SANTA ANA : Union Contracts Delay City Budget

Despite two months of study and debate, the City Council is still wrangling over the city’s $218-million budget because contracts with the police and fire unions have not been settled.

Santa Ana is the largest city in the county without a final 1990-91 budget at hand. The council missed its own deadline last month for passing the budget. The city councils of Irvine and Westminster have not passed final budgets either.

“We’re being held hostage by the contracts,” said Mayor Daniel H. Young, who is pushing for budget passage. Young described the delays as “embarrassing.”

However, Councilman Richards L. Norton contends that the council should not pass the budget until contracts are settled. He said the city might be forced to change budget appropriations after the contracts are approved.

“It’s not fair to pass it now,” Norton said. “We will be taking from Peter to give to Paul.”

Santa Ana’s budget, which emphasizes a beefed-up police force to battle gang activity, was unveiled by City Manager David N. Ream in May, but final adoption has been postponed six times throughout the summer.

Ream said on Wednesday that further budget delays could begin to affect personnel expenditures, such as the amount of overtime paid on a monthly basis and service contracts. The city has also had to delay many public works construction projects and all capital improvement projects.

Until the new budget is passed, the city will not be able to add the 15 new positions budgeted for the Police Department, Ream said. Those positions include six additional investigators for the department’s narcotics unit and four more investigators for its gang unit. In addition, five more non-sworn officers will be added to the force to allow officers more time to patrol the streets. The 10 new investigators will be chosen from within the department’s roster of 351 officers. The budget also allocates $219,055 for the promotion of three sergeants to the position of lieutenant.

The Police Department’s $40-million budget represents approximately 40% of the city’s general fund budget.

Also delayed is additional funding for Project Pride, a program run by the Recreation and Community Services Agency, Ream said.

Funding for this program, which attempts to steer youngsters away from joining gangs, has been nearly doubled from $66,000 to $110,000 to make it available at six additional schools.

A total of $34.8 million has been budgeted for the delayed capital improvements. In addition to the work being done in neighborhoods, there will be resurfacing of major thoroughfares, new traffic signals, parks improvements and a library renovation and expansion program.