Simi May Turn to Reserve Account to Balance Budget

SIMI VALLEY —  The City Council might have to dip into its plentiful reserve account to close a $600,000 shortfall in its 1997-98 budget.

On Monday, the council will take its first close look at a proposal to spend $34.4 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1, an increase of $1.5 million from the previous year.

City Manager Michael Sedell said he would recommend using reserve funding for one-time expenditures, such as equipment purchases.

“I would not recommend using [reserves] for ongoing programs because they’ll require an ongoing use,” he said. “It’s like using your savings account to pay off your credit card. Pretty soon your savings account will be gone and you still have bills coming in.”

But with only $33.8 million in projected revenues in the preliminary $34.4-million figure, officials would have to make severe cuts to balance the budget. There are also hundreds of thousands of dollars in requests for funding for programs that have not been included in the budget.

Each department in the city is required to submit budget requests with 10% earmarked for possible cuts.

But with $22.2 million in reserve, officials do not anticipate any layoffs or cuts in programs.

However, Ken Schechter, the city’s budget officer, said two vacant positions in the Public Works Department could be eliminated.

Revenues will be less than anticipated, he said, in part because the city has delayed selling two parcels of land in Wood Ranch.

Officials originally sought $607,300 for the land, but have since reduced the asking price to $320,000.

“This is not a good time to sell,” said Schechter.

A plethora of expensive personnel and equipment requests were left out of the preliminary budget, but could be included if the council deems them important, including:

* $398,000 to replace the carpet in City Hall.

* $143,800 for the Police Department for laptop computers and report-writing software. The equipment actually costs $197,200, but the city was awarded $53,400 in a federal law enforcement block grant to absorb some of the costs.

* $138,400 for the Public Works Department for a street sweeper.

* $123,800 for the Environmental Services Department for two full-time associate planners, one to process and inspect plans for new development and the other to integrate computer-based technologies in the planning division.

* $114,400 for replacement of 52 obsolete personal computers in various departments.

* $70,950 for a full-time senior engineer in the Public Works Department.

* $15,700 for the Public Works Department for a full-time heavy-equipment operator.

The city approved a $32.9-million budget last spring, but later had to appropriate slightly more than $100,000 from reserve accounts to pay for additional costs that arose throughout the year. Budget discussions are slated for every Monday this month, and a final spending plan is supposed to be adopted by June 30.

A public meeting attended by staff members from eight departments was held Thursday night.

It lasted only 30 minutes, in part because only one resident attended, according to Steven Elam, general services director.

Teresa Jordan expressed concern about the lack of resident participation in the budget-making process, according to a letter she submitted to officials at the meeting.