration was ready once the county health officials gave the go-ahead to reopen, and the traditional youth summer camps were on tap. In addition, pickleball courts and the Humboldt Skate Park are operating, and bathrooms at CARD parks were open.
“The current phased reopening will affect classes, youth and adult sport leagues, aquatics, senior programming and special events,” she wrote in her budget report.
With large money-making gatherings — like large weddings or parties — not likely in the immediate future, CARD plans a limited reopening of rental halls, along with rentals of picnic areas and sports field once the county signals.
However, the district will move forward with Chico Rotary sponsored Centennial Park on Ceres Avenue, estimated at $1.5 million. CARD plans to tap the city pool of park-development fees to cover development, but the project is also financially supported by the Rotary club in honor of its 100th year.
Her budget report indicated the district has a restricted reserve of $1.2 million for emergency operation, and Willmann encouraged that amount to be increased to $1,800,000 over time.
A public hearing on the budget, which can be seen online www.chicorec.com or in the CARD office, is planned for June 18, with final adoption of the budget on July 16.
Chico Taxpayers Association 
I’m not a lawyer so I had a hard time trying to interpret the seemingly simple rule about using taxpayer money to run a tax measure campaign. I mean, it seems to me that using tax money to hire a consultant who will run a phone survey in your town, targeting certain people by demographics, using leading statements like, “would you like an ice skating rink?” to get voters to agree to a tax would be a prime example of illegal use of taxpayer funds to run a revenue measure.
This is exactly what both Chico Recreation District and the city of Chico have been up to. I’ve sat in meetings – most recently, a city finance committee meeting last month – and listened to one consultant after another tell elected officials that they must convince voters to vote for the measure before they put it on the ballot. It was the consultant who attended the city finance committee meeting that talked about measures he’d pushed in other towns, using a skating rink as bait in one example.
I wasn’t sure all of this is illegal, but after reading Dan Walters’ latest column COMMENTARY, DAN WALTERS I’m guessing the Fair Political Practices Commission might like to hear about it.
He quotes an article from publicceo.com, “a website devoted to governmental management, written by two lawyers well-versed in the subject.”
“There is ‘a fine line public agencies, officials and employees walk between legally disseminating information and illegally advocating for or against a ballot measure or candidate’ under California law.” He continues, “The article, essentially a warning, is timely because, throughout California, officials are at least straddling that line and may be crossing it as they attempt to persuade voters to support billions of dollars in bonds, taxes and fees.”
Like I’ve said, “A big example is Proposition 6, which would repeal last year’s $5-plus billion package of gas taxes and automotive fees. Anti-tax groups that placed Proposition 6 on the ballot complain that the state Department of Transportation has been colluding with other opponents of the repeal and last week, those complaints were bolstered by the Associated Press.”
“The AP reported that official emails it acquired reveal that “the state transportation agency coordinated frequently with the public affairs firm working to block the repeal on behalf of unions, construction companies and local government groups.
“The coordination, the AP said, included, ‘efforts to promote legislation to raise the tax to fund road and bridge repairs (and) after Gov. Jerry Brown signed it, the agency and the firm continued planning events and coordinating social media posts as opponents gathered signatures for repeal.'”
He also brings up the investigation the FPPC is conducting in Los Angeles County. “Two years ago, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors proposed a half-cent sales tax increase for services to the homeless and gave TBWB Strategies, a San Francisco consulting firm, a $1 million contract to work on the tax measure.
“TBWB’s campaign, including television and radio spots that touted the benefits of Proposition H, helped it win passage. However, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association complained to the FPPC and filed a lawsuit challenging the campaign’s legality.”
And get aload of this – “Last month, an FPPC hearing officer found probable cause for a 15-count formal accusation that the county supervisors contributed to the Proposition H campaign without filing a campaign donor report and following other campaign laws.”
So our situation is hardly unique, and I’m beginning to wonder if we need some investigating around here. The stuff I’ve seen at meetings! I agree with Walters, we need to shine a flashlight on these people, before it’s too late.
“The Los Angeles tax measure is one of hundreds of local tax proposals facing voters this year, many of which also are being promoted by “consultants” such as TBWB under lucrative contracts supposedly for information but in reality to influence voters.
“It’s high time the FPPC, local prosecutors and/or Attorney General Xavier Becerra stopped this undemocratic practice before it becomes ingrained.”