LAGUNA HILLS : Council Approves Budgets for 2 Years

Parting from the tradition of planning budgets one fiscal year at a time, the City Council this week adopted a two-year budget that includes a big increase in capital improvement projects and the creation of a city recreation program.

The budget for the 1993-94 fiscal year totals $11.65 million. The council, seeking to plan further ahead in difficult economic times, also on Tuesday night adopted an overall budget of $11.88 million for 1994-95.

The council opted in February to make the unusual move of planning back-to-back budgets at the urging of City Manager Bruce Channing, who said the approach would provide more foresight and save 25 weeks of staff time each year.

The dramatic increase in planned spending--more than $8.4 million for 1993-94 compared to the current fiscal year--can be attributed to more capital improvements. Among planned projects are a $1.4-million upgrading of the city’s modest parks and a $1.4-million program for street signal and lighting improvements.

Council members, who adopted the budget unanimously, also included the hiring of a recreation supervisor and the initiation of a recreation program. The program will fill a large void, said Don White, administrative services director. He noted that the city’s residents have relied on the recreation offerings of the Saddleback Valley Unified School District.

Holiday events, parades, carnivals, after-school and summer youth programs, teen dances and leisure courses are among the likely offerings under the new $175,000 Recreation Department, Parks and Recreation Director Dave Lewis said.

Beside adding a recreation supervisor to the city’s modest 11-employee staff, the new budgets also create a maintenance supervisor position. White said employees will monitor work done under the city’s various private and county contracts.