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L.A. MAY CUT ZOO, LIBRARY FUNDING

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Willon is a Times staff writer.

Los Angeles city officials -- facing an expected $110-million budget shortfall -- on Thursday were urged to act quickly to cut funding to libraries, the Los Angeles Zoo, tree-trimming and crossing guards programs, among other municipal services.

The recommended cutbacks, which will be considered Monday by the City Council’s budget committee, are the first in what is expected to be a painful belt-tightening over the coming months. This round would save only $55 million, so additional trims to the city’s $7-billion spending plan will be required soon.

Residents “are not going to like” many of the proposed service cuts, said interim City Administrative Officer Raymond P. Ciranna, the city’s top budget official. But, he said, options are limited given significant drops in property-based revenues, fluctuating fuel prices and million-dollar lawsuit settlements that have sapped city funds.

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Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was briefed on the proposed cuts earlier this week, said “immediate and dramatic budget adjustments” are needed to protect what he called core service areas, particularly public safety.

“The revenue picture for the city is grim, and it is nearly certain to get worse before it gets better,” Villaraigosa said in a statement.

Among the cuts and money-saving measures being proposed:

* $1.45 million from the $79-million library budget. Ciranna said those cuts might be avoided if the pending sale of surplus library property brings in more money than originally expected.

* $800,000 from the city’s tree-trimming program. The Bureau of Street Services is being asked to spread the cuts equally among the 15 council districts.

* $1 million from the crossing guards program -- about one in five crossing guards employed by the Department of Transportation.

* $650,000 from the program to install more left-turn arrow signals at city intersections. The city had planned to install 113 signals this budget year; it’s unclear how many installations would be postponed.

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* A freeze on new hires at the city attorney’s office and city controller’s office, with limited exceptions.

* $1.92 million from the Los Angeles Police Department program to replace older squad cars. The city had budgeted $4.3 million to replace 118 vehicles; 53 of those replacements would be delayed.

* Transferring $1.14 million from a Los Angeles Zoo trust fund to the city general fund for general city expenses. A portion of that money had been set aside for the golden monkey exhibit, but has been unspent because of a delay in acquisition.

Ciranna called on the council to act as soon as possible, saying the city expects finances to be even more dire in 2009-10, when the city is expected to face a budget shortfall of about $300 million. The outlook is equally grim for the three years that follow.

City budget experts say that in 2009-10, the city’s general-fund revenues are expected to drop at least $41 million, while expenses are expected to rise $240 million, driven mostly by employee pay increases as well as the mayor’s ongoing plan to hire more police officers.

Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, a budget committee member and candidate for city controller, said she expects the council to “stop the bleeding sooner,” rather than putting off cuts, as has been done in years past.

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“This is serious. This is not crying wolf. We’re in a situation unlike we’ve seen in decades in Los Angeles,” she said.

But consensus on where those cuts should be made may be difficult to reach. Greuel, for instance, said she will oppose cuts to the crossing guards program (the mayor also has expressed concern about that proposal). She suggested a number of other cuts that would more than make up for restoring those funds, including ending the city’s practice of validating parking -- at a cost of $750,000 a year -- for some people conducting business with the city.

Councilman Bernard C. Parks, who chairs the budget committee, said that the proposed cuts do not go deep enough and that the council will consider more aggressive action, including the possibility of laying off city employees. He fears that city revenue from property taxes and sales taxes will decline sharply in the months ahead, and that the California Legislature may raid funds devoted to local governments to close the state’s budget shortfall.

“I think the financial crisis is going to get worse than they predict, and a lot of it is out of our control,” Parks said.

“As we’ve said in the past, and it’s for real now, everything’s got to be on the table,” he said.

One library advocate said Thursday that the proposed cut to the library system would have an immediate effect on library hours and book acquisition. “The last time they tried something like this, they stopped buying books across the board,” said Kim Cooper of Save the L.A. Public Library.

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phil.willon@latimes.com

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