SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : 3 Jobs Cut by City in New Budget

The City Council has approved a $10-million annual budget that includes money to hire a deputy for a community policing program but eliminates three other city positions and halves the hours of a fourth employee.

In approving the budget Wednesday, the council also allocated $40,200 to eight nonprofit organizations that provide services varying from drug and alcohol counseling to meals for shut-in senior citizens.

Sixteen organizations had requested $131,880 from the city. Last fiscal year, the city granted $47,000 to 11 nonprofit groups.

Council members agreed that the city should try to fund organizations whose services will be in higher demand if social service programs are cut further because of Orange County’s bankruptcy. Nearly $7,000 were earmarked as reserves for such purposes.

Representatives for the South Orange County Services Council and the Mary Erickson Foundation, an affordable housing group, did not succeed in winning city grants.

“I hope you reconsider some of these,” said Pauline Leonard, of the Mary Erickson Foundation.

Councilwoman Collene Campbell said she was not happy that the city couldn’t fulfill more of the funding requests. She said crime prevention has been an increasing drain on the city’s budget.

Councilman Wyatt T. Hart, a retired sheriff’s captain, said the allocations were given careful thought. “The bottom line is, we have to live within our budget,” he said. “It’s tough, and it could very well get tougher.”

To help bridge a $210,000 projected budget shortfall, the city issued layoff notices late last month to the city engineer, a planning manager and an assistant planner. A graphics illustrator also saw his full-time hours cut in half.