Mayor’s Budget to Affect Everyday Life in the Valley : Government: The $4.3-billion plan would fund more police and improve streets but would add no additional staff at new parks.

Amid funding for more police officers and improved street maintenance, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan’s first city budget provides dozens of small program cuts and staffing changes that would impact everyday life in the San Fernando Valley.

For example, the $4.3-billion budget pays for new books and supplies for three new Valley libraries and adds staff to investigate drainage problems Valleywide. But it provides no additional staff for parks and recreation centers opening in Pacoima and Sylmar and calls for the closure of a city personnel office in Van Nuys.

Nonetheless, the reaction by Valley council members to Riordan’s first budget was generally positive, with most agreeing that the mayor’s proposal to increase police staffing fulfills his campaign promises to Valley voters.

“Valley residents really put their trust in him and he has delivered on it,” said Councilman Joel Wachs, who represents a northeast section of the Valley.

Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who represents parts of the southeast Valley and chairs the council’s finance committee, echoed Wachs’ comments. “I think the mayor has fulfilled his campaign promises,” he said. “He’s done a great job.”

But Riordan’s spending plans received a lukewarm reaction from Councilman Richard Alarcon, who represents areas of the northeast Valley. Alarcon questioned whether the police academy can accommodate the 450 new police recruits the mayor plans to hire.

“The mayor has painted an aggressive target for hiring police,” he said.

In total, the mayor’s budget adds the equivalent of 1,522 full-time police through a larger department budget, added overtime pay and a reorganization program that puts more officers on the street.

The budget does not prescribe where the officers would be assigned, leaving that to Los Angeles Police Chief Willie Williams. An LAPD representative said the chief would not comment on deployment questions until the budget has been approved. But she added that police deployment is normally based on 26 factors, including crime statistics and the size of a community.

Riordan’s budget also provides $1.5 million for books and material for three new Valley libraries but offers no added funding for staffing or furniture. The mayor’s budget report says the Library Department must use existing staff or ask the City Council for added funding to staff the new libraries.

The libraries to open in the next 12 months are the Mid-Valley Regional Library in North Hills, the Platt Branch Library in Woodland Hills and the Porter Ranch Branch Library in Porter Ranch. Construction costs were paid for by a $53.4-million voter-approved bond measure.

Valley motorists may also benefit from the mayor’s proposal to double the miles of streets that are resurfaced annually and increase funding for street and bridge improvement projects.

Projects funded that might otherwise have been postponed include upgrades to Chandler Boulevard from Van Nuys Boulevard to Woodman Avenue; Roscoe Boulevard from Laurel Canyon Boulevard to Ventura Canyon Avenue, and the Reseda Boulevard bridge over the Los Angeles River.

However, the budget did not provide the $1.3 million the Recreation and Parks Department requested to staff 18 parks and recreation centers, including the new Pacoima Senior Citizens Center, the Paxton Community Center in Pacoima and the Stetson Ranch Park equestrian center in Sylmar.

Steve Klippel, chief financial officer for the department, said he is not sure how the facilities will be run without the requested staff funding. “We are down to a minimum” staffing, he said.

The budget also called for reducing city funding for six community arts centers, including the McGroarty Arts Center in Tujunga, the Lankershim Arts Center in North Hollywood and the Encino Photography Center. The mayor hopes private art groups will make up for the city’s cuts.

The mayor also proposed eliminating two clerk positions who assist in recruiting for the city’s personnel department at Van Nuys City Hall. The move would close the personnel office.

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