Cities Invite Citizens Into the Budget Fray

You say your trees need trimming? You want more police officers? You want streets and sidewalks repaired? You want more recreation programs?

Now is the time to speak your mind to city officials as they decide next year’s budget.

Most South Bay cities will be holding public hearings within the next two weeks for public comment on expenditures proposed by city managers. Copies of the proposed budgets and hearing schedules can be found at city clerks’ offices. Most cities operate on fiscal years that run from July 1 to June 30, so cities generally adopt a budget by the end of June.

For most cities, the budget process began months ago when department heads sent in wish lists for more equipment, additional staff and new programs. In other cities, the city manager got the ball rolling by asking department heads to make cutbacks.

Then the city manager or a committee began to whittle away at the proposals.

Three Categories

Generally, the budget requests end up in one of three categories: definitely, maybe, and only if the city suddenly finds itself with an extra million or two.

Those three lists then go before the City Council for final approval.

That’s when you can step in if your request made the second or third list.

“This is one of the times to speak up,” Torrance Councilman Mark Wirth said. “In three years I have been here there have been changes that the council has made.”

At last year’s budget hearing Wirth wondered out loud whether the city could give a community group a grant for operating expenses. That thought became a $15,000 appropriation spread among eight community groups.

(A request by the Human Resources Commission to increase the amount from $15,000 to $50,000 this year, however, is on list three--so far.)

Public Participation

Inglewood City Councilman Daniel K. Tabor said public comment in his city could help persuade his colleagues to increase police patrols and have the city pay for the concrete repaving of seven remaining asphalt and dirt alleys. He said the city paid the total cost to repave other alleys, but this year’s proposed budget calls for the city splitting the cost with neighboring businesses and homeowners.

“Public participation for that would be helpful,” he said. “I think public comment can make a difference. There have been instances where we have stopped and reconsidered an item.”

Of course, revenues are not endless, and some sources have restricted uses. Proposition A funds--the 0.5% from the Los Angeles County 6.5% sales tax--can be used only for transportation needs, federal Job and Training Partnership Act funds can be used only for job training and Community Development Block Grant funds only for structural developments and rehabilitation projects.

That’s why some cities will trade their allocation of restricted funds for other cities’ general-fund money that can be used for any purpose.

Motor Vehicle Fees

A big surprise for cities last year was the resumption of state “motor vehicle in-lieu fees,” which brought hundreds of thousands of dollars into their general funds. The money, which comes from vehicle registration fees, is distributed on the basis of city population and number of registered vehicles. In Palos Verdes Estates, revenue from the fees jumped to $359,720 last year from $8,727 in 1983-84. In Torrance, revenue jumped to more than $3 million from $153,184.

But that increase will be more than offset by the cloud that hangs over federal revenue-sharing funds. The allocations to cities have been shrinking for several years, and this year’s have been cut by 25%. Congress is threatening to eliminate all funding in 1986-87.

In Hermosa Beach, where proposed expenditures exceed expected revenues by $800,000, that would mean a loss of $108,000.

Most cities have been preparing for the cuts by using those funds for capital improvement projects rather than for salaries or other operating costs.

Effect of Court Decision

Another shadow on the budget process is the possible effect of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on overtime. Its decision in the Garcia vs. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority case virtually eliminates compensatory time and requires cities to pay overtime at a rate of time-and-one-half as required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

City employees most affected by this would be firefighters who typically work 56-hour weeks on staggered days. There are still complex legal and practical questions unanswered and many cities are taking a “wait-and-see” approach.

The court decision could be costly. In Manhattan Beach it could mean an extra $60,000 and in in Redondo Beach another $500,000.

As a result, most South Bay cities are simply adjusting for increases in the cost of living and providing the same level of services as last year. Inflation has been moderate, about 4%, keeping the cost of material and labor down, while sales tax revenues have grown.

City Managers’ Proposed 1985-86 General Fund Expenditures

CITIES 1985-86 1984-85 CHANGE IN PERCENT Avalon $1,874,319 1,911,000 -2% Carson * 22,541,051 * El Segundo * 16,910,279 * Gardena 17,974,037 17,164,683 +4.7 Hawthorne * 28,656,827 * Hermosa Beach 7,314,556 7,223,006 +1.6 Inglewood 35,725,857 32,719,265 +9.2 Lawndale 3,455,527 3,197,000 +8.1 Lomita 2,508,500 2,316,200 +8.3 Manhattan Beach 11,867,270 10,749,820 +10.4 P.V. Estates 3,348,235 3,087,090 +8.5 Rancho P.V. 7,027,949 5,658,636 +24.0 Redondo Beach 24,737,000 22,535,407 +8.9 Rolling Hills ** 797,372 ** R.H. Estates 2,868,921 2,696,637 +6.4 Torrance 65,424,663 59,982,964 +9.1

*City managers in these cities are still reviewing department requests, but are expected to have budget proposals this week. **Rolling Hills will not adopt its budget until August. Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, Playa del Rey, San Pedro, Westchester and Wilmington are all parts of the City of Los Angeles and do not have separate budgets. Lennox, Athens and other parts of unincorporated Los Angeles County also do not have separate budgets.