LOS ALAMITOS : Council Cuts Budget, Hikes Employees’ Pay

The City Council has approved a $394,500 cut in the 1992-93 budget and a 3% across-the-board pay hike for all city employees.

The changes approved Monday leave the city with lower reserves, but City Manager Robert C. Dunek predicted that projected revenue would still outpace expenditures.

However, Dunek said that if the city loses traditional revenue from property taxes and vehicle fees as a result of the state’s effort to plug its own budget deficit, the city will be forced to make deeper cuts in the future.

“We made assumptions . . . so we can go on with the business of the city. If the state comes up with lesser cuts, we’ll reinstate the expenditures. If the cuts are greater, we’ll go back and make further adjustments,” Dunek said.

The salary increase was the first in two years, Dunek said. It will benefit clerical and public service employees, members of the police union and management personnel at a cost of $117,000 to the city.

Three full-time jobs were eliminated in the budget cuts, including one police officer’s position, and previously budgeted capital expenditures were either eliminated or reduced to achieve the $394,500 cut, according to Assistant City Manager Gerard Goedhart.

Police Chief James Guess said there will be no cuts in police street patrols. A vacant administrative position was eliminated, leaving the city with 25 sworn and eight non-sworn officers.

In the tentative city budget approved in June, revenue was projected at $6.6 million and expenditures at $6.36 million, leaving a reserve of $239,000. The new budget cuts and salary increase will leave a reserve of just $111,500.

That did not, however, take into consideration possible losses as a result of state action. The city could lose as much as $405,000 in property tax revenues, according to staff projections.