SAN CLEMENTE : Council Moves to Ax July 4th Party Funds

In a surprise move, the City Council this week preliminarily agreed to cancel funding for this year’s Fourth of July celebration because of budget constraints and are also planning to eliminate one of two assistant city manager positions.

The council, which has been grappling with a $2.5-million projected deficit in next year’s budget, made those and other preliminary decisions during two days of lengthy special meetings.

Council members at their meeting Thursday said they could not justify spending about $30,000 for the annual Fourth of July event while they are considering instituting a pay freeze for all city employees and eliminating paid vacations during the winter holiday season.

“It’s a difficult decision,” said Mayor Joseph Anderson. “Certainly we would hope that we would have private sponsors for the event, but as a city expenditure, we will not be doing it.”

Last month, the council voted to proceed with funding the celebration--a city tradition for nearly 40 years--because they believed canceling the event would probably cost the city more in lost tourist revenue.

But council members said they reversed their decision because of the cost of fireworks and police and fire personnel. They are expected to take formal action on the matter next month.

The elimination of the assistant city manager position and a secretary will save the city about $67,000, city officials said.

The council’s budget recommendations are not yet binding. They were submitted to give city staff a clear direction in planning next year’s budget, which will be proposed in June, said City Manager Michael W. Parness.

“We are simply asking the city for guidance as we put together the budget,” Parness said. “We are dealing with a lot more detail than we have in the past because of our current budget situation. But lots could change between now and June.”

Council members based their preliminary decisions on recommendations made by both city staff and a citizens’ committee appointed to help the city find ways to balance the budget.

The committee, which issued a 29-page report to the council earlier this month, also suggested that the city switch to an in-house city attorney instead of contracting out for legal services and switch to a private ambulance service.

Council members rejected both suggestions and also delayed a decision on the proposed elimination of several city staff positions. The council will still need to find ways to close a remaining budget gap of more than $200,000.