A City Council-directed exercise to identify major services that could be cut if the General Fund picture does not improve, resulted in building confidence that the City’s financial situation is probably more stable than feared. But it did reveal at least one City program that seems certain to get the axe regardless of the City’s financial health: the City’s after-school program at the Arcadia High School cafeteria called The Apache Pit at which students hang out, play games, and eat snacks. Of the nearly 4,000 students at the high school, only about 30 students participate at a cost to taxpayers of $27,000 each year, according to Ryan Wright, assistant director of Arcadia Recreation and Senior Services. Several Councilmen immediately voiced displeasure with that situation during Tuesday’s budget study session.
The Pit program notwithstanding, new City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto presented a convincing case to the Arcadia City Council Tuesday that there are many options that could improve the City’s long-term revenue and budget picture without making any drastic cuts now or in the near future.
Although reducing police and fire service, as well as cutting Library hours and eliminating tree maintenance could save the City $3.95 million per year, Lazzaretto said $2.5 million can be generated from a 2% increase in the Utility User Tax and a 1% increase in franchise fees, neither of which would require voter approval. Arcadia’s 5% UUT, reduced some years ago when the City was flush with cash, stands at two points lower than the next lowest rate in any other city in the area, he said. More to the point, he and Administrative Services Director Hue Quach suggested there may be no need to do more than a little belt-tightening now and into the future. That’s because the City expects to generate increased sales taxes from a rebound in the economy and new businesses such as the Forever 21 store opening at Westfield Santa Anita this fall. Also, the City anticipates revenue that cannot be budgeted until received, such as the sale of City-owned property and about $1 million from the recovery of IRS money through audits.
Facing a $1.5 million budget deficit on paper beginning July 1, Mayor Pro Tem Mickey Segal asked Lazzaretto at the first three-hour budget study session May 15 to provide the Council with a long-term plan to deal with deficits that he said could grow bigger each year without some big changes in City expenses or income. At the conclusion of the two-hour session on May 29, the Council agreed that none of the potential drastic cutbacks would be needed. That put the Council back to the now-pressing matter of coming up with a budget proposal for 2012-13 that needs to be approved by the second and final City Council meeting this month on June 19.
A third budget study session was set for this Tuesday, June 5, to consider less dramatic but potentially still significant cuts in all City departments to close the $1.5 mil. gap. But with a General Fund surplus this fiscal year of nearly $900,000 after the budget at this time last year anticipated a deficit of more than $850,000, and with the likely sale of City property for at least $600,000, Mayor Bob Harbicht said he feels the City already has essentially a balanced budget, and therefore will not need to make many cuts.
— By Scott Hettrick