SAN CLEMENTE : Meetings on City Budget Start Today

Faced with a bleak financial future, San Clemente city officials tonight will begin considering long-term budget plans, from raising taxes to disbanding the city police force.

The discussion will focus on a five-year financial forecast for the city of 43,000 people, which has been hit hard in recent years by economic recession and dwindling revenue from the state.

The special meeting, the first of several on the issue scheduled for this month, will start at 7 p.m. at the City Council Chambers.

In a 40-page summary of the city’s first long-term financial plan, City Manager Michael W. Parness said it has become clear in the last two years that the city “is slipping into a crisis situation.”

Last year alone, the council cut about 12% of the city’s $20-million general-fund budget, including the elimination of 25 full-time positions, about 8% of the city work force.

The next five years could be even worse unless immediate steps are taken, Parness warned. If economic conditions remain poor and major cuts are not implemented, the city could face deficits from $1.8 million to $3 million in each of the coming five years, according to Parness.

City officials are already projecting a shortfall of about $2 million this coming fiscal year, with about $1.5 million of that in property tax revenue that may be taken by the state.

“The time for decisive leadership and difficult decision-making has arrived,” Parness advised the council.

“None of the proposed solutions will be accepted without challenge,” he noted. But no matter how “distasteful” the budget-cutting options might be to the public, Parness said, “not dealing with our financial reality will result in ramifications unacceptable to all.”

Among the possible cost-cutting measures, which will be outlined during an all-day budget session Saturday: reduce fringe benefits for employees by about $500,000, disband the city’s Police Department and contract for service with the Sheriff’s Department for a savings of about $2 million in the first year.

City officials are also proposing seven possible tax increases, including a storm drain utility tax that could raise about $508,000 for much-needed repairs.

The budget hearing Saturday will begin at 9 a.m. in the City Council Chambers.