HUNTINGTON BEACH : Cutbacks Needed to Balance City Budget

City Administrator Michael T. Uberuaga told the City Council this week that at least $3 million in cutbacks is needed to balance next fiscal year’s operating budget.

Uberuaga told the council that it would take an operating budget of $101.1 million to maintain the current level of service, but that the city is projecting operating on a $93.1-million budget for 1994-95.

“The budget balancing this year will be difficult,” Uberuaga said.

In addition, the city could lose $1 million in revenue if the state transfers $100 million in vehicle license fees from cities to counties as a way to balance its budget.

Uberuaga said the city’s revenue base has slowly eroded during the recession of the last few years.

“The bad news is we don’t have a revenue base to accommodate the needs this community is requesting,” he said.

The council recently approved changing the date of budget adoption from July 1 to Oct. 1 in order to take into consideration state cutbacks in revenue.

Bob Franz, deputy city administrator, said the city has lost a total of $15.3 million in revenue due to state cuts.

Because the council isn’t expected to adopt a budget until Sept. 30, officials are reviewing options on how to reduce spending, Franz said.

Uberuaga said that in making cutbacks to balance the operating budget, reductions in services to the public will be minimized. However, cutbacks in police and fire services may be considered, Uberuaga said.

To reduce spending, officials will also review current and anticipated job vacancies. Currently, there are 25 vacancies with another 20 to 30 projected for 1994-95.

The city has 1,134 full-time employees and about 300 part-time employees, and $73 million is expected to be spent on salaries and benefits next fiscal year, Uberuaga said.

Regarding new city fees to raise revenue, Uberuaga said the only possibilities are a charge for non-residents who use the city library and imposition of parking fees at the library.