2019-20 City Budget Funds Public Safety Measures, Transportation Infrastructure Improvements and Customer Service Technology Upgrades
June 18, 2019 –The City of Davis announced that the Davis City Council approved the city’s budget on Tuesday, June 18, authorizing $238,866,404 in expenditures over 12 months to provide all city services starting July 1 maintaining a 15 percent reserve. The Council approved a financial plan for 2020-2021 in an effort to streamline the budget process for next year.
In addition to continuing existing services, the 2019-2020 budget provides funding for several key strategic areas for the community, including public safety, transportation infrastructure and investments in technology to improve service delivery. Funding highlights include:
- Supplemental public safety staffing including full-time police position to assist with homelessness issues and fire department augmentation with an expected reduction in fire overtime and an associated net cost savings for fire personnel.
- Over $7.6 million in projects related to streets and roads, with approximately $6 million in state and local funding allocated for pavement maintenance alone. Funding has also been budgeted to make improvements to traffic signals and for specific projects, such as planned improvements to the Russell Bike Path and 14th/Villanova.
- One-time allocation of $50,000 to assist with police officer recruitment efforts. Recruitment and retention of police officers is challenging, not only in Davis, but across the state and
country.
- Purchase, install and train staff on software and hardware for mobile fire and building inspections, improved online credit card payment options, improved use of Geographic Information Service (GIS) and enhanced communication efforts through social media outlets. Advances in technology provide opportunities for the City to deliver better services at a lower cost to the community.
- Offsetting General Fund costs are an estimated $620,000 in cannabis revenue to the City. This is a new revenue source since 2018-2019.
- The City has continued its efforts to seek, apply for and receive outside grant funds to complete needed or desired projects. Over the past few years, the City has received over $15 million in grant funds. This year’s budget includes grant money for Pole Line and Olive Drive connection ($3.5 million), Richards Boulevard interchange ($5 million) and an Urban Greening Grant for the City Hall property ($300,238).
“Our focus as a city is to provide the best customer service possible to residents,” said Mike Webb, City of Davis City Manager. “Investing in technology and transportation infrastructure and public safety personnel will streamline city services and improve our citizens’ quality of life.”
“These budget investments enable the City to use our existing resources more efficiently and enhance the Davis community’s assets,” said Mayor Brett Lee. “Our overarching goal is to continue to provide excellent city services with transparency and innovation.”
