Legislature Leaves Cities Little Reason to Celeberate : Budgets: Most leaders plan a combination of spending cuts and tax increases to make up for what they will lose to the state.

If you had plans to take the family to Lakewood’s annual Fourth of July fireworks show, cancel them now. If you live in Whittier, Downey or Paramount, you can expect to pay a little more in taxes for utilities. And no matter what city you call home, chances are your local library will be closing earlier and more often.

It is budget time, and for the second year in a row, the Legislature is performing its rendition of Robin Hood: stealing from the poor to give to the hard up. This year it means taking a total of $2.6 billion from local governments and giving it to the schools.

Last week, even before the scope of the cuts was clear, most Southeast-area city leaders were planning a mix of spending cuts and tax increases to compensate for whatever they must give to the state.

“It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the state was in deep trouble and wasn’t doing anything about it,” La Mirada City Manager Gary K. Sloan said.

Anticipating that the state would siphon funds, La Mirada city leaders laid off 10 employees. The $15,000 fireworks show in Lakewood was doused. Downey residents will pay 2% more in utility taxes. And in some cities, fewer police officers may patrol the streets.

The area’s largest city, Long Beach, will make it through the budget crunch relatively unscathed since it can tap into the reserves of its wealthy Harbor Department to compensate for losses.

But chances are most area residents will find that their city-owned buildings are not as clean as they used to be, or that the trees along the main boulevards are getting shaggy, potholes are turning into craters, and there are fewer people at City Hall to complain to because employees have been laid off.

While many city leaders noted that they will not have to give the state as much as they did last year, in these tough economic times, anything the state takes is too much. Also, several city administrators said, the money they lose to the state, together with the programs and services the money paid for, will probably never be replenished.

“The current state budget is a disaster for local government and taxpayers and is a triumph of political expediency . . . and anyone who isn’t outraged by it is wearing a blindfold,” said Don Waldie, a Lakewood spokesman.

Almost a dozen Southeast-area cities, such as Bellflower and Artesia, will be spared the brunt of the cuts because the state is taking property taxes and those cities do not receive property taxes. However, many of these same cities rely on Los Angeles County to provide law enforcement and fire services and run their libraries and parks. The county is expected to lose at least $273 million--money it will have to make up with service cuts and fee increases.

“We’re not losing property tax money, so that makes it sound like Bellflower is sitting pretty, but that’s not the case,” said Ben Harvey, an aide to the city administrator. “Since we rely on county services, any hit they take is going to affect us.”

According to a preliminary list prepared by county Supervisor Gloria Molina’s office, libraries in Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood, Montebello and Pico Rivera will have their hours reduced. Some will be open just two days a week. Funding for juvenile delinquency programs run by the city of South Gate and the Bell Gardens Police Department may be reduced, and juvenile and adult gang programs could be eliminated in Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy and Huntington Park.

In addition to taking property taxes, the state also wants a share of cities’ redevelopment agency money. Although the amount is expected to be a fraction of what the state took last year, several cities already are predicting that redevelopment projects will be delayed.

City leaders said that will mean a delay in creating new businesses at a time when jobs are desperately needed.

“Because (the state) is picking our city pockets the way they are, we have to cut back--not on essential services, but on the quality of life here,” said Lakewood Mayor Larry Van Nostran.

Here is a brief look at what Southeast cities are facing:

Artesia

The city will be spared some of the fiscal pain inflicted on its neighbors because it does not receive property-tax revenue and does not have a redevelopment agency. Nevertheless, City Manager Paul J. Philips warned that increased costs and a drop in revenue from other sources will force the city to tighten its belt in the coming fiscal year.

The city’s $4.5-million general fund for 1993-94 does not include any capital improvement projects. Nine vacant positions will remain unfilled, Philips said. The city probably will continue a freeze on employee salaries and could consider reductions in recreation programs, he added.

