$7.1 MILLION TO AID CITY CASH CAN GO TO SEVERAL LOCAL PROJECTS.Byline: Eugene Tong tong 1 tr.v. tonged, tong·ing, tongs To seize, hold, or manipulate with tongs. [Back-formation from tongs. Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - A midyear mid·year n. 1. The middle of the calendar or academic year. 2. a. An examination given in the middle of a school year. b. midyears A series of such examinations. budget review found a $7.1 million windfall windfall An unexpected profit or gain. An investor holding a stock that increases greatly in price because of an unexpected takeover offer receives a windfall. for the city of Santa Clarita, after anticipated state cuts failed to materialize ma·te·ri·al·ize v. ma·te·ri·al·ized, ma·te·ri·al·iz·ing, ma·te·ri·al·iz·es v.tr. 1. To cause to become real or actual: By building the house, we materialized a dream. , officials said Friday. The funds include $5 million in property tax revenue thought to be targeted by Sacramento earlier this year to reduce the state's shortfall, said Barbara Boswell, the city's finance manager. ``When we developed our budget in the spring of last year, we didn't know what was going to happen,'' she said. ``We took the conservative approach and we reduced our revenue estimates. ``Now that the state has passed their budget, we now know our budget projections are better than anticipated. ... You don't want to be cutting the budget. It's always better to err on the low side of the revenue than on the high side.'' The additional revenue also includes $1 million from sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. and $1 million from an increase in building permits. Some of the gains would be allocated toward a $12 million spending package to be considered by the City Council on Tuesday. Among the proposed items, about $3 million would go toward a natural gas filling station at the city's Transit Maintenance Facility, currently under construction. Other proposed spending includes $1 million for the new Community Center under construction on Railroad railroad or railway, form of transportation most commonly consisting of steel rails, called tracks, on which freight cars, passenger cars, and other rