Streamlining staffing process a priority in council’s early review of Costa Mesa’s next budget
Costa Mesa City Council members and city staff spent more than two hours Tuesday night combing through the city’s preliminary $144.6 million budget for next fiscal year.
The meeting was a study session, so council members didn’t take any votes on the budget. Instead, the gathering was meant to help kick off conversations that will help shape the budget ahead of its expected adoption in June.
City staffing was among the topics that came up.
Though the number of budgeted positions in the preliminary plan is virtually unchanged from the current year — around 479, city documents say — Costa Mesa Chief Executive Tom Hatch said the actual number of staff members is markedly lower.
“I want to say we have about 60-plus vacancies throughout the organization,” he said.
Hatch said filling vacant positions is a top priority to ensure that Costa Mesa is providing the level of service its residents expect. If the city could find ways to eliminate or speed up steps in the screening process for job applicants, he said, it could shorten the time it takes to fill open positions.
“We hear you loud and clear that this is important to you to streamline that,” Hatch told council members. “We accept that challenge.”
Councilwoman Katrina Foley said the city needs to “figure out what the hiccup is in our steps and remove it.”
“You can hire a teacher that’s going to be working with kids every single day faster than we can hire support staff for the fifth floor [of City Hall],” she said. “There’s something wrong with the process.”
The preliminary budget for fiscal 2016-17, which begins July 1, is about $9.6 million less than the current fiscal year, according to the city.
The initial plan includes a preliminary capital improvement budget of just under $16 million. That’s down from the nearly $25.8 million in the current budget, but almost 40 park, transportation and building maintenance projects are recommended for funding in the new plan.
“We have about six weeks before we’ll be asking the City Council to adopt a budget, so there’s quite a bit of time to get into the details,” Hatch said. “We’re excited about starting the process.”
A community meeting to discuss the budget will be held at 5:30 p.m. May 19 in Conference Room 1A at City Hall. The council is scheduled to adopt the budget June 21.
