Oxnard’s $126-Million 2-Year Budget Urges $5.3 Million in Cuts : Finances: No programs are added. Services are reduced in every department. The 1991 spending plan is 3.6% larger than the previous year’s.

The city of Oxnard unveiled a $126-million preliminary two-year budget Wednesday, calling for $5.3 million in cuts to make up for projected revenue losses due to the recession.

The proposed budget adds no new programs and reduces services in every department, including fire and police.

The 1991 budget proposal calls for $62.3 million in expenses--a 3.6% increase over the current year’s $60-million budget. The increase will be used to make up for an estimated 4.5% increase in the cost of living, said Grace Magistrale Hoffman, Oxnard’s budget management officer.

“This is a less-than-status-quo budget,” she said. “We have implemented some reductions and we will continue to do so over the next couple of years until the economy recovers and we can begin the rebuilding process.”

City officials hope to avoid layoffs, but several positions are being eliminated through attrition. Despite the city’s efforts to reduce costs, the 1991 budget will be $1.1 million in the red, Hoffman said. The shortfall will be made up by borrowing from the city’s $7.1-million reserve fund.

City officials said they may be able to make up part of this deficit in 1992, when revenues are expected to exceed expenses by $700,000, with the surplus going to the general fund. The 1992 budget calls for $63.9 million in expenses.

Budget hearings before the City Council to discuss the proposed spending plan will be held at 7:30 p.m. June 4 and 1:30 p.m. June 5 and 6. State law requires that the budget be approved by June 30.

In his introduction, City Manager Vernon G. Hazen wrote that the proposed budget could be drastically modified if the state, which also faces a deficit, cuts off funding or imposes fee increases.

Despite the city’s financial constraints, Hazen predicted that “the next two years will be exciting times.”

He highlighted city plans to develop the Oxnard Town Center shopping mall and the Ormond Beach strip, soon to be converted into a high-priced residential area.

A $1.17-million program for street, building and equipment maintenance survived the cuts, Hazen said.

Hardest hit by the proposed budget was the Parks and Recreation Department, which lost 29 positions, including 10 of its 35 parks maintenance workers and four tree trimmers. As a result, restrooms in public parks will be closed on weekdays.

Also lost was the city’s sponsorship of most community events, from the Santa Claus Christmas float to the Fourth of July fireworks show. City officials hope that the private sector will sponsor these events.

Social programs were also eliminated or farmed out to the private sector. The city’s senior citizen minibus service will be privately run next year, but its future is uncertain after that. City officials are trying to find nonprofit organizations to take over operation of the South Oxnard Community Center’s programs and the Carnegie Auditorium.

The council held several budget reduction sessions in March and April during which cuts included in the proposed budget were identified.

Hazen and the city’s five council members were out of town Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.