Upfront CITY HALL
Council cautiously optimistic about financial future New forecast shows rising revenues and looming uncertainties
Lunch and Dinner
by Gennady Sheyner
P
alo Alto’s economic recovery may be in full bloom, but city leaders offered plenty of reasons for caution Monday, including uncertainties over labor negotiations, infrastructure needs and lease negotiations over Cubberley Community Center. Each of these wildcards clouds an otherwise bright picture in the city’s latest Long Term Financial Forecast, an annual report that presents a snapshot of the city’s economic health. The report, which covers the period of 201424, estimates that the city will have a surplus in each of these years and that these surpluses will range from $1.9 million to $8.9 million. This will result in a cumulative surplus of $47.5 million, according to the forecast. The optimistic assumptions are based on positive trends in just about every major revenue category, including sales, property and hotel taxes. The forecast shows the city’s revenues gradually increasing from $166.3 million in the current fiscal year to $225.5 million. Hotel taxes are expected to grow particularly fast
in the next two years thanks to new hotels such as the Epiphany on Hamilton Avenue and the Hilton at the former site of Palo Alto Bowl. The forecast shows transient-occupancy taxes growing by 14.1 percent this year, by 14.9 percent in 2015 and by 16.5 percent in 2016 before the numbers begin tapering off toward a more moderate increase of about 5 percent. Projections show the revenues from hotel taxes growing from $11.5 million this year to $25.7 million in 2024. Property taxes are also expected to continue their upward march. The new forecast shows them increasing by more than 5 percent annually over the next decade, going from $29.6 million this year to $51.1 million in 2024. Sales taxes are expected to rise over the same period from $23.8 million to $31.8 million. Yet the good news comes with a long list of caveats and qualifiers. Expenditures on employee salaries and benefits are expected to steadily rise in the General Fund, going from $99.6 million in 2014 to $141.3 million. This does not even
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take into account the city’s new agreement with its largest union, the Service Employees International Union, Local 521. The contract grants the workers a 4.5 percent increase over two years (2 percent in the first and 2.5 percent in the second), along with additional raises for hundreds of workers based on the median market rates for their positions. Some employees in the Utilities and Public Works departments received raises of more than 14 percent, reflecting the city’s difficulty in retaining and recruiting workers for specialized positions. The forecast shows salaries increasing by 8.2 percent this year before settling into modest increases ranging from 0.26 percent in 2015 to 1.9 percent each year between 2016 and 2024. Overall, the total the city expects to spend on salaries in the General Fund (which does not include utilities) is projected to go up from $62.7 million in 2014 to $74.7 million in 2024. The report acknowledges that future negotiations with labor unions can significantly shift these ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂŤ>}iĂŠ8)
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Palo Alto UniďŹ ed School District Notice is hereby given that proposals will be received by the Palo Alto UniďŹ ed School District for multiple summer work bid packages. Description of the projects/work is as follows: s %L #ARMELO %LEMENTARY 3CHOOL h2ED 4OPv #ONCRETE 7ALKWAY 2EPLACEMENT s 4ERMAN -IDDLE 3CHOOL "UILDING " &LOORING s *UANA "RIONES %LEMENTARY 3CHOOL &LOOR 4ILE 2EPLACEMENT s *ORDAN -IDDLE 3CHOOL .EW -ETAL 0OOL %QUIPMENT "UILDING s *ORDAN -IDDLE 3CHOOL - "UILDING 2OOlNG 2EPLACEMENT #EILING 2EPAIR AND ,IGHTING 2EPLACEMENT s (ERBERT (OOVER %LEMENTARY 3CHOOL $RIVEWAY )MPROVEMENTS s $ISTRICT #ANOPY ,%$ ,IGHTING 2EPLACEMENT s 'UNN (IGH 3CHOOL "UILDINGS % + -ODERNIZATION s 0ALO !LTO (IGH 3CHOOL -ODULAR "UILDING -ODIlCATION Mandatory Job Walk: 4HERE WILL BE A PRE BID CONFERENCE AND SITE VISIT FOR EACH PROJECT &OR TIMES AND DATES OF EACH JOB WALK PLEASE CONTACT THE $ISTRICT &ACILITIES /FlCE
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Youth narcotics use is down, but potency of ‘street drugs’ is up
PREVAILING WAGE LAWS: 4HE SUCCESSFUL "IDDER MUST COMPLY WITH ALL PREVAILING WAGE LAWS APPLICABLE TO THE 0ROJECT AND RELATED REQUIREMENTS CONTAINED IN THE #ONTRACT $OCUMENTS
Arrest of naked man allegedly on narcotics uncommon but unsurprising, counselors say by Chris Kenrick
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se of narcotics — like those allegedly ingested by the Palo Alto 18-year-old who was arrested after trespassing and fighting residents on Colorado Avenue Friday, April 4 — has declined among local youth, according to survey data. But police and youth counselors said the increased potency of many of today’s street drugs combined with relaxed attitudes toward marijuana use still land too many local teens in the hospital or in jail. Police booked 18-year-old Daiki Minaki of Palo Alto on one count of felony battery and six misdemeanor charges (resisting arrest, battery on an officer, under the influence of narcotics, battery and two counts of trespassing) after apprehending him naked in Midtown, having allegedly beaten a woman walking her dog and fought two residents in their homes. “This kind of episode is not common — and I understand why we are curious and concerned,� said Becky Beacom, manager of health education at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.
