AgdaPkt 2020-02-24 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

8.A. - Page 22 of 72 Workers' Compensation Over the last few years, the City has focused on effective workers' compensation claim management and return -to -work programs, as well as enhancing health, safety, and wellness programs for City employees, with a specific focus on public safety personnel. These efforts have helped reduce the City's exposure. Based on the most recent actuarial analysis, the City's total liability is projected to increase by only 1.2 percent, or $310,000, for FY 2020-21. This increase is $2.0 million less than the prior fiscal year's increase of $2.3 million. Over the last five fiscal years, the total liability amount has been increasing by an average of 6.7 percent, or $1.5 million per year. The modest increase in the total liability for FY 2020-21 reflects stabilization in loss trends and a decrease in projected exposures (payroll) as compared to the prior year, as well as steps taken by staff to address workers' compensation claims immediately and increase safety awareness citywide. Docktown Marina In December 2016, in response to a lawsuit over residential uses at Docktown Marina, the City Council approved the Docktown Plan, which assists individuals living at Docktown to find new housing. On January 8, 2018, staff provided City Council with an update on the Docktown Plan, estimating the total costs (including provision of relocation benefits, acquisition of property when desired by tenants, capital costs associated with liveaboard uses at the Port's Municipal Marina, and legal and consultant costs) at $20.8 million, with $13.8 million remaining to be funded. In February 2018, the City Council approved a plan to fund these costs through a combination of FY 2017-18 General Fund operating surplus and short-term loans from the Equipment Replacement Fund ($6.0 million) and the Parking District Fund ($1.7 million) to provide sufficient cash flow to pay relocation costs. At this time, the loans are projected to be repaid by June 2020 and are included in the Ten Year General Fund Forecast. The total cost was estimated at $20.8 million in FY 2018-19. Current expenditures are less than $20.8 million. Staff will assess whether a budget amendment is required during FY 2020-21 to fund any additional costs associated with ongoing litigation. Changes to Departmental Operations Library Fines The Library is proposing to eliminate all daily overdue fines for Library materials, effective July 1, 2020. Library users would still be charged replacement costs for lost, damaged, or long overdue materials, but no daily fines would be charged. Over 100 libraries in the United States have eliminated fines in the last two years, including eleven jurisdictions in the Bay Area. In 2016, the Peninsula Library System, which includes the San Mateo County Libraries system and all seven city -run libraries in San Mateo County, eliminated overdue fines for children and teens, but kept them in place for adults. In the first year after that change, circulation of materials by children and teens increased by 33 percent over the previous year, and library card registrations for children and teens increased by 61 percent over the previous year. In addition, 41 percent of library cards issued to children and teens that had been blocked because of money owed were unblocked. (The remainder were blocked because of replacement fees owed for lost or damaged items, not for daily fines.) The elimination of overdue fines had no noticeable impact on the quantity or timeliness of library materials returned, nor on the availability of current materials. Page 22 of 26 City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.org 257