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Q&A
Debate over one-time funding vs. permanent funding for city programs
1:13:31
ยท
174 sec
Council Member Brannan questions OMB Director Jiha about the administration's practice of using one-time funding for critical positions instead of making them permanent. Jiha explains the reasoning behind this approach and the challenges of securing long-term funding.
- Jiha cites the lack of permanent funding sources as the reason for using one-time funding
- The administration reviews programs annually based on available resources
- Brannan expresses concern about how some agencies and positions are deemed essential while others are not
- Jiha emphasizes that difficult priority decisions must be made by the mayor and city council
Justin Brannan
1:13:31
So let's let's stay on the this the the one shot game.
1:13:35
The administration continues to fund, for instance, critical positions in the parks department like urban park rangers and gardeners as one shots instead of making them permanent.
1:13:46
So is there a reason why the administration keeps playing the one shot game instead of funding these essential positions permanently?
Jacques Jiha
1:13:53
As I said as I said earlier, we it's a question of funding the permanent source of funding for these things.
1:14:01
If you don't have it, you don't have it.
1:14:03
As I said, we have not raised property taxes in a long time.
1:14:07
Okay?
1:14:07
So if you don't have a long term source of funding, it's hard to say you're gonna basically guarantee, okay, a lot of spend in the long term.
1:14:15
So you just basically, every year, you review the program, you look at your resources, and as long as the resources are available, you keep funding them.
1:14:23
But if you don't have the long term funding, it's hard to say, I'm going to make a commitment to do something long term when I don't have the long term funding.
Justin Brannan
1:14:30
I understand.
1:14:31
I guess what we try to understand is how do some agencies and positions get on the essential list and others don't?
Jacques Jiha
1:14:38
Well, there are things that are critical.
1:14:41
Okay?
1:14:41
Whether it's public health, okay, public safety, education, there are things that are critical that we basically try exactly what we're trying to do.
1:14:50
We're trying to find long term funding for many of the things that are funded, that many of the DOE programs are funded with stimulus.
1:14:59
So it's an exercise that we go through every year.
1:15:02
So once we identify some long term funding, we look at the different programs.
1:15:06
We say this program is very critical.
1:15:08
This, we need we need to keep funding it.
1:15:11
As long as we find the the funding source for it, we fund them.
1:15:15
But this is a decision that the mayor makes.
1:15:18
And working with the city council, we work look at all these things.
1:15:21
And then, like like, last year, we announced a bunch of with with with you and the speaker and the mayor, a bunch of programs that were funded long term.
1:15:30
Okay?
1:15:31
But because we fund some long term funding, this program will fund out stimulus.
1:15:35
But there were others, okay, we couldn't fund them long term.
1:15:39
So you know, because we didn't have the resources to fund them long term.
1:15:42
So we fund them one year at a time.
1:15:44
So we'll continue to go through the same process and make the decision working with your staff, okay, in terms of which one we're gonna fund long term, which one we, you know, we're gonna fund one year at a time.
Justin Brannan
1:15:55
Man, I think for for the council, the Parks Department would fall under the public health and public safety bucket as well.
1:16:02
Everything is critical.
1:16:04
But again But everything isn't critical.
1:16:06
Some stuff is on the critical list and some stuff isn't, right?
Jacques Jiha
1:16:09
Know, everything is critical.
1:16:10
And as I said, you know, it's a question of, you know, which one you're going to have to choose.
1:16:15
Because once you're making priority decisions, everybody's going to tell you that thing is priority, Okay?
1:16:20
But at the end of the day, one or two people are gonna have to make that decision as the council and the mayor.