Budget Proposals for Planning Dept., City Attorney and City Clerk to Be Heard By Committee

Pasadena’s Department of Planning and Community Development, the City Attorney’s Office and the City Clerk’s Office will present details of their recommended budgets for fiscal year 2023 during their respective budget workshops on Tuesday, May 24, before the City Council’s Legislative Policy Committee. 

In this special meeting of the Committee, a recommendation to amend the 2022 State Legislative Platform will also be discussed. The recommendation, as advanced by the Assistant City Manager, is to include mental and behavioral health, and to add a new section to be titled “Mental Health and Behavioral Health” to the Legislative Priorities section of the platform. 

In an Agenda Report for the City Council, Assistant City Manager Phillip Leclair said the proposed amendment supports enhancement of state efforts to improve access to programs and services for mental and behavioral health, as well as to improve frameworks that help people with mental health and substance use disorders get care and support. 

The new section to be added is expected to express Pasadena’s support for reforming state policies and programs on mental health and behavioral health services. Among the reforms the City of Pasadena wishes to see is improved crisis care support systems, mental health benefits that are at par with physical health services, and new frameworks, support structures, and other innovative programs, including court ordered services, to help people with mental health and substance use disorders get the support and care they need. 

Other improvements that are expected include more modern and updated mental health definitions, more support for an expanded mental health and behavioral health workforce, training for first responders to engage safely with people living with mental illness, and more attention to age-appropriate mental health education. 

During the budget workshops as scheduled in Tuesday’s meeting, the Planning and Community Development is expected to explain their recommendation for a $20.91 million budget for 2023, up by 4.2 percent from this year’s approved budget. Among the significant changes in the Department’s budget, according to a preliminary report, are an enhancement request for $500,000 to fund a Citywide Historic Resource Survey, and the addition of an administrative specialist FTE to provide support to a new building official. 

The City Attorney’s Office is asking for a budget of $10.82 million, up by 10.4 percent from this year’s budget. The City Attorney is expecting to see a full resumption of civil jury trials in state and federal courts that will likely increase need for litigation support, an upward trend in public records requests and the need for legal support, an increase in prosecution caseload, the acquisition of a new prosecution case management system, an increased community prosecution effort, and a more challenging insurance market. 

The office also sees more electronic liability claim submissions and a transition to a paperless environment as other reasons for seeking a bigger budget.

The City Clerk’s Office is asking for a budget of $3.33 million for 2023, an increase of 2.2 percent from the approved 2022 budget. Preliminary information from the office showed the increase is attributed to increases in Internal Service charges from the Department of Information Technology and the Building Systems and Fleet Management Division following two years of flat rates. 

Tuesday’s budget workshops will also discuss a $13.35 million total proposed funding for a variety of enhancement requests among different City departments and agencies. 

Members of the community may access the public meeting via http://pasadena.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=9 and www.pasadenamedia.org. 

Public comments may be submitted via www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/public-comment. 

Tuesday’s special meeting begins at 2 p.m.