SOUTH GATE : City Strives to Make $1.1 Million in Cuts

City officials are trying to balance the municipal budget for the coming year by cutting about $1.1 million without increasing taxes or laying off city employees.

To help make those cuts, City Manager Todd W. Argow has proposed cutting nine vacant city jobs, including five civilian positions in the Police Department; closing the municipal swimming pool between November and January and for two hours each afternoon the year around; and tapping $500,000 in reserve funds.

The City Council is expected to approve the $18.8-million budget for the 1994-95 fiscal year at its meeting Tuesday.

“This is another budget where the revenues are shrinking some more as a result of the recession,” Argow said. “And it is not easy to maintain city services in a city like South Gate (where) the population continues to increase.”

South Gate has a population of more than 90,000 and covers about 7 1/2 square miles. The 1980 population was about 66,000, according to the U.S. Census.

For the second straight year, Argow will recommend that the top 21 city officials pay for their own travel, lodging and food when attending meetings in other cities. The city will pay only for registration fees to those meetings, such as the California League of Cities annual convention that typically draws city officials from most of the state.

Aging equipment and city vehicles will not be replaced “as long as we have chewing gum and rubber bands to hold them together,” Argow said. In addition, the worn roofs on the Police Department, library and City Hall buildings will not be repaired next year.

The budget does not allocate any money for a salary raise for city employees, whose contract expires June 30.

In contrast to the cuts, the city recently was granted more than $60,000 in federal money to pay half the cost of two new police officers for the next three years. The city will pick up the other half.