City Girds for More Budget Cuts : Finances: Officials say Pasadena could lose $10.2 million to the state in property taxes and redevelopment funds.

City officials are hunkering down for what they expect will be a painful one-two financial punch, as the state, for the second straight year, prepares to balance its own budget by skimming aid to cities.

On top of an anticipated shortfall of about $5 million because of shrinking sales tax revenues and approved salary increases for municipal employees, city finance officials say, the city could lose $10.2 million to the state in property taxes and redevelopment funds.

And there are no immediate prospects for quick revenue infusions from a turnaround in the feeble Southern California economy, Finance Director Mary Bradley told the City Council on Tuesday.

“The motto seems to be, ‘Stay alive till ‘95,’ ” she said.

Council members said the city must take aggressive action to bring new revenue into the city.

“We ought to consider all possible revenue sources,” said Councilman William Paparian, adding that Pasadena should keep “an open mind” about legalized gambling.

“Other cities are looking at card clubs,” he said.

After the council meeting, Paparian said he was not proposing a card club for Pasadena but a creative approach to financing that would consider any proposal. “That (the card club) would represent one extreme,” he said.

“Why is it always a doomsday scenario when it comes to the budget?” Councilman Isaac Richard added. “The city manager’s office has not been proactive enough when it comes to bringing in revenue to the city.”

City Manager Philip Hawkey said his office has been aggressive in seeking new sources of funding but that revenues had “been plummeting faster than we anticipated.”

The current situation would seem to dictate layoffs and service cutbacks, city officials said privately, though no one was predicting which city departments might be targeted.

One partial solution to the city’s budget problems is to have the Pasadena Public Library funded by a special city tax rather than from general fund revenues, freeing about $6 million a year for other purposes, city officials said.

A task force formed last month is considering library tax proposals. The 10-member group is expected to propose a plan to the council early next month.

Just three months ago, the city absorbed a $4-million hit from the state, forcing an array of service cuts and the elimination of 36 city jobs.

That was on top of three years of austerity, with dozens of city job vacancies remaining frozen, forced largely by the loss of sales tax revenue because of the region’s poor business climate.

Last week, Gov. Pete Wilson proposed a $51.2-billion state budget that included the shift of $2.6 billion in property tax money from local governments to schools.

Bradley said a series of meetings last month with State Treasurer Kathleen Brown and with experts from the League of California Cities, as well as private talks with state finance officials, have painted a grim picture for California cities.

State officials are saying that cities must be prepared to absorb cuts in state aid 2 1/2 times bigger than last year’s cuts, Bradley said.

Last year, the city lost about $2 million in property tax to the state and $2 million in redevelopment funds, which was then described as a “onetime” loss.

The city can anticipate losing an additional $5.2 million in property taxes this year, as well as about $5 million in redevelopment funds, state officials have told Bradley.

“They’re not talking about one time hits anymore,” she said.

There are some bright spots in Pasadena’s economic picture, including the opening next month of One Colorado, a commercial complex in Old Pasadena, and the staging of the Super Bowl in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 31, which will bring in new sales tax and transient occupancy tax revenue.

But most of the city’s profits from the Super Bowl game will be plowed back into the Rose Bowl, Bradley said.

The 71-year-old city-owned stadium is in need of maintenance repairs, and the city must pay for the construction of an $11-million press box.

On the down side, Robinson’s on Colorado Boulevard, one of the city’s major sales tax generators, is scheduled to close Jan. 31.