HUNTINGTON BEACH : Meeting to Focus on City Budget Proposal

It will be Round 2 tonight as the City Council again studies a proposed city budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The special council meeting on the budget, which is open for public comments, begins at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at Main Street and Yorktown Avenue.

The budget came under initial scrutiny at the council meeting June 1, with the financial blueprint drawing some critical comments from residents. Much of the criticism focused on proposed fee increases in the city.

City Administrator Michael T. Uberuaga said the city must increase many fees to keep the budget out of the red. He noted that a professional consultant had recommended the fee increases, saying the city should charge residents for what services cost, which existing fees do not cover.

Among residents criticizing the budget on June 1 were Dave Sullivan, president of Huntington Beach Tomorrow. “This is a budget by bureaucrats for bureaucrats and let the public be damned,” Sullivan said. He added that fee increases would not be necessary if city employees would forgo a pay raise this year.

Other city residents criticized some cutbacks in services proposed in the budget, which calls for eliminating lifeguard service at three of the four public beaches in Huntington Harbour, reducing community center operating hours and cutting back on book purchases for the city library.

Deputy City Administrator Ray Silver said the meeting tonight will allow City Council members “to look at the budget in depth and ask questions about items.”