{"id":3234,"date":"2013-05-13T10:10:16","date_gmt":"2013-05-13T10:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesecretnewsonline.com\/?p=3234"},"modified":"2013-05-16T23:02:11","modified_gmt":"2013-05-16T23:02:11","slug":"the-emeryville-ships-afloat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesecretnewsonline.com\/?p=3234","title":{"rendered":"The (Emeryville) Ship’s Afloat"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been studying the city of Emeryville\u2019s Comprehensive Annual Report<\/em> covering the year ending June 30, 2012.\u00a0 Not an easy read at 206 pages, but it gives a useful picture of how we are doing as a financial entity.\u00a0 My general impression is that the ship is afloat and riding fairly high in the water, at least for now.\u00a0 Quarterly reports since that June, 2012 date confirm that impression.\u00a0 Here are some things that caught my eye:<\/p>\n

Sales tax revenues are up 2.5% from June, 2011 and transient occupancy taxes are up 18%.\u00a0 Other revenue sources remain stable.\u00a0 These are not bad signs given the lingering effects of the Great Recession.\u00a0 Property tax revenues jumped 81% as a result of the dissolution of the city\u2019s Redevelopment Agency, a one-time phenomenon.\u00a0 This surge tells us little about the future.<\/p>\n

Total expenses for governmental activities were $47.9 million in fiscal 2011-2012, a decrease of $25.5 million from the previous year.\u00a0 Dissolution of the \u00a0Redevelopment Agency was responsible for most of the drop. The city\u2019s departments, in the main, have been coming in under budget for the work they do.\u00a0 In keeping with our budget philosophy, one-term windfalls are not being used for long-term projects, the General Fund reserve is at 25% of operating costs, and the Economic Uncertainty Fund stands at 19% of the General Fund.\u00a0 The city is running a tight ship, and that\u2019s wise policy in uncertain times.<\/p>\n

The unemployment rate in Emeryville was 6.1% in June, 2012, compared to 7.9% the previous year.\u00a0 To put that in wider perspective, Alameda County had an unemployment rate of 8.6% last June.\u00a0 Here again we have good signs.\u00a0 Let\u2019s hope the real recovery from the recession, that is, people getting back to work at decent jobs continues.<\/p>\n

The Annual Report<\/em> offers useful information on city debt, most of which was generated by activity of our now-defunct Redevelopment Agency.\u00a0 Long term liabilities as of July, 2011, stood at $175,417,781.\u00a0 The cost of financing that debt annually is $8,700,290.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t find a combined figure for both principle and interest in the report, but assume it must be about $250,000,000, the amount the City Treasurer gave me a year or so ago.\u00a0 Debt per capita for our small town is $16,690.\u00a0 That sounds like a lot, but cheer up: the figure peaked back in 2005 at $24,401 a person.\u00a0 Another way to get perspective on debt is to look at state law governing the ratio of debt to total assessed property value in a city.\u00a0 The state sets a maximum of 15% debt to assessed value.\u00a0 We stand at 4.26%.<\/p>\n

No one can predict the over-all play out of shutting down the city\u2019s Redevelopment Agency.\u00a0 Will we be owed or will we owe?\u00a0 Will law suits be required?\u00a0 The Annual Report<\/em> offers no answers to these questions. If it\u2019s any consolation, cities across the state face the same uncertainty.\u00a0 Our financial future hinges, then, on two big uncertainties: the final results of the RDA shutdown and, of course, the fate of the global economy.\u00a0 So far so good.<\/p>\n

Bill Reuter, Resident Member and Chair, City of Emeryville Finance Advisory Committee<\/em><\/p>\n

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