SEAL BEACH : ‘93-94 Budget Shows Cutbacks Continue

Though a final spending plan won’t be complete until September, city officials said that a preliminary 1993-94 fiscal year budget released this month offers a clear picture of the city’s financial situation.

The $9.2-million general-fund budget, which received tentative approval from the City Council two weeks ago, is a “status quo” budget that continues a three-year trend of staffing cutbacks and reduced expenditures, said City Manager Jerry L. Bankston.

The budget calls for the layoff of two city workers and the hiring of one police officer. The move still leaves the Police Department with seven unfilled positions.

Few new capital improvement projects are planned, though officials hope to complete some repairs to the Seal Beach Pier, Bankston said.

The new budget amounts to a slight decrease in spending from the 1992-93 fiscal year, when the budget totaled about $9.8 million. In the 1990-91 fiscal year, the City Council adopted an $11-million budget.

Over the last three years, city personnel and spending was slashed by more than 20%, as Seal Beach was hit by significant cuts in state funding.

This year, the city faced a budget shortfall of more than $1 million that would have required massive cuts in services had the City Council not more than doubled the utility user’s tax.

The tax that residents and businesses pay on their monthly telephone, electric and gas bills rose from 5% to 11%, making Seal Beach’s utility tax the highest in Orange County. It is expected to raise about $1.3 million in revenues.

The city plans to use about $1 million of that to cover state funding cuts and losses in other revenues. An additional $300,000 will be used to make up for rate increases from the Metropolitan Water District, Bankston said.

Officials plan to bring the budget back before the council in September, when they have more complete funding numbers from the state.