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| April 24, 2009
Dear Community Members:
From time to time the City of San Carlos convenes the members of our community to discuss issues of critical importance to San Carlos. In that spirit, we are asking you to please consider the following information about our City's budget challenges and respond to our on-line community survey. The City is facing many tough budget decisions and your input is critical to determine next steps.
For each of the past nine years, the City has been forced to make deep cuts to the budget, which has resulted in significant reductions to essential City services. Cuts have been made to every City department, including police, fire, public works, parks and recreation, building and permits, and others. Further cuts will be considered by the City Council at their budget hearings in May and June.
Reductions have been made to the following programs and services:  - Cut over 30% of administration and administrative costs
- Cut seven police officers, detectives, and technicians from the Police Department
- Reduced funding for the Fire Department, cutting nine positions
- Reduced maintenance of public facilities
- Closed the Youth Center on Sundays and permanently closed the Kiwanis building at Burton Park to cut costs
The City is currently providing minimal service levels, has reduced staff and has cut spending on non-essential services. Any further reductions will negatively impact the quality of life in San Carlos. City revenue is expected to flatten and in some cases decline over the next several years. With reduced revenue and rising costs for providing services, the City must consider further cutting into services and facilities in core departments, such as police, fire, parks and recreation and others.
In an effort to protect the fundamental services we count on in San Carlos, the City is considering every option including securing additional funding. To generate a local stable revenue source, the City is considering placing either a sales tax measure or a utility users tax on the ballot this November. While no decisions have been made, the City is currently conducting a feasibility study pertaining to these two options.
We would like to begin by asking you for feedback about some of the most important issues facing the City. Please help us by going to the city's website www.cityofsancarlos.org to complete a brief survey about important community services and programs by May 15, 2009.
Community meetings and additional opportunities for public input on the City's budgetary challenges are currently being planned for next month. You will soon receive information about these upcoming community meetings. Additional information is available in the Budget Challenges section of the City Web Site at
http://www.cityofsancarlos.org/gov/depts/cm/city_budget_challenges/letter_to_the_community.asp
Your feedback and involvement are critical to us
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