Council OKs Budget for Sanitary District

In its second meeting as the board of the Garden Grove Sanitary District, the City Council has approved an $8.4-million, deficit budget for the district.

The 1997-98 operating budget projects expenditures of $8.4 million on revenue of $8.2 million. The difference will be made up from the district’s reserves and the city’s general fund.

City officials battled for more than three years to bring the formerly independent sanitary district into the fold. The new budget is the first prepared by city officials since the sewer and trash-service district became a city subsidiary.

City Manager George Tindall said analysis by city accountants indicates that the sanitary district lost more than $530,000 last year and about $220,000 for each of the five previous years. The district also has a five-year debt of about $230,000 annually from funds it borrowed during the Orange County bankruptcy.