VILLA PARK : City Makes Cuts, OKs Spending Plan

The City Council this week cut $53,200 from the budgets of five city departments as it unanimously adopted a $1.5-million spending plan for the 1993-94 fiscal year.

The Engineering and Planning Department eliminated a proposal to create a master plan for the city’s drainage system, saving $45,000.

The plan would have “told us where we needed improvements in our drainage system,” City Manager Fred Maley said. “It’s a desirable plan to have. We’ll just have to ask for it again next year.”

The other reductions are: $5,000 from the city attorney’s budget for special legal services, $1,450 from Maley’s budget for conferences and meetings, $1,000 from the Public Works Department for landscape maintenance and $750 in the City Council’s costs for supplies.

In addition, the city will give no pay raises to its eight employees. Last year, they received a 4% wage increase. “This is the first year we’re not getting raises,” Maley said.

The city will use about $80,000 from its cash reserves to complete the widening of Cerro Villa Drive. The $200,000 project is the only capital improvement project in the next fiscal year, the city manager said.

Despite the outlay from the city’s reserves, about $670,000 will remain in the fund. “We’re about $150,000 over what we thought we would have in reserve, but the state keeps taking, so we won’t be able to do as many projects as we want,” Maley said.

“We have one capital improvement project,” Mayor Bob Bell said. “That’s better than none at all, and as far as the rest of the budget is concerned, we’re doing fine. We have no indebtedness, so we don’t have to amortize any costs. We don’t have any monthly payments to make in Villa Park.”

The city’s budget may be changed if there are any major amendments to the state budget now awaiting Gov. Pete Wilson’s signature.