HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Budget Proposal Lacks Funds for Pier

The City Council on Monday night held a public hearing on the city’s proposed $176-million budget for the new fiscal year that starts July 1. A formal vote on the document is scheduled at the council’s June 18 meeting.

The budget, described by City Administrator Michael T. Uberuaga as being comparatively lean, calls for no additional city funds for a new municipal pier. The city had previously earmarked $1.6 million from its current budget for the pier, but Uberuaga said there is not enough money coming into city coffers in 1990-91 to set aside more for that project.

Construction of the new pier is scheduled to start in November. The estimated cost of the new structure is about $12 million, and the city so far has raised about $7.5 million. The City Council has voted to hire a professional fund-raising organization to come up with the remaining $4.5 million.

The proposed budget also has no money for Police Chief Ronald E. Lowenberg’s plan for rehabilitating the troubled Oak View area of the city. Lowenberg two weeks ago urged the council to spend about $500,000 for police and social programs in Oak View to combat drug abuse, gangs, unemployment and housing deterioration.

The City Council on May 21 indicated general support for Lowenberg’s proposal, but council members now must revise the budget if the money for Oak View is to be funded.

Most of the proposed new budget goes for personnel costs, Uberuaga said. “About 69.2% of the (budget’s) general fund goes to personnel,” he said. “We have allowed for a 5% pay increase for city employees.”

No new or increased fees are included in the proposed city budget. But the City Council, at a study session earlier this year, indicated it plans to increase the city’s trash fee because of rising costs.

The current trash fee is $7.50 a month per residence, and the cost to the city for the service is $9.52 a month per residence. Uberuaga said it would be wise for the City Council to increase the trash fee to $9.52 a month “so that the city is not subsidizing this service.”