WESTMINSTER : Spending to Rise 6% in Healthy Budget

The City Council has unanimously approved a $28.6-million budget for the 1991-92 fiscal year which increases spending by 6%.

The budget includes $4.5 million in emergency reserves and is the first in several years that has been balanced without dipping into reserves, Finance Director Brian Mayhew said. “We didn’t feel the effects of the recession as (much as) everybody else did,” he said. In fact, the city’s sales tax revenue, which accounts for 35% of the its total income, is expected to jump about 18% this year, to $9.7 million. During the 1990-91 fiscal year, it increased $500,000.

Also, city fees for services were recently increased to ensure that those services are self-supporting, and now bring in $250,000, Mayhew said. Also, the city expects to receive $1 million in fines and forfeitures stemming from drug arrests.

With the exception of staff salaries, which increased 7%, the city cut expenses by 1%.

The only “big-ticket” item in the budget is a $1-million, computer-aided dispatch system which will allow police to process information faster and reduce response time, Mayhew said.