Fountain Valley plans to get through COVID-19 economic crisis without city layoffs or service cuts

The Fountain Valley City Council held its lone meeting of the month on May 12, and what is clear is that the coronavirus pandemic has brought on economic hardship.

A budget study was presented at the last meeting and is expected to be adopted at the council’s next session on June 2.

The plan, if approved, projects the city will experience a $5.1-million budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year, says Fountain Valley City Manager Rob Houston.

“It’s all dependent, of course, [on] if COVID-19 closures stay longer because we’re dependent on sales tax from restaurants and businesses … places like that,” Houston said. “If they’re not able to open for six more months, then the impact’s higher. If they open tomorrow, it’s lower.”

In order to combat the anticipated economic downturn, the plan calls for roughly $1.1 million in departmental budget cuts. Fountain Valley would also see a savings of $1.3 million via proposed deferrals of capital projects such as building renovations, and the city plans to pull $750,000 out of its emergency reserve.

A recommendation has also been made to halt additional payments toward the city’s pension plan debt beyond its Unfunded Accrued Liability payment to CalPERS of $5.993 million for the upcoming fiscal year. That would save an addition $2 million.

The above measures will help the city get through the “rainy day” that is the pandemic without having to lay off staff or impact services for the community for the coming year, Houston said.

Some projects will remain on the books, including the paving of a portion of the city’s residential streets. The playground at Cordata Park is also being renovated, and the city plans to move forward with an interior remodel of its recreation center at Fountain Valley Sports Park.

The council also went through with a resolution to implement preferential parking on Memorial Day (May 25), the Fourth of July, and on Labor Day (Sept. 7) to alleviate residential parking issues in neighborhoods that are affected by large crowds that head to nearby parks on major holidays.

Neighborhoods adjacent to Mile Square Park and the city’s neighborhoods near Centennial Park in Santa Ana are those that receive preferential parking.

Fountain Valley Police Chief Matthew Sheppard said that preferential parking was enacted several years ago, and it usually is in effect for Easter Sunday and Mother’s Day, too.

“There’s typically five [holidays] that are there,” Sheppard said. “But because of the COVID-19 [disease] and the parks being closed, we didn’t believe that it was going to impact the residents in those areas as much, and we also pulled back on some parking enforcement issues throughout the city.”

Sheppard added that signs are posted at the entrance to the residential tracts noting which holidays the preferential parking system applies. They stay up all year.

On the specified days, a barricade is posted in the middle of the street and additional notification is provided stating that parking is by permit only, Sheppard said.

“Those residents have the ability to one, just park in their own driveways, their garages, or they can get a permit from the city at no charge, and they can park their vehicles there,” he said. “They can also get a sticker that is available year-round, which allows them just to leave it on their car. They don’t have to come back and forth to the police department to get a permit.”

Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.