Simi’s Balanced Budget Invests Resources in Public Safety : Finance: Conservative $29.3-million spending plan provides slight increase for police. Council shelves proposals for new programs.

Eliminating eight city jobs, Simi Valley leaders approved a balanced budget Monday night that continues the city’s commitment to law enforcement but avoids launching new programs.

Although the 1995-96 budget of $29.3 million is more than $15,000 smaller than last year’s budget, residents should see no change in services, City Manager Mike Sedell said.

“Basically, all city services will remain exactly the same,” he said.

Mayor Greg Stratton hopes the budget could be fine-tuned later in the fiscal year if the economy turns around.

“Hopefully it is a pessimistic budget and the economy will surprise us by rebounding,” Stratton said. “If the economy does turn around and we don’t have another earthquake, then we might have enough of a surplus to begin addressing other issues.”

The two biggest items on the budget are the Police Department and Public Works Department, which comprise about 75% of the budget, according to Budget Director Ken Schechter.

The police budget will increase by $200,000 to $13.4 million, mainly to cover scheduled salary increases. The public works budget will remain roughly flat at $8.9 million.

The council has budgeted $1.2 million for road improvements, including the resurfacing of Royal Avenue, Cochran Street and several residential roads.

To help make up for a projected shortfall, the new budget calls for freezing eight vacant city positions for a savings of more than $640,000.

Most of the positions to be eliminated are in the city’s planning and engineering departments.

“Because of the recession, housing development is way down,” Stratton said. “We don’t need as many city engineers and planners because their workload is way down.”

Considering that more than 85% of the budget goes toward salaries and benefits for the city’s 550 workers, cutting positions is the fastest way to trim the budget, Stratton said.

“We’re very slow to replace people,” he said. “We’d rather see if the workload can be handled with one less person around. We have a very tight hiring process.”

Budgetary constraints kept the city from initiating any new programs, the mayor said.

“We didn’t get to do anything new. We’re running the system the same way it was last year.”

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Among several proposals that won’t be addressed by next year’s budget are a citywide tree study, the publication of new guidelines for developers and the expanded computerization of City Hall.

Councilwoman Sandi Webb said she and her colleagues would have a better idea of how much sales tax revenue will be coming in by about the middle of the fiscal year.

“Hopefully we will see an economic surge and we’ll have some money to spend midyear,” Webb said. “But we’re just going to have to hold off on some items until then.”