BUENA PARK : City to Keep Funds Until ‘Last Second’

The city is losing more than $625,000 in redevelopment funds to the state, but officials aren’t rushing to hand over the money.

City Manager Kevin O’Rourke told the City Council last week that the city must pay $625,524 in redevelopment funds to the state--so the state can balance its own budget--by May 10.

But if the council has its way, the state won’t see a penny of the money until the day the payment is due.

“There’s no sense in paying the bill ahead of time. It might as well earn interest up until the last second,” said Councilman Donald L. Bone. “It just is a message that we strenuously object and we’re not going to pay until it’s positively necessary to pay.”

Council members recently passed a resolution demanding that the state stop raiding local government’s treasuries to solve its own budget woes.

The council has been the leader in encouraging other Orange County cities to pass resolutions protesting the state Legislature’s use of local government revenue to balance its budget. The Fountain Valley City Council passed such a resolution last week.

Local city officials also fear that cities will likely lose more revenue to state cuts for the 1993-94 fiscal year.

Buena Park Mayor Arthur C. Brown said the loss of the redevelopment funds will hamper the city’s efforts to upgrade blighted areas and in other ways, too.

“It’s (also) going to hurt in attracting new business, because we won’t have the money to help them move in,” he said, and in efforts to help businesses relocate.