STATISTICS: City Population, Total Area, Operating Budget – General Fund, City Spending Per Capita & Number of Full-Time City Employees

ABSTRACT: Statistics of City Population, Total Area, Operating Budget – General Fund, City Spending Per Capita and Number of Full-Time City Employees are presented for the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea in the context of other similarly populated and tourist destination cities and Monterey Peninsula cites. A list of cities is compiled based on City Spending Per Capita (ranked highest to lowest). The City of Carmel-by-the-Sea has the highest City Per Capita Spending. Yet, basic city assets are inaccessible to the public, poorly maintained, et cetera. For example, the Public Works building, Scout House and Flanders Mansion are inaccessible to the public, street/road/avenue maintenance is not accomplished per Nichols Consulting Engineers recommendation of $660,000 per year, Mission Trail Nature Preserve is poorly maintained and Forest Theatre property continues to deteriorate from neglect. With actual FY 2006/07 expenditures of $11,539,748, actual FY 2007/08 expenditures of $13,728,162, actual FY 2008/09 expenditures of $13,991,205, actual FY 2009/10 expenditures of $12,799,862, revised budget FY 2010/11 expenditures of $13,758,037, proposed budget FY 2011/12 expenditures of $14,199,784 and reserve funds of  $9 million (source: City) or $11 million (source: Auditor), it is noteworthy that city councils have not only not accomplished the most basis of stewardship responsibilities, namely making accessible and in good condition all of the city’s assets for the benefit of the residents and visitors, but have no budget plans to fulfill these most basis of city government stewardship responsibilities. COMMENTS are made.

City of Carmel-by-the-Sea
Population: 3,938
Total Area: 1.08 square miles
Operating Budget – General Fund $13.1 million
City Spending Per Capita: $3,327.
Number of Employees: 66
Local Government Compensation Reports (2009)
CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA CALIFORNIA
ADOPTED BUDGET FISCAL YEAR 2011/11 AND ESTIMATED THROUGH 2013/14

City of Del Mar
Population: 4,591
Total Area: 1.78 square miles
Operating Budget – General Fund $10.3 million (FY 2010/11)
City Spending Per Capita: $2,244.
Number of Full-Time Employees: 51
Local Government Compensation Reports (2009)
City of Del Mar Operating & Capital Budget Fiscal Years 2009-10 & 2010-11

Town of Yountville
Population: 2,933
Total Area: 1.53 square miles
Operating Budget – General Fund: $6.1 million (FY 2010/11)
City Spending Per Capital: $2,080.
Number of Employees: 24
Local Government Compensation Reports (2009)
Town of Yountville 2011-12 General Fund Budget in Brief

City of Monterey
Population: 27,810
Total Area: 11.7 square miles
Operating Budget – General Fund $57.4 million (FY 2010/11)
City Spending Per Capita: $2,064.
Number of Full-Time Employees: 478
Local Government Compensation Reports (2009)
CITY OF MONTEREY ADOPTED BUDGET 2010-11

City of St. Helena
Population: 5,960
Total Area: 5.03 square miles
Operating Budget – General Fund $8.1 million (FY 2010/11)
City Spending Per Capita: $1,359.
Number of Full-Time Employees: 72
Local Government Compensation Reports (2009)
City of St. Helena General Fund Fiscal Year 2010-2011 Budget

City of Calistoga
Population: 5,331
Total Area: 2.61 square miles
Operating Budget – General Fund $6.8 million (FY 2010/11)
City Spending Per Capita: $1,276
Number of Full-Time Employees: 57
Local Government Compensation Reports (2009)
City of Calistog OPERATING & CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET FISCAL YEAR 2011-11

City of Pacific Grove
Population: 15,536
Total Area: 4.00 square miles
Operating Budget – General Fund $14.8 million (FY 2010/11)
City Spending Per Capita: $952.6
Number of Full-Time Employees: 80
Local Government Compensation Reports (2009)
CITY OF PACIFIC GROVE Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2010/11

COMMENTS:
• Stewardship of our Infrastructure is one of the Main Functions of Government.
“The concept of stewardship implies the care of our assets to ensure that future generations receive them in at least as good a condition as the current generation received them. The achievement of this goal requires a commitment to planning, preventive maintenance and orderly replacement, in a cost-effective manner.”
(City of Redondo Beach, 2002)

• “Asset Management is a systematic process of maintaining, upgrading and operating physical assets cost effectively. It combines sound business practices and economic theory, and it provides tools to facilitate a more organized, logical approach to decision-making."
(City of Redondo Beach, 2002)

• The City of Carmel-by-the-Sea’s concept of stewardship does not imply the “care of our assets to ensure that future generations receive them in at least as good a condition as the current generation received them.” Moreover, Carmel’s “asset management” appears to be our streets, buildings and parks are not satisfactorily maintained unless a grant is received and the mayor or city council deems an asset to be unworthy of maintenance and pursues a divestment policy, the antithesis of the spirit of the public trust doctrine, the principle that resources are preserved for public use and that the government is required to maintain them for the public's reasonable use.

• The City has structural funding imbalances, such as police department versus fire department and Sunset Cultural Center, Inc. versus all other cultural and historic assets.

• “UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
– Dr. Seuss, The LORAX, 1971