Painful cuts could have hurt city even more

With another city budget tentatively put to bed, Huntington Beach

may have emerged relatively unscathed compared to what it can expect

in the future.

Although the closure of the Shipley Nature Center, a city

treasure, was not the best place to make cuts, it seems an

unfortunate sign of what is to come.

Tough financial times are here to stay.

With a combination of $3.5 million in cuts and $3.5 million in new

revenue from increased and new fees, the council managed to balance

the $363-million budget without dipping into reserves earmarked for

other things. That is an applaudable success, but one that seems

almost certain to be fleeting: City Administrator Ray Silver fears

there are more blows coming from Sacramento.

And this balanced budget did not come without pain. Along with the

closing of the nature center, a hiring freeze is still in effect for

the city, which lost 41 jobs that were eliminated this year. City

staff members are actively looking into what property the city may

have to sell off.

Residents, not to mention city leaders, should take their hits and

be thankful it wasn’t worse.

The city of Huntington Beach has lost $16 million in funding in

the last two years and Silver said he fears the belt will keep

tightening. All the city can do now is play a waiting game to see if

the state balances its budget by trimming back city budgets even

more.

The bad news here is that even if Surf City is out of the woods

this year, there is no indication that there will a turnaround in

years to come.

What other cuts might that mean?