A Sigh of Relief Over Scope of Revenue Cuts

Glendale and La Canada Flintridge officials on Wednesday breathed a sigh of resigned relief that revenue cuts imposed by the adoption of a state budget are not as bad as they could have been.

“In relative terms, we did well,” said Ray Cruz, Glendale’s legislative expert. “It could have been a lot worse.”

City Manager Gabrielle Pryor said La Canada Flintridge will lose about $78,000 of its $4-million budget--”less than I was anticipating.”

Glendale expects to lose half of its projected $2 million in low-cost housing revenue this year and might have to trim another 30 city staff positions on top of 82 jobs already cut, Finance Director Brian Butler said. The staff cuts are expected to come through attrition and no additional layoffs are contemplated, Butler said. The city has had a hiring freeze since last October and laid off about 12 employees earlier this year. The city now employs 1,566 people.

In addition to that, Butler estimated the city will have to trim another $1.6 million from its $288-million budget.

Glendale City Manager David Ramsay said the city “will look at the impact (of the state budget) very closely and will not have a knee-jerk reaction.” City officials on Wednesday said they have not had time to fully analyze the budget and series of rider bills attached to it.

Butler said Glendale is in better financial condition than many cities because it has maintained a substantial reserve. “It’s not like the checks are bouncing,” Butler said. “We have some breathing room.”

But he called the long delay in the adoption of a state budget “frustrating and futile.”

Pryor said she had anticipated a cut in property tax revenues by up to 18%, rather than the 9% set by the Legislature in late negotiations. She said she is hoping that and the loss of cigarette taxes “will be a one-time reduction only.”

La Canada Flintridge recently sold to Glendale $400,000 worth of restricted-use Proposition A transportation tax revenue for $200,000 cash, which is being used for general city services. “My main concern is what will happen next year with next year’s state budget,” Pryor said.

As legislators dragged into the 63rd day of negotiations without a budget late Tuesday--the longest fiscal crisis in the state government’s history--Cruz, an executive assistant to the Glendale city manager, was busy telephoning Sacramento representatives and lobbyists and monitoring messages from a fax machine.

“We are chasing ghosts and rumors throughout the halls of the state Legislature,” said Cruz, who described his job as monitoring “back whispers and sound bites.”