UNION CITY -- For the first time in two years, city officials have proposed a budget that restores rather than cuts services and even adds some new positions.

Armed with an extra $3.5 million to $4.5 million a year from the Measure AA sales tax, approved by voters in November, the city can restore positions and hire, among others, a communications coordinator and a revenue collections specialist.

"We've had two very tumultuous years of declining revenues, and we've had to cut services drastically within the city," City Manager Larry Cheeves said as he presented the proposed budget for the next two fiscal years to the City Council on Tuesday night. "Thanks to the passage of Measure AA last November "... the hemorrhaging of our finances has stopped, and we're able to begin restoration of some of the services that were cut previously."

The restorations and additional positions will cost $1.7 million next year and $1.5 million the year after. That's on top of other restorations approved by the City Council in January costing $290,000 for the rest of this fiscal year and $660,000 thereafter.

The communications coordinator would not just be a public information officer, but would help get the city involved in social media and facilitate "two-way communication with the business community, with our residents, with groups in the community," Cheeves said.

"We also see this as an economic development tool," he added. "It will have a
marketing component and an outreach component."

The revenue collections specialist would be tasked with finding charges, such as business-license fees, that are not being collected.

"We've estimated that between $250,000 and $500,000 in business-license revenue is not being collected now, and so we're looking to this position to be aggressive in making sure that we're collecting all the funds that we should be collecting," Cheeves said.

Despite Measure AA and an improving economic climate, the city still faces rising health care and retirement costs; the loss of its second-largest sales-tax generating business, OneSource Distributors; the expiration of a federal grant for four police officers; and the end of an annual Union Sanitary District payment for expansion of its facilities.

The proposed budget also does not include any cost-of-living increases for city employees, whose contracts expire in June 2012.

Another issue that could throw things out of whack is Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to eliminate redevelopment agencies. The measure failed to get the required two-thirds majority vote in the Assembly and has not been taken up by the Senate. But city officials are preparing contingency plans in case it is approved.
Cheeves said city officials support efforts to increase accountability and limit the type of projects funded by redevelopment dollars.

"We're not concerned that we're going to have to do anything different, but there are a few bad actors throughout the state that probably should be brought into line, and hopefully with those reforms, the Legislature won't feel the need to actually eliminate redevelopment agencies," he said.

To see the proposed budget, go to www.ci.union-city.ca.us/admin/city_budget.htm.