Budget Cuts Won’t Affect City Services, Officials Say : Finances: But planners expect that state revenue shortfalls will have an impact locally.

CULVER CITY —  Other than the elimination of school crossing guards, the $1.4 million in cuts outlined in the proposed Culver City budget for the coming fiscal year will be hardly noticed by the average citizen, city officials say. But state budget cuts have yet to be addressed.

City services would be unaffected by the proposed $81-million spending plan, Culver City Mayor Mike Balkman said last week.

“We can deal with what the economy has done to us,” Balkman said. “But when the state hits us, that’s when we’re going to start affecting the level of service.”

The budget prepared by the city financial staff has managed to make up the projected shortfall, which is the result of reduced sales tax and other economy-dependent revenues, through a combination of administrative cuts and increased revenue from parking enforcement.

The proposed budget, scheduled for adoption after a public hearing June 28, reduces the city work force by five positions, and four layoffs are expected as a result (the fifth position is vacant). Three tree-trimmers will lose their jobs because the city plans to contract out more work to a private company. One person will lose a job because two positions dealing with recording city information on microfilm will be combined.

Reductions in operating expenses and other economies by city departments will reduce expenses by $236,000, according to the budget.

An estimated $612,000 of the projected deficit will be erased by increased revenue from parking enforcement. A month ago, the City Council approved a new parking-fine system, administered jointly with neighboring cities, that will sharply increase fines for many infractions. That change is expected to increase the city’s take by slightly more than $500,000. An additional parking enforcement officer also will be hired, with the expectation that he or she will create a net revenue increase of more than $100,000.

During a workshop Wednesday attended by City Council members and top administrators, an alternative to cutting the $64,000 crossing guard program was raised. Some officials suggested that the funding could be phased out as guards leave, giving the school district time to pick up the slack with other resources.

According to the city’s budget and finance manager, Bob Norquist, it is impossible to predict how much in property taxes and other sources the state will take from cities to balance its own budget. Since cities must adopt a budget by June 30, Norquist recommended dealing with known shortfalls in local revenues and dealing with state revenue questions later, when the state budget’s impact is known.

“There’s nothing to hang your hat on right now,” Norquist said.

If additional cuts prove necessary, Balkman said, they will have to come from city reserves or reductions in staffing and services.