ANAHEIM : $137-Million Budget Calls for 22 New Cops

After a lively debate, the City Council on Tuesday approved a lean $137-million general fund budget that calls for hiring 22 new police officers but eliminates 16 other positions in the city.

The budget dips into the city’s reserves and imposes a utility right-of-way fee against the city-owned Public Utility Department to cover a nearly $9-million deficit. The department is fiscally independent of the city.

The state’s recession as well as a drop in sales tax and the tourism industry have hurt the city in the past four years. During that period, nearly 10% of the city’s 2,000 work force has been cut, while the budget has been slashed by $34 million.

The proposed 1994-95 budget is about $578 million, but the discretionary general fund is $136,914,962, about 1% more than the last general fund budget.

To balance the budget, the city drew about $3.5 million from its $13-million cash reserve. The city is relying on a right-of-way fee against its own Utility Department to raise about $3.9 million. About $2 million of that amount will be earmarked for the addition of 22 new officers to city’s current department of 353 sworn officers.

The fee would not raise electricity rates for at least three years because the Utility Department, which supplies Anaheim with electricity and water, has been running a multimillion-dollar surplus. Water rates, however, might increase slightly, city officials said.

Although the vote to approve the budget was unanimous, Councilmen Bob D. Simpson and Fred Hunter voted against the right-of-way fee as a way of helping to pay for the new officers and suggested that the council search for other funding sources, including a controversial utility user tax.

“There’s a time when politics need to be put aside,” Simpson said, meaning that the council should grapple with the utility tax issue.

The budget also calls for other small fee increases in convention center parking rates and for services such as using the city-owned gymnasiums and fields. A 5% increase in solid waste collection, which is about 60 cents per resident, was also approved.

Under the approved budget, the city will eliminate 16 positions from various departments. Most of the cuts will likely come through attrition and retirements.