Budget session goes into gear
Laura Sturza
The city’s executive team will present the results of months of
numbers crunching -- designed to come up with a balanced budget -- at
a Wednesday study session with the City Council.
Balancing the budget means making up for an $8.6-million
anticipated deficit for fiscal year 2003-04. Reduced revenues are
expected because of less income from utility-users and
transient-occupancy taxes, and lowered interest rates, which affect
city investments. Higher expenses are mainly the result of employee
compensation and benefits packages.
The study sessions are not expected to address potential cuts from
the state, which has a budget shortfall of about $35 billion.
“We’re going to do it without considering the state,” Financial
Services Director Derek Hanway said. “Let’s say the state comes back
in summertime and takes some revenue. Then we’ll have to go back and
develop a plan to deal with that.”
Midyear reductions recently passed by the state did not affect
Burbank, Hanway said, though $300,000 was taken from the city’s
general fund and $900,000 from the Redevelopment Agency earlier in
the fiscal year.
“We’re still early to have a proposed budget,” Hanway said. “What
we’re intending to communicate are the recommendations for reductions
and/or fee increases.”
City Council members will continue their public review of proposed
cuts, which could be up to 10% in some departments, in three or four
meetings, although those meetings had not been scheduled by Friday. A
proposed budget is expected to be completed in early May, Hanway
said. The final budget is expected to be adopted by the City Council
in June.
“When the council gets to look at the budget in detail and
measures that against the revenues, there are going to be some very,
very difficult decisions to make,” said Dave Newsham, interim
Assistant City Manager. “It has to impact services and it has to
impact employees.”
Public Works Director Bruce Feng declined to release his
department’s specific suggestions before Wednesday’s meeting.
“We are reserving the details so that the council knows first what
the proposed balanced budget [will be],” Feng said.
But Park, Recreation and Community Services Director Mike Flad
released preliminary proposals last month during discussions with his
board. These include fee changes for senior programs like bingo,
which would go from $1 to $2, and charging $5 more monthly for
after-school child care, which would bring the rate from $110 to
$115.
The study session is open to the public and is scheduled for 6
p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, Council Chamber, 275 E. Olive Ave.