By Ken Farfsing
Signal Hill City Manager
Success is measured over time, and time has proven that the decisions made by the City and supported by the community have placed the City of Signal Hill in a better financial position than the state and most other cities. The City continues to work hard to ensure the long-term well-being of the community through sound budget policies, working with our state and federal representatives and protecting the community’s interests.
On February 3, the City’s finance director reported that the City closed out Fiscal Year 2008 with over $1.6 million more than anticipated. This was primarily due to two factors: increased revenues from sales tax, oil production taxes, and property taxes; and the careful spending practices of all City departments. However, looking ahead, we know that this may be the last good financial news we receive for a while if the economy continues to struggle.
The City Council made a wise decision to place most of the additional revenue into reserve accounts that can be used to keep City programs operating during a prolonged recession, economic slowdown or if we lose a major revenue generating business such as an auto dealership. The General Fund and Economic Uncertainties reserves total approximately $8.9 million. This meets the City’s strategic plan goal of maintaining six months of operating expenses in reserve. Few cities have this financial security. In the face of these tough economic times, the City is making other prudent financial decisions such as instituting a hiring freeze that will not affect public safety and placing restrictions on out-of-area travel for meetings and training. The Council also established a Cost Containment Committee that will look for ways to reduce costs as we begin preparing the budget for next fiscal year.
There is a lot of news about the federal stimulus package being crafted by Congress in Washington DC. The goal of the stimulus package is to create jobs and get the economy going in the right direction. The City is working hard to ensure that Signal Hill receives a share of the stimulus funding for a variety of public works projects. City Council members have met with U.S. Congresswoman Laura Richardson’s staff, State Senator Alan Lowenthal, and State Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal to gain support of the City’s request for over $30 million in stimulus funding. At the top of the City’s priority list is a request for $15 million for the construction of the new police station. Significant progress has been made on this project. The construction plans are nearly complete and the City expects to take possession of the new police station site this month. In addition to the requested economic stimulus funding request, we are monitoring the financial markets so we know when the time is right to issue bonds to fund the construction of the project if stimulus funding is unavailable. Our other stimulus funding requests include $2 million to construct a recycled water system, $2 million to repave Willow Street and Cherry Avenue, and $100,000 for new play equipment at Reservoir Park.
I want to alert the community to a study being performed by the U.S. Postal Service on the Long Beach Mail Processing and Distribution Center located on Redondo Avenue near Hill Street. This facility also serves as the post office for Signal Hill residents and businesses. The Postal Service has experienced a large reduction in the volume of mail and wants to determine if certain operations of the facility can be consolidated and moved to a similar facility in Los Angeles or Santa Ana.
Although the Postal Service has indicated that the post office will remain open, the City Council advised the Postal Service that the Stephen Horn Post Office and the Signal Hill 90755 ZIP code are very important to the City of Signal Hill. The City worked over 17 years to obtain its own ZIP code. Prior to having its own ZIP Code, our 2.2-square-mile city was divided up into three Long Beach area ZIP codes (90804, 90806, and 90807). This caused delays in mail delivery and created bulk mailing problems for the City and local business. The Council is also concerned about the potential loss of jobs if operations are consolidated. The Council urges you to contact Scott Jones, U.S. Postal Service Manager, at (714) 662-6447 and let him know that the facility is important to Signal Hill residents and local businesses and we depend on the services of this post office.