Bell

Officials plan to delay a reduction in the 10% tax on utilities to offset the loss of $270,000 in property taxes to the state. The city was scheduled to reduce the tax to 8% this year and 6% next year.

The loss of revenue from the $6-million budget is “a piece of change, but it’s really not a whole lot,” said Robert Rizzo, interim city manager. “It’s not going to make much of an impact.”

Bellflower

The city’s $10.6-million general fund won’t be affected because Bellflower does not receive revenue from property taxes. Officials pointed out, however, that the city depends on a number of county services, such as law enforcement, fire and libraries, that might be cut.

The Redevelopment Agency, which has been in litigation since it was formed in 1991, has no budget.

Cerritos

Fiscal pain will be minimal in this city, which has large auto and shopping malls and does not rely on property tax revenue. Officials plan to increase spending 10.6%, to $48.2 million this year, but much of the increase will be used to meet operating expenses of the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.

Some street repairs will be delayed, and city departments will have to undergo modest belt-tightening. Travel budgets have been cut 25%.

The city will lose an estimated $500,000 from its redevelopment agency budget of $13.9 million, said City Manager Art Gallucci. The agency will dip into its $18-million reserve fund or delay capital projects to offset the loss, he said.

Commerce

The city will be spared any huge losses because it does not receive property tax revenue, but officials point out that they have endured severe cuts the last two years because of dwindling sales tax revenue.

“We’ve already made significant cuts in our police services, Fire Department, libraries, parks and recreation,” City Manager Louis Shephard said. “We didn’t want to go through that again.”

The city’s $28-million budget next year will be $3 million below the budget two years ago, Shephard said. The city manager said he did not know how much the city redevelopment agency would lose from its $29.3-million budget, but said the losses probably will be less than the $695,000 this year.

Compton

Officials plan to delay some expenditures, such as putting off the hiring of four new firefighters for about two months, as a result of the property-tax cuts, City Manager Howard Caldwell said. “We’re not cutting anything out, we’re just not going to be able to hire these people or make a few improvements as quickly as we wanted,” Caldwell said.

The city will lose about $348,000 in property taxes from its estimated $25-million general fund for 1993-94, Caldwell said. He estimated that the city’s redevelopment agency will lose $438,000 from its $4.6-million budget, which would delay plans to prepare the site of the city’s defunct auto mall for new development.

Cudahy

The $3.6-million budget will escape state cuts since the city does not receive property-tax revenue. But Cudahy still must make cuts or raise another $275,000 to balance the budget, City Manager Jack M. Joseph said. The City Council on Monday will discuss various options, including eliminating funding for one sheriff’s patrol car and increasing the utility users tax to 6% from 4%. The city would lose about $75,000 from its $2.8-million redevelopment budget, he said.

Downey

Already hurt by the closure of automobile dealerships and other large sales-tax producers, this city will have to give the state an estimated $761,000 in property taxes from its $33.5-million general fund. The City Council voted last week to increase its utility users tax from 3% to 5%, which is expected to raise an additional $1.9 million a year.

In addition, more than $1 million was cut from the budget. The city’s hiring freeze will remain in effect, a part-time administrative clerk’s job will be eliminated, and for the third year in a row, some employees will go without a raise. More than $100,000 will be cut from the budgets of the city-owned theater and library. The number of theater programs may be reduced, and the library may buy fewer books.

Hawaiian Gardens

The city expects to lose about $23,000 in property taxes from its $3-million general fund, and $425,000 out of its $3-million redevelopment agency budget. Three management-level positions will be eliminated, and management staff will not receive cost-of-living increases, City Administrator Nelson Oliva said. The entire square-mile city is a redevelopment zone.

Huntington Park

Officials are expecting a reduction of about $106,000 in the $11-million budget, but a 3% utility users tax should more than offset the loss, City Manager Donald L. Jeffers said. The tax, which took effect about six months ago, generates more than $1 million a year, he said. Jeffers said he could not estimate losses to the Redevelopment Agency, but predicted that the cut would be much less than the $600,000 the agency absorbed this year in its $1.1-million redevelopment budget.

