CAMARILLO : Council OKs Budget, Freeze on Salaries
The Camarillo City Council has adopted a 1992-93 budget of $29.67 million for the city and the Camarillo Sanitary District, maintaining the same level of city services as this year.
And in a separate vote Wednesday, the council also placed a first-time freeze on salary increases for the 110 employees of the city and sanitary district. The freeze will remain in place until city officials get a clearer picture of how the state budget will affect Camarillo, officials said.
City employees were told Monday that they would not receive an average 3.6% cost-of-living increase this year, Assistant City Manager Larry Davis said. “Our employees were very understanding as to what the circumstances are,” Davis said. “We want to live up to our prior commitment, but if it’s not possible, it’s not possible.”
City officials decided the freeze was necessary in light of the possible $2-million loss in state funding for Camarillo, Davis said. The council voted to allow for cost-of-living increases retroactive to July 1 should officials learn that the city can afford them.
But until state legislators and the governor can agree on a spending package, the size of that increase is unknown. “Maybe we will find we can’t do anything, or something less, or maybe the 3.6%,” City Manager William Little said.
If the state reduces funding to Camarillo, city staff will have to go back and adjust the budget accordingly, Little told the council.
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