City Bites the Bullet on Budget Deletions

City officials said they have made some necessary but potentially unpopular deletions from the budget for next year, including Fourth of July fireworks and the DARE anti-drug program.

The formal hearing and passage of the budget for fiscal year 1997-98 is scheduled for Monday. Council members and department heads finished a series of financial workshops last week.

The new budget is set at $39.7 million, a 2% increase from the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. That is a small increase, considering that last year’s budget included $1.6 million in credits and one-time revenue sources, Interim City Manager Greg Beaubien said.

Instead, a budget reduction plan has cut $1 million from projected spending. An improved economy also helped finance officials find a balance. Those two factors have allowed the city to move away from living on credit and savings, Beaubien said in his budget statement.

Separately, Public Works Director Donald K. Jensen announced that bids for a major renovation of Western Avenue came in under the city’s official estimates. That means there is enough left in that account to extend the work to Grand Avenue, he said.