Jeffers also echoed the concerns of other city officials that cuts in the county budget will have an impact on their county services, such as the library and paramedic services.

La Habra Heights

The good news is this city has no redevelopment agency, so it won’t lose any redevelopment funds to the state. But the bad news is that property tax revenue accounted for more than a fourth of the city’s $2-million general fund this year.

City Manager Noelia F. Chapa said the city of 6,000 residents could lose $34,000 to $122,000 in property taxes under the state’s budget plan. Although Chapa has not prepared a budget for the coming fiscal year, she said the lost tax revenue will probably mean the continuation of a city hiring freeze. A vacant administrative assistant’s job, one of the city’s 12 staff positions, is likely to remain unfilled through the next fiscal year, she said.

The City Council is not expected to adopt a budget until mid-July.

La Mirada

This city had reduced its spending this year and put capital projects on hold in anticipation of a state raid on local revenues, City Manager Gary K. Sloan said.

Ten employees were laid off, including three management staff members, saving the city $550,000, nearly a fifth of its payroll. The freeze on capital projects saved $450,000, Sloan said.

The general fund budget of $14.2 million includes no money from property taxes, and the $4.7-million redevelopment budget will lose just $200,000, he said.

Lakewood

Residents can expect limited park hours and overgrown trees. The fund-raising golf tournament for anti-drug programs in the schools probably will be cut. The freeze on 22 city staff positions will be extended.

These are among the cuts Lakewood is facing to offset the loss of $230,000 in property taxes in a general fund budget of about $28 million. “For most Lakewood residents, the impact of two years of (cuts by the state) will be relatively invisible because city officials have been able to deploy our remaining resources efficiently, but we are reaching the point where we can no longer do that,” city spokesman Don Waldie said. “We can’t go on like this.”

Lynwood

City officials have asked all department heads to recommend budget cuts to offset $308,000 in property tax losses from the city’s $16.5-million general fund.

The Sheriff’s Department, which provides law enforcement for Lynwood, will be asked to cut its budget about $95,000, said Roger Haley, city budget specialist. The Fire Department will be asked to trim $60,000 from its budget. City department heads have been asked to present their recommendations at budget sessions beginning Wednesday.

In addition, cuts in the redevelopment budget may force the city to delay work at the Lynwood Plaza, which was damaged during last year’s rioting. The project includes rebuilding Clark Drugs, which was destroyed.

Maywood

City officials are counting on the 5% utility users tax approved in March to cushion a loss of about $150,000 in property-tax revenue. The cut may be small compared with other cities’, said City Manager Ronald Lindsey, but the revenue losses make up a significant portion of the city’s $3.6-million budget.

“We will only get by this year because of that tax,” Lindsey said.

The city will still have to eliminate a records clerk position in the Police Department. Two additional police officers the city had planned to hire this year will not be hired as well because of the state cuts, he said.

Montebello

The city has postponed plans to buy 20 new police cars, reduced funds for street maintenance and frozen six positions to offset an anticipated loss of about $500,000 in property tax revenue from its $32-million budget.

The city’s $9-million redevelopment fund may lose as much as $2 million, forcing the city to postpone new projects, City Administrator Richard Torres said. “It’s absolutely stupid,” Torres said of the state cuts.

Norwalk

Norwalk expects the state to take $200,000 in property taxes from its general fund budget of about $22 million.

City Manager Richard R. Powers said the city’s financial situation is actually worse than the modest cuts indicate. Soft sales tax revenue, lower-than-expected city permit fees and increased operating costs this year have produced an estimated $1.2-million shortfall, he said.

The city’s redevelopment agency, budgeted for $4.8 million, will lose about $60,000. Powers said the agency will likely have to delay plans indefinitely for the San Antonio Village project, which is expected to provide 200 affordable housing units for senior citizens and another 150 affordable condominium units for first-time buyers.

