Whittier : 10 Jobs Cut, Fees Increased to Pass $60.5-Million Budget

The City Council on Tuesday approved a $60.5-million budget that eliminates 10 staff positions and includes some fee increases in response to Whittier’s declining sales tax revenue.

The eliminated positions include the entire word processing department. Its tasks will be divided among remaining staff members. As many as four city employees face layoffs if they cannot be placed in other positions by next October. In all, officials trimmed about $1.8 million from departmental requests, Controller Clara K. Wong said.

Officials blamed the need for belt-tightening on an economic downturn in the Southeast region. The city earned about $1 million less in sales tax than expected this year. The revenue drop has forced Whittier to dip into its reserve to balance its budget. The city’s general fund will end this year about $600,000 in the red and will have an estimated $240,000 deficit next year, Wong said.

The budget for the new fiscal year, which begins Monday, includes an increase in the hotel bed tax and building permit fees.