CC 05-21-2024 Item No. 10 City Manager's Third Quarter Financial Report for FY 2023-24_Written CommunicationsCC 05-21-2024
Item #10
City Manager's Third
Quarter Financial
Report for FY 2023-24
Written Communications
From:Rhoda Fry
To:City Clerk; City Council
Subject:City Council 5/21/2024 Agenda Item #10 Q3 Report
Date:Tuesday, May 21, 2024 8:19:54 AM
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Dear City Council,
Regarding City Council 5/21/2024 Agenda Item #10 Q3 Report.
According to the city’s opengov website, the City has now budgeted for $45.5M in Employee
Compensation and benefits. In FY 2018/19, our actual expenses were $31.2M!!! The budget is
bloated. Even last year 2022/3, our expenses were $38.6. Please, stop bloating the budget.
See
https://cupertino.opengov.com/transparency/#/28185/accountType=expenses&embed=n&bre
akdown=28459e6a-563e-4695-97d4-
8a0d97d881e1¤tYearAmount=false¤tYearPeriod=false&graph=bar&legendSort
=desc&proration=true&saved_view=111352&selection=436F3ABB13EDF4AD7D0C0B7A3
43CEA3A&projections=null&projectionType=null&highlighting=null&highlightingVariance
=null&year=2024&selectedDataSetIndex=null&fiscal_start=2019&fiscal_end=latest
Please explain the numbers. The $30M sales-tax drop in revenue number does not make sense,
“CDTFA audit of a taxpayer was projected to result in a $30 million loss in sales tax revenue.”
In FY 2018/2019, received about $12M in net sales-tax revenue from Apple. However, even
in FY 2018/19, the City was saving money, even while spending lavishly. During the highest
fiscal year earnings in 20/21, the City’s net sales tax revenue from Apple was about $26M. I
don’t know where that $30M is coming from. Please stop exaggerating. We need to look at
the spending side.
Cost of Contract Services: Law enforcement is a big part of our contract services. Please put
law enforcement costs on its own line item. This will provide greater transparency for other
contract services. It seems that we spend too much money on go-nowhere studies. That has got
to stop.
The term “defund” (page 18) is used to cover different events. One is where a project just
won’t be done. Another is where we came in under budget for a project and the money is
being refunded to the general fund. That is a good thing, but I don’t think that the word
“defund” accurately represents what is happening.
Regarding the statement:
“Increase revenues by $19.4 million to account for Sales Tax revenue adjustments.” This
statement was initially confusing. We are not looking to increase revenues – we are looking at
adjusting the budget based on revenues that we are receiving that will need to be returned to
the state.
Regards,
Rhoda Fry