BEVERLY HILLS : Council Adopts $77.6-Million Budget

Predicting that the city will continue its economic rebound in the upcoming fiscal year, the city council approved a $77.6-million general fund budget that calls for slight increases in spending and revenues.

“Clearly we’re on an uptick in Beverly Hills,” Mayor Allan Alexander said last week, as the council voted unanimously to adopt the 1995-96 spending plan. The budget forecasts nearly a 5% increase in revenues--from $76.9 million in 1994-95 to $80.5 million--due to a surge in property, sales and hotel taxes.

Expenditures for the fiscal year that begins July 1 have risen about 2% from last year, although the $77.6-million total does not include pay raises being negotiated by city employees.

The general fund’s ending surplus of almost $2.9 million will be used in part to cover the salary increases, Alexander said. The employee groups now in closed bargaining sessions are said to be requesting raises between 3% and 6%.

Each percent raise granted employees citywide costs the city about $350,000, financial officials said.

On Tuesday, the council also approved $12.7 million in capital improvement projects, including $6.3 million for land acquisition, more than $2 million in street and alley maintenance, and $500,000 to replace old and diseased trees.

The police and fire departments will receive almost $29 million, more than half of the $56.9 million allocated to all 14 city departments.

The salary and benefits for the city’s 636 full-time employees represent more than 71% of the departmental budget.

Also approved was $6.5 million in spending on community assistance programs. The bulk of the funds--$5.4 million--will go to the Beverly Hills Unified School District for the use of school grounds.

Officials said they hoped to see additional savings from a proposed employee cost-cutting program that would allow employees to suggest measures to save money and give them a portion of any savings realized.

Alexander’s second pet project was endorsed when the council agreed to put $3.4 million into an endowment fund.

If the city can build the fund to $100 million, it could receive $5 million to $6 million in annual interest, Alexander said. He added that having such a fund would make the city “financially bulletproof.”