Raimondo presses SFR issue
I recall the same sort of thing happening in 2006.
Councilman John Eastman was reelected along with two new Councilmembers in Neil McCarroll and Wendy Sugimura.
While McCarroll and Sugimura were adjusting to their new roles and getting their feet wet, Eastman used the opportunity to push his agenda.
It would appear that Councilman Michael Raimondo is doing the same right now, before new Councilmembers even take their seats.
From Wednesday’s Town Council meeting, courtesy of reporter Katie Vane:
Most Mammoth Lakes Town budget discussions could be used to lull audience members into a gentle, depressed slumber, but last night’s discussion rudely startled its audience awake.
Town Manager Dan Holler began the Fiscal Year 2014-15 budget presentation before Council with a claim that FY 14-15 will have a “flat” budget of $48.1 million. “There are not a lot of changes from here to the last [budget],” he said.
The FY 13-14 budget was about $43.8 million.
Some changes: budgeted operating revenues are down $1.06 million and expenditures are up $450,000, although employee costs are down $170,000, Holler said.
Other highlights: Town staff anticipates collecting $11.6 million in TOT, $2.9 million in property tax, and $1.8 million in sales tax.
That TOT projection includes the assumption that the Town will do $1 million better in TOT collection than in the previous fiscal year.
“We’re betting on $1 million better than we did this year,” said Mayor Pro-Tem Jo Bacon. “So are we calling this cautiously optimistic?”
“We’re calling this realistic with a good snow year,” said Holler.
Given the TOT, property, sales, and other tax and fee projections, General Fund revenue is anticipated to be $18.4 million, (up from $16.6 million in FY 13-14), while the Reserve for Economic Uncertainty will be about $2.3 million, down from $2.6 million in FY 12-13.
Meanwhile Measure R is projected to be $920,000 (down from $970,000 last year), and Measure U to be $730,000 (down from $802,752 last year).
The Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) is anticipated to collect $4.1 million.
Holler made special note of the assumption of $500,000 in TOT enforcement revenues as part of the overall $11.6 million TOT projection. It was this $500,000 that sparked surprising controversy.
Local resident Tim Flynn addressed the Council and Town staff, wondering how much of that $500,000 will be collected from illegal single family home rentals.
“A significant portion,” Finance Manager Cyndi Myrold replied. “We collected $530,000 [in TOT enforcement] just in this year alone, but I don’t have a breakdown here.”
Then it was Councilmember Michael Raimondo’s turn to speak up.
“I think we should not continue to plan on $500,000 of illegal activity in order to balance our budget,” he said. “We need to spend money on enforcement to stop this completely … Not use revenue we shouldn’t be collecting, because it’s illegal to do so. If we’re not going to allow it [single family home rental], don’t use it [enforcement collection].”
TOT Committee member Teri Stehlik rose to provide clarification. “Being on the TOT Committee, there’s a lot to that $500,000,” she said. “A lot of that came from 143 new business licenses that happened to be pulled last year. So calculate that in addition to enforcement collection.”
What’s more, she added, when it comes to a question of whether or not the Town should count on TOT enforcement for its annual budget, “This needs to be a full, vetted conversation.”
Councilmember Raimondo clarified his remarks in a follow-up interview on Thursday. “We collected over three quarters of a million dollars [in enforcement] last year,” he said. “The majority of that was from illegal single family home rentals. We shouldn’t be balancing the budget with funds that are illegal. If there’s no support to legalize single family home rentals, we should step up enforcement to put a stop to it and let people go elsewhere who don’t want our product.”
If the Town does wish to bank on the funds, Raimondo argued the Town should again seriously consider making single family home rentals legal. He pointed out that one-time offenders frequently offend again. Collecting fees for their illegal rentals a second or third time sends the message: “‘Don’t do that, but pay us if you do,’” he said.
“If we’re fine with it, we’re going to get the revenue and put it toward town services and projects,” he added. “But what we can’t do is continue what we’re currently doing, which is to say we know it’s out there and we’re going to count on it.”
Raimondo said he was in favor of hearing all of the arguments and seeing all of the facts before Council comes to a decision on the issue.
“My intention is to bring it forward sooner than later with the Council,” he said.
Mayor Rick Wood voiced a similar sentiment at Wednesday’s night’s meeting, when he acknowledged that Council had the opportunity to discuss the thorny duo of single family home rentals and illegal rentals, but “We punted it,” he admitted.
“Because of the polarized nature of that issue, let’s have that public debate,” he said.
Council approved the FY 14-15 budget 5-0.
Town Council asks property owners to pony up PBID cash
In addition to the budget, Town Councilmembers also considered whether to partially fund a $22,000 feasibility study to pursue the formation of a Property-Based Improvement District (PBID) and Infrastructure Financing District (IFD) to fund snow management and parking on Main Street.
The overall cost of implementing the PBID and IFD would be around $130,000, said Planning Commission Chair Mickey Brown. The $22,000 would allow consultant Jamie Licko of Centro, Inc. to meet with staff and discuss options, as well as determine whether there is sufficient interest in the Main St. community to support such a plan.
“I think there’s an easier way to see if there’s support for [PBID],” said Mayor Pro-Tem Jo Bacon; “See if the community is willing to pay half of the $22,000.”
Brown said that from an informal poll, she believed at least 11 property owners would be willing to contribute $1,000 apiece to fund the study.
But Bacon changed her tune, suggesting that property owners be willing to pay the entire $22,000, and that Council would consider entering into a partnership with a matching $11,000 after mid-Fiscal Year.
Mayor Rick Wood agreed. A 100 percent contribution from property owners “Demonstrates a committment by those who will be affected and will benefit,” he said. “[The feasibility study] is not identified as a budget item for next Fiscal Year, I don’t see it as an emergency, and I’m highly protective of the REU [Reserve for Economic Uncertainty].”
Brown requested that the Council at least voice its support of a future public-private partnership to get the PBID off the ground. “It would be really sad to lose momentum now,” she said.
