YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 20, No. 38
READ NEWS YOU CAN TRUST AT WWW.THEPRESS.NET!
City staffing levels going up
Home And Garden Guide
Pouring brew
The Press offers ideas for your home, garden needs in this week’s special edition. Page 1B
by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
Brentwood is going back in time, but its city staffing levels are moving forward. The City Council has approved nine new full-time positions, one part-time job, the reassignment of another and the filling of one vacancy, bringing staffing numbers back to prerecession levels of 2006. These new faces, upping the number of full-time employees to 308 by the end of the 2019/2020 fiscal year, will include the reintroduction of an assistant city manager, a deputy city attorney, three community service officers see Staffing page 26A
Bringing On The Books Photo by Ron Essex Photography
One representative of the Alameda Island Brewing Company got into the spirit of the Craft Beer Festival last weekend in downtown Brentwood. The Brentwood Chamber of Commerce hosted the event, which included over 29 specialty brews from beer meisters throughout the East Bay, cooking demonstrations and live music. The annual fundraiser will benefit Brentwood organizations including the Rotary, Soroptimist and Lions clubs. To view a slideshow of the event, visit www. thepress.net/multimedia/slideshows
Fire district approves balanced budget by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District Board recently passed a balanced fiscal-year budget, but the need for additional resources hangs over the agency. “We are going to be well ahead of 8,000 calls this year, which tells us we need more stations,” said Fire Chief Brian Helmick, who noted that the district ran about 7,500 calls in 2017. The three-station agency, tasked with protecting over 114,000 residents and 249 square miles, projects its total revenue will rise by about 7.8 percent this fiscal year to $16.2 million, with expenses increasing about 7.4 percent to $15.2 million. The district will end the year with an $11.2 million ending fund balance, factoring in $3.2 million
“ It is clear that property taxes cannot fully
support the district, and we have a commitment to explore other sources of income.
”
Fire board member Stephen Smith in operating carryover and $8 million in excess carryover, including $6.2 million erroneously left behind years ago when the district transferred its funds and financial operations from the county to the district. “The excess operating revenue and operating fund balance are available to finance future inflationary operating cost increases, cover one-time costs for capital and equipment, bridge economic downturns, and implement strategic alternatives currently being studied as part of the district’s strategic planning imitative,” said Helmick.
SAVE NOW
About $15,550,672 (96 percent of the district’s fiscal-year revenue) will come from property taxes, with the district’s largest expense (personnel costs) rising by about 10.7 percent to $10,464,966, or 69 percent of the district’s expenses. About 40 percent of that $10.5 million will go toward salaries and incentives, with another 31 percent covering past retirement costs. Normal retirement costs will account for another 9 percent. “Our personnel costs are about 69 percent (of our expenses), but that is not unique to
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us,” Helmick said. “That is how every public safety agency is.” Going forward, Helmick projects that the district’s budget can remain balanced for 10 years, but that’s assuming the agency continues to be a less-than-desirable rural, threestation operation – a prospect the district is trying to avoid. Close to $60,000 this year will be spent creating a long-range strategic plan, with another $60,000 going toward a legislative consultant, acting as an ambassador for the agency to improve communication with local and state officials and assisting in identifying alternative revenue and growth options. The district, which already charges for providing medical aid, also recently approved a second set of fees that will be levied for help at motor vehicle incidents, hazardous see Fire page 26A
New Schedules www.thepress.net/news/webextras
Tri Delta Transit Bus schedule to change, effective September 30.
Brentwood’s much-anticipated new library is set to open its doors to the public. Page 4A
Racketing Up The Wins
Heritage girls’ tennis team is on pace to win seventh-straight league title. Page 19A Calendar.............................27A Classifieds..........................24A Cop Logs.............................17A Education.............................7A Entertainment..................11A Food.....................................10A Health & Beauty...............12A Milestones.........................18A Pets......................................22A Sports..................................19A
DOJ Grant
www.thepress.net/news/press_releases
Department of Justice grant provides antiviolence funding for new project.