Options Weighed for Balancing City Budget

Facing a deficit of nearly $4 million, City Council members this week debated ways to combine cutbacks and new revenue to balance the 1996-97 operating budget.

“It’s going to be very challenging to find the money,” Mayor Dave Sullivan said.

City Administrator Michael T. Uberuaga said the primary reason that the city is short of revenue is because the state has been diverting property taxes for its own use in the past four years. He said $6.6 million was diverted from the 1995-96 budget.

“If we would not have had the state taking the money, it would not be necessary to either reduce expenditures or raise revenues,” Uberuaga said.

Other factors have also weakened the city’s financial condition, Uberuaga said, including dwindling sales-tax revenue, Orange County’s 1994 bankruptcy and lingering effects of the recession.

Later this month, Uberuaga said, he will present the council with a list of potential revenue sources, such as a sewer fee, an increase in the trash pickup rate and business license fees, sale of some city property and installation of additional parking meters.

As they scrutinized city programs and services for ways to cut spending, council members on Monday agreed that the top priorities are maintaining police, fire and marine services, infrastructure and planning services.

The council will also examine using federal Community Development Block Grant money to help pay for some programs and services in danger of being cut.

The council will seek public comment at 7 p.m. Monday on how federal funds might be allocated.