SIMI VALLEY : New Budget Makes Room for Road Work

After dipping into its reserves to pay for repaving of city streets, the Simi Valley City Council has unanimously adopted a budget for the fiscal year that begins Friday.

Saying street improvements are a top priority, the City Council agreed to take $237,900 out of the city’s reserve fund to help cover the cost of a $1.78-million citywide road resurfacing project it had postponed earlier in the year.

The road work, which includes stripping and repaving thoroughfares across the city that were damaged by rain or during the recent earthquake, is scheduled to begin in July.

The $28.5-million spending plan approved by the council represents an 8.7% increase from fiscal year 1993-94.

City Budget Director Ken Schechter said the increase was caused mainly by the cost of the road project and a drop in a surplus retirement revenue fund the city had relied on in past years to offset rising expenses.

“The overall budget increase is a little bit bigger than what you would normally see from one year to the next,” Schechter said. “But the city is in good shape financially.”