BUENA PARK : Council to Wrestle With 8.8% Budget Hike

At a marathon study session Saturday, the City Council will pore over details of the $38.4-million budget proposed for the 1995-96 fiscal year.

The preliminary budget is 8.8% higher than the current budget. Officials cited higher labor costs as the main reason for the increase, which is being partly underwritten by what’s left over from an unexpected windfall last year in the form of a credit from the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS).

“It was as if suddenly your employer got a letter from Social Security saying you no longer have to pay . . . taxes on your employees,” Finance Director Greg Beaubien said of the short-term boost.

Finance officials are predicting an annual $1-million shortfall between revenues and the cost of operating the city for fiscal 1996-97 and beyond. By that time, the city will have used up the $3 million PERS credit as well as gains from the sale last year of the Fire Department and will need to find other sources of revenue or figure new ways to cut costs to balance the budget.

Revenue sources for 1995-96 are up by less than 1%, while expenditures from the general fund increased by 5.5%, largely because of the higher salaries and benefits, which will account for more than half of the general fund’s budget, the budget report said.

The budget that council members will discuss Saturday includes just the resources needed to maintain services, City Manager Kevin O’Rourke said in an overview statement included with budget documents.

The session begins at 8:30 a.m. at City Hall, 6650 Beach Blvd.