“Our small percentages (of narcotics use by youth) still translate into too-high numbers of actual youth whom we care about and, in this particular case, innocent victims as well.� Self-reported use of prescription narcotics, such as oxycontin and vicodin — even once — dropped among Palo Alto 11th graders from 9 percent in 2010 to 7 percent in 2012, according to the California Healthy Kids Survey. Use of heroin in the same period dropped from 2 percent to 1 percent. New survey results for 2014 are expected to be released soon, Beacom said. Police and drug counselors could only speculate on how Minaki could have ingested whatever substance allegedly sparked Friday’s outburst that led to his arrest. But they said increased potency of today’s street drugs can have unintended consequences, whether someone is a first-time user or a repeat user. “It could be that he thought he was smoking marijuana and it was laced with something,� said Darin
Conway, a therapist who runs the mental-health counseling program at Los Gatos High School through Counseling and Support Services for Youth (CASSY). “The rules still apply that if you’re at a party and you’re drinking something, don’t set your drink down and leave it alone and pick it up again, because you never know what somebody’s going to slip into something,� she said. “Drugs are drugs — they’re illegal and they’re not regulated so you never know exactly what you’re getting.� Palo Alto Police Detective Sergeant Brian Philip said he sees a serious problem in Palo Alto with abuse of prescription drugs among youth. “They’ll either take it from their parents or go into other parents’ medicine cabinets at high school parties,� Philip said. Philip said he’s seen local high school students who were crushing and encapsulating painkillers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and vicodin, cutting dosages in
0ALO !LTO 5NIlED 3CHOOL $ISTRICT WILL MAINTAIN A ,ABOR #OMPLIANCE 0ROGRAM ,#0 FOR THE DURATION OF THIS PROJECT )N BIDDING THIS PROJECT the contractor warrants he/she is aware and will follow the Public 7ORKS #HAPTER OF THE #ALIFORNIA ,ABOR #ODE COMPRISED OF LABOR CODE SECTIONS n ! COPY OF THE $ISTRICTS ,#0 IS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW AT #HURCHILL !VENUE "UILDING $ 0ALO !LTO #! ! PRE JOB CONFERENCE SHALL BE CONDUCTED WITH THE CONTRACTOR OR SUBCONTRACTORS TO DISCUSS FEDERAL AND STATE LABOR LAW REQUIRE ments applicable to the contract. 2. Project contractors and subcontracts shall maintain and furnish to THE $ISTRICT AT A DESIGNATED TIME A CERTIlED COPY OF EACH PAYROLL with a statement of compliance signed under penalty of perjury. 4HE $ISTRICT SHALL REVIEW AND IF APPROPRIATE AUDIT PAYROLL RE CORDS TO VERIFY COMPLIANCE WITH THE 0UBLIC 7ORKS #HAPTER OF THE ,ABOR #ODE 4HE $ISTRICT SHALL WITHHOLD CONTRACT PAYMENTS IF PAYROLL RECORDS ARE DELINQUENT OR INADEQUATE 4HE $ISTRICT SHALL WITHHOLD CONTRACT PAYMENTS AS DESCRIBED IN THE ,#0 INCLUDING APPLICABLE PENALTIES WHEN THE $ISTRICT AND ,ABOR #OMMISSIONER ESTABLISH THAT UNDERPAYMENT OF OTHER violations has occurred. "IDDERS MAY EXAMINE "IDDING $OCUMENTS AT &ACILITIES /FlCE Building “Dâ€?. &OR MORE DETAILS ON OBTAINING PLANS AND SPECIlCATIONS THE MANDA TORY JOB WALK BID SUBMISSION PREVAILING WAGE LAWS OR THE SUMMER WORK BID PACKAGES PLEASE CONTACT Palo Alto UniďŹ ed School District #HURCHILL !VENUE "UILDING h$v 0ALO !LTO #! 0HONE &AX
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