WESTLAKE VILLAGE : Proposed Budget Cuts Spending in 1st Year

The city of Westlake Village has introduced a proposed two-year budget that cuts spending slightly the first year and increases it the following year.

The city would spend $4.05 million in fiscal 1995-96, which represents a 6% decrease in the General Fund budget and a 2% decrease overall, City Manager Ray Taylor said in a report.

“I think we’re in good fiscal shape at this point,” he said.

The city proposes cuts in such programs as administration and in the department that provides support for other city programs, he said.

The proposed budget for fiscal 1996-97 is $4.6 million, which represents a 3 1/2% increase in the General Fund budget over fiscal 1995-96, Taylor said. “The lion’s share of the increase comes from the capital improvement program, in which $640,000 is budgeted for street maintenance work,” he said.

The greatest portion of the budget both years would come from contracting with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, about 40% of the General Fund budget any given year, he said. The city would spend $1.16 million in the first year and $1.23 million the second, he said.

There were no increases in sheriff’s services for fiscal 1995-96, Taylor said, but there may be increases the following year because of inflation.

Nevertheless, the city anticipates a deficit of $90,760 the first year, which will require the city to dip into its reserves, city officials said. The deficit will be erased the following year after a $2.7-million payment from the development agreement for the Westlake North Specific Plan.

The General Fund reserve is expected to increase to $878,990 by the end of this fiscal year, officials said.

The city needs that money to begin a $640,000 capital improvement plan. If that payment comes in May, 1997, the city will end up with $2.7 million going into fiscal 1997-98.

“We are one of the few cities that provides a two-year budget package. It gives the council a chance to adjust spending priorities,” he said. “But by law we are required to adopt an annual budget.”

The preliminary budget was discussed by the City Council on Wednesday night.

“The council asked our staff to update our capital improvement plan to give priority to main streets carrying the bulk of the traffic,” Taylor said.

The amended budget will be brought back at the June 14 council meeting, he said. The council also asked the staff to study adding benches at bus stops along main roads such as Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Taylor said that would probably be paid for out of transportation bond monies.