Long Beach : Council Delays Budget Vote, Awaits Legislative Action

Officials Tuesday delayed adopting next year’s city budget for another week, hoping that state lawmakers will find a way to settle California’s fiscal woes without touching city coffers.

The City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Monday to review proposed cuts. If local officials do not settle on a budget by July 1, the $8.3 million in cuts proposed by City Manager James C. Hankla would automatically be adopted.

The council was scheduled to complete its budget allocations for the last two Tuesdays but postponed the votes because lawmakers in Sacramento were considering stripping cities of two major sources of funding.

The first source is the city’s share of the fee that drivers pay when they register their cars, typically the second-largest source of revenue for a city after sales taxes. The second item would be a transfer of property taxes from cities to schools.