Paramount

City officials say they expect to feel little impact on the $11.3-million budget, since Paramount receives no property tax revenue, but expressed concern about looming cuts in county services.

“We’re concerned about what might happen to our local fire station and the library,” said Deputy City Manager Patrick West.

The city’s tax on utility users goes up from 1% to 3% Thursday, and officials plan to hire nine more law enforcement personnel, including a crime analyst and a community liaison officer, to follow up on complaints to the Sheriff’s Department.

The city’s Redevelopment Agency may lose $170,000 of its projected $26.6-million budget for the next fiscal year, but West said the loss “will really have no effect at all on our Redevelopment Agency.”

Pico Rivera

State efforts to take city property tax revenue will have little impact on Pico Rivera, which does not rely on property taxes. But the city is suffering from a decline in sales tax revenue and a struggling local aerospace industry. Northrop Corp. is the city’s largest employer.

The full-time city staff has dropped from 164 to 139 in recent years, and four more positions are scheduled to be eliminated in the upcoming fiscal year. For the second year in a row, employees will get no raises.

“It makes it tough in terms of morale,” City Manager Dennis Courtemarche said. “People here are having to work a little harder. It takes longer to get things done. We’re not as efficient as we could be in responding to the needs of the public.”

The city cut one sheriff’s traffic patrol car this year, and plans to eliminate another in the new fiscal year. The City Council has asked the city manager to find other cuts in an attempt to restore police service.

Officials expect the city’s redevelopment budget to drop about $350,000 to $10.8 million.

Santa Fe Springs

The city stands to lose $450,000 of $12 million in anticipated redevelopment revenue and $200,000 in property taxes from its $30-million general fund budget.

The loss in redevelopment agency funds comes on top of a $2-million hit from the state that the agency took last year, Finance Director Donald Nuttal said.

City projects and programs will not be cut, but reductions in staffing will be made, Nuttal said. Officials will leave 18 of 245 full-time staff positions vacant this year.

“We’re feeling the impact of people being gone, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.

Signal Hill

This tiny city expects to lose only $5,000 in property tax revenue from its $8.9-million budget, but officials point out that the city is already reeling from the effects of the recession and losses suffered during last year’s state budget crisis. The budget, which relies heavily on sales tax revenue, is 11% less than it was two years ago, City Manager Douglas N. La Belle said. Three maintenance jobs have been eliminated and three other positions--including a dispatcher in the Police Department--have been frozen, La Belle said.

The $1.6-million redevelopment budget may be cut about $220,000, forcing officials to defer plans to widen Walnut Avenue and bury utility cables underground.

South Gate

Residents could see fewer police officers on the streets and some or all of their parks closed as a result of the state’s raid on city funds.

The city anticipates losing a minimum $108,000 in property taxes from its $19.2-million general fund budget for the coming fiscal year. At least another $300,000 will be lost from the proposed $27.6-million redevelopment budget, City Manager Todd Argow said.

To make up for those shortfalls, the city will look to cut services--including funding for law enforcement, which accounts for $10.5 million of the city’s spending. The city also may be forced to close park facilities, including the pool at South Gate Park, Argow said.

The City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing July 13 on the proposed budget but is not expected to adopt the plan until August.

Whittier

A staff reorganization over the last year has allowed Whittier to survive a tighter budget with little noticeable impact on residents, Controller Clara Wong said. The city has cut 10 positions for the fiscal year starting July 1. They include clerical workers, one of two assistant city managers and a tree trimmer. Six positions were unfilled.

Administrators have found another municipal job for one of the displaced staffers and will try to place the others into upcoming openings. City employees received no raise last year and will probably get none this year.

The $30.4-million general fund will lose an estimated $629,000 in property taxes. To help offset losses, the city also increased the utility tax from 4% to 4.5%. The $5-million budget for the redevelopment agency is expected to take a hit of about $1 million.

Bell Gardens officials could not be reached for comment.