Whittier

The City Council has adopted a record $29.6-million budget for fiscal 1985-86. Approved by the council last week, the budget is about $2.4 million, or 8.8%, larger than last year’s budget.

The biggest expenditure--about $7.3 million or 25% of the budget--will be for public safety, which includes police protection, street lighting, weed abatement and disaster preparedness, said City Controller Irwin Bornstein. General government--city staff salaries, building maintenance, insurance--is the other major expenditure, about $5 million or 17% of the budget.

Bornstein said the two major reasons for the budget increase in the coming fiscal year are wages and insurance costs. The city is spending about $800,000 more this year to cover a 5% wage increase for city workers, while the city’s insurance premiums have jumped 54% from $70,000 to nearly $450,000 this year.

Sales tax revenues continue to be the city’s top source of income. About 25% of the budget comes from sales tax revenue.