BREA : Hearing to Be Held Tonight on Budget

The City Council will hold a public hearing tonight on the proposed $27.7-million budget for fiscal 1993-94 that calls for a variety of cuts and new and higher fees.

Facing a $1.4-million deficit, the city is considering closing City Hall every other Friday in an effort to save $100,000 in utility and maintenance expenses. In addition, new fees, such as a paramedic fee for non-residents and a release fee for impounded vehicles, will be considered, officials said.

City Manager Frank Benest said that with the plan to close City Hall on alternate Fridays, city employees would work 80 hours in nine days and have the 10th day off. He said that the county and a number of other Orange County cities have successfully adopted the same work schedule.

Benest said the city will have to make some cuts and raise fees because income, projected at $26.3 million, will fall short of the estimated expenses of $27.7 million. The city lost $597,000 in property taxes to the state, he said, although it got back $186,000 in onetime vehicle license fees.

The bad economy has also continued to hurt the city’s sales tax revenues, he said.

To balance the budget, the city staff proposed hiring private contractors for tree trimming and concrete work, reducing part-time hours, maintaining the hiring freeze, and increasing or setting new fees for city services.

The combination of cuts and fees would reduce the deficit to about $160,000. This would then be covered by such measures as taking $100,000 from narcotics and drug seizure fund to pay for police services, staff members said during a budget workshop July 19.

In the future, the staff recommended that the city consider imposing higher development fees, a utility users tax or eliminate a planned fire station to help solve the budget problems.

The council meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.