Air Quality District OKs Record Budget : Pollution: Business fees will increase by $21 million. Industry leaders question the need for added revenue.

South Coast Air Quality Management District officials, already under fire from business leaders for hefty budget increases and higher fees paid by polluters, unanimously approved a record $101.4-million annual budget Friday.

The budget, representing a 19% spending increase over this year’s, calls for $21 million in increased fees charged to polluters, includes a 6% cost-of-living raise for district employees and boosts the number of workers to 1,138, up 117 from this year.

“This budget will keep us on track toward attainment of the clean air goals,” AQMD Executive Officer James M. Lents told the board. “However, I also underscore the fact that this is a bare-bones budget that precludes the addition of any major tasks not already included in the work plan.”

Although AQMD officials said the budget is enough to finance only existing and already planned air pollution programs, business leaders have increased efforts to force the district to keep costs down and have urged the state Legislature to impose a spending cap on the agency. More than 85% of the district’s budget is financed by fees paid by business.

During the past decade, the district’s budget has increased 300%, largely, the district argues, because of new responsibilities mandated by the state and federal governments and because of expanded enforcement efforts.

The AQMD basin, which includes the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino, is the only region in the nation that does not meet federal clean air standards for nitrogen dioxide. It exceeds federal standards for ozone by as much as 300% during the worst smog months and fails to meet standards for carbon monoxide.

Even so, some business representatives questioned the need for increased fees during a budget hearing Friday.

“I do question if there is a need for unparalleled growth and unchecked need to raise revenue,” Robert A. Raskin, representing the Southern California Manufacturers Assn., told the AQMD board.

An attorney representing a Colton cement manufacturing company said its fees would increase by 46%, to $875,000, under the new fee schedules called for in the budget. “This could cause the plant to become economically unfeasible,” warned San Bernardino attorney James E. Good, speaking for the Cal Mat Co.

In addition to calling for limits on spending by the AQMD, business lobbyists have urged the Legislature to impose stricter accountability requirements on the four-county smog-fighting agency. A bill requiring the AQMD to file annual reports with the Legislature detailing its activities and budget has been introduced in the state Senate. The agency is accountable only to its own governing board, which is appointed by elected state and local officials.

“We’re being very actively attacked on our budget,” Lents said before the hearing. He said he supports the proposed legislation. But he complained that business interests wanted more services from the district, such as economic analyses of new proposals, while simultaneously urging budget constraints.

“That’s a way to grind you to a halt: Build a framework in which you’ve got to do a lot more work and then cut off blood supply to do the work,” Lents complained.

Outlining the district’s increased workload, Lents said there was a 220% increase in permit applications in the last year, a 20% increase in enforcement and a 70% increase in complaints from residents about air polluters that had to be investigated. Lents said the complaint figure does not include the 10,000 to 20,000 calls a month about smoke-belching vehicles.

Next year, Lents said, the number of new air-quality regulations to be proposed will increase by 150%. About 4,600 additional businesses will have to submit ride-sharing programs, compared to 1,600 today.

According to the budget, revenue from emission fees paid by polluting industries would jump to $39.7 million from the current year’s $30.5 million. Emission fees account for 40% of the district’s revenues.

Permit renewal fees paid by all businesses and industries--which make up a fourth of the revenues--would jump 16%, to $25 million. Other fees paid by businesses would rise by 68%, to $21 million.

Reflecting the increased emphasis on enforcement of ride-sharing programs, the district expects to receive $2.2 million in processing fees from such programs, a 38% increase.

At the same time, however, grants from the Environmental Protection Agency are expected to drop by 5%, to $1.4 million.

AQMD BUDGET BREAKDOWN

Charts show revenue sources and expenditures--broken down in percentages--in the budget plan for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. District Revenue Sources Mobile Sources: 1% Annual Renewal: 25% Penalties: 2% Emission Fees: 40% Toxic Hot Spots: 1% Grant/Supervention: 5% Transportation Prgm. 2% Permit: 21% Other 3% District Program Expenditures Planning & Rules: 10.9% District Counsel: 0.8% District General: 11.4% Executive Office: 0.7% Operations: 41.3% Administration: 18.1% Chief Prosecutor: 2.8% Public Affairs: 7.3% Tech. Advancement: 6.7%