Santa Ana May Cut Spending, Raise Fees : Government: City unveils $266.3-million budget proposal, blames slumping economy for its financial woes.

Reeling from the slump in the state and local economy, officials disclosed plans Tuesday to trim the city’s spending by reducing its work force and eliminating staff travel and to raise fees for services ranging from garbage collection to rummage sale permits.

As he unveiled the city’s proposed $266.3-million budget, City Manager David N. Ream sounded what has become a recurring theme in describing the city’s financial woes--that the worsening economy has forced state and county governments to balance their budgets by shifting their financial burdens to the cities.

This year, he said, the combination of lost revenues and increased fees from those governments is expected to cost Santa Ana an estimated $3 million. Higher fees to book prisoners in County Jail and the redirection to the state of all of the city’s cigarette tax revenues make up part of that loss, Ream said.

But while Ream proclaimed that Santa Ana has a “very sound financial base for the future,” the proposed spending plan also reflects an equally dismal short-term economic outlook for the city.

Sales tax revenues--the city’s largest single source of funds in the operating budget--are expected to drop by $1.7 million, and business license fees are expected to be $807,000 below what was collected this fiscal year. Property tax receipts are expected to remain the same.

The city manager’s budget message to the City Council, which will consider the plan Monday, does not mention program cuts, but places an emphasis on raising fees while cutting costs.

It also calls for a new, five-year operations plan that includes improvements to streets, drainage, sidewalks and gutters, the creation of a citywide redevelopment area to fund educational and community facilities, and continued work on the Bristol Street redevelopment plan.

The planned construction of a new police headquarters and jail also is part of the five-year plan, although additional police officers are not mentioned. However, five officers are expected to be added to the current sworn officer strength of 408 through the federally funded “Weed and Seed” program that targets one high-crime neighborhood in the city.

In balancing the budget, most fees charged by the city will increase by 5%, but some increases be larger.

The average residential bimonthly bill for water, sewer and refuse collection is expected to increase from $52.20 to $56.78. An overdue videotape at local libraries will still carry a $5 maximum penalty, but the daily fine will increase from 10 cents a day to $1. And admission to the Santa Ana Zoo will go up by 25 cents for children and senior citizens, and 50 cents for adults.

Fees charged to developers also will increase. The charge to check a lot line, for example, currently is $250, but could go up to a minimum fee of $255 plus $85 per hour.

And there are some proposed new fees. People who want to use tennis courts to play roller hockey now must pay $3 per hour during the day and $5 at night. Non-residents of the city will be charged an extra $2 during the day and $3 in the evening.

Residents, however, have been spared a utility tax increase that was used by city officials last year to help balance the budget. Business license fees also are scheduled to stay at current levels.

Instead, in what is considered by some council members a paper shuffle, the city will boost its coffers with a $6.8-million loan repayment from its Redevelopment Agency. The budget will also benefit from a $1.7-million credit from the state retirement system for previous miscalculation of what the city actually owed.

And in recognition of greater voter awareness about how governments spend tax dollars, Ream announced the elimination of staff travel to seminars and conferences, excluding reimbursable staff training sessions or trips by council members.

“It just seems like in light of what’s going on in all levels of government, including the necessity to lay off employees here in the city of Santa Ana, that it was appropriate to eliminate travel this year, although I was looking forward to going to the National League of Cities conference in New Orleans,” Ream said. “Hopefully, the mayor and council will send me a postcard.”

He added that the savings would total about $350,000.

The 34 staff positions to be cut from the budget will be primarily through attrition or retirement, with eight or nine workers to be laid off, Ream said.

But the budget also calls for the expansion of some services, such as the library’s bookmobile and youth services program. Other projects scheduled to increase include the DARE anti-drug program and Project PRIDE, the gang-prevention effort.

Increased code enforcement will anchor the city’s efforts toward “providing a safe, attractive and well-maintained community.”

The council currently is considering a new law that would require inspections of all 37,000 residential rental units in the city and an annual permit fee of $55 per dwelling. The program is expected to generate $2 million annually for the city.