At a Jan. 10 meeting of Orinda’s Supplemental Sales Tax Oversight Committee (SSTOC), city staff provided details of audited Measure R revenue and expenditures from the fiscal year 2022-2023.
As of June 30, 2023, the final day of the fiscal year, the balance of available Measure R funds – officially known as Fund 106 – totaled $4,643,294.
That figure reflects a July 1, 2022, beginning balance of $3,347,112.
Fund 106 supplemental sales tax revenue for fiscal year 2022-2023 was $3,803,247. Per the city’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Statements, “Measure R exceeded initial estimates of $2,853,300 by roughly $1 million in Fiscal year 2022-23.”
The balance also includes fund interest of $60,212 and expenditures during the fiscal year totaling $2,567,277.
Of the $2.57 million in expenditures from Fund 106, the largest amount, $1,693,898, reflects costs related to specific Public Works/Capital Improvement Plan projects. The majority of this amount reflects Annual Pavement 2022 work completed during the fiscal year.
The next largest category of expenditures totaled $468,609 for staff and consultant support. Doug Alessio, Orinda assistant city manager and administrative services director, said Fund 106 covers the cost of a communications agency, a grant-writing firm and other specialty services. Fund 106 also covers 100% of the salary for Wildfire Outreach Coordinator James Duff and 80% of the salary for Management Analyst Micki Cronin.
Alessio provided descriptions of the Public Works and Parks expenditures from Fund 106.
Parks Hazard Reduction expenditures of $168,350 covered costs to reduce fire fuel in city parks.
Public Works Hazard reduction costs of $138,532 funded the operation of the city’s Chipper Truck. Disposal Services costs reflect green waste disposal related to Chipper Truck services. And Public Works and Parks Tree Services costs relate to fire fuel-reduction on city streets, medians and at parks and other city properties.
SSTOC to ask City Council to Authorize Community Survey
During the Jan. 10 meeting, the SSTOC addressed its recommendation that the city council authorize staff to undertake a professional community survey regarding wildfire prevention and resilience.
Such a survey would be used to benchmark community members’ knowledge, attitudes, needs and barriers to implementing defensible space and home hardening retrofits to protect lives, property and the city.
The committee discussed the benefits and drawbacks of various approaches to such a survey. One option the committee recommended was to feature a hybrid online/opt-in approach that would use a professional firm’s statistical voter registration samples, plus a mix of digital outreach such as email, social media, text messaging and other city channels.
The SSTOC’s annual report subcommittee will use this information to prepare their annual report, which could be available for the SSTOC to review as early as the committee’s Feb. 14 meeting.
For additional details, see Orinda’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Statements for Fiscal Year 2023, ending June 30, 2023: https://www.cityoforinda.org/DocumentCenter/View/4389/Orinda-ACFR-FY23-Final.
These financials for Orinda Measure R (Fund 106) for Fiscal Year 2023 (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023) were extracted by city staff from Orinda’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, dated December 19, 2023. The figures shown were audited by Maze and Associates Accountancy Corporation.
