Monterey Park OKs Increases in City Fees

Despite continuing objections from representatives of the city’s business community, the City Council has given final approval to across-the-board increases of fees for services, including business licenses, library use and tennis lessons.

The 4-1 vote last Monday reflected the same breakdown as when the council last month tentatively approved the fee increases. City officials said the increases will generate an additional $1.2 million in revenues each year.

This additional money, city officials said, will be used to make up a shortfall in the general fund budget. (On Tuesday night, the council gave final approval to a $16.8-million general fund budget for the coming fiscal year, which represents $4 million in cuts from this year’s budget.)

But Councilman Christopher F. Houseman, the lone dissenting vote each time on the fee increases, maintains that the council should have taken more time with this “very, very complicated problem.”

One of his main complaints, he said, centers on city officials’ failure to involve members of the business community as well as a broad, cross section of residents in the decision-making process. The city, he said, should have put together a blue-ribbon committee.

Barbara Rossman, incoming vice president of the Monterey Park Chamber of Commerce, said she wished that city officials had given notice earlier that the fees might be increased. “The business community just wanted to have more of a voice in this,” said Rossman, a promotion manager for AT & T in Monterey Park.

She additionally questioned the soundness of the utility tax on interstate and overseas business phone calls. Merchants also had registered their complaints about increases in the hotel and motel room tax and the installation of parking meters.

However, Mayor Barry L. Hatch, referring to all of the increases, said “the fees are very fair.” He noted that many had not been increased in eight to 10 years.

He did acknowledge a communication problem among city officials, council members and the business community.

“But rather than to put up fences, we need to start fresh. We need to work together and make it one community. We could have perhaps made more of an effort to contact (business leaders) earlier,” he said.