SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Community Services Budget to Be Reduced

The City Council will consider ways to trim $140,000 from its Community Services Department budget.

The proposed cuts are expected to be made through a combination of program and personnel reductions.

The council on Tuesday will review options on where to cut and where the city might raise fees for things such as renting ball fields.

Among the areas slated for potential cuts are recreation services, after-school programs and city support for special events.

Combined, recommended reductions for those three areas total about $65,000, said Al King, the city’s community services director.

King said layoffs are possible. He said the department has 25 employees, eight of whom are full time.

City Manager George Scarborough said he hopes to avoid layoffs and meet the department’s goal by trimming some employees’ hours in the Community Services Department.

Earlier this month, the council approved the department’s $1.48-million budget request when passing a $10.2-million general fund.

However, the council asked that the department reduce its budget by $140,000.

Scarborough said the city plans to do so with about $100,000 in service cuts and $40,000 in personnel costs.

In addition, Scarborough said the city must carve another $60,000 in personnel costs from elsewhere in its budget.

Mayor Collene Campbell said it is hard to reduce programs that serve children, senior citizens or high-risk youth, but she added that the city has few alternatives.

“It’s tremendously difficult to trim the budget for any service to the community,” Campbell said. “It’s painful, but we’re not through yet.”

Scarborough said he hoped that private nonprofit organizations will be able to help fill the gap.

The council is expected to take final action in 30 to 45 days.