Pomona : Budget Consultant Hired

Faced with a budget for next year that exceeds the Gann appropriations limit law by $1.2 million, the Pomona City Council has voted to spend $6,000 for a consultant to examine the city’s options. Under the state law, which was approved by voters in 1979, cities are restricted to increasing their revenues at a rate determined by increases in population and inflation.

Pomona already has approved a balanced budget for 1987-88 that calls for about $35 million in revenues, but is limited by the Gann law to collecting $33.8 million in taxes next year, Budget Officer Dayle Keller said.

The city has two options for dealing with the appropriations limit, Keller said. Either the council can reduce taxes by $1.2 million, with a corresponding reduction in city services, or the city can hold an election to override the limit for a four-year period.

“Before resorting to either of the . . . alternatives, it is suggested that the city engage in an outside consultant to assist us in a thorough review of our appropriations limit calculations to ensure that every possible advantage has been used for maximizing our limit,” Keller said in a memo to City Administrator Ora E. Lampman.

The council voted to hire the firm of David M. Griffith & Associates, which is already being paid $67,830 to provide a cost/fee analysis of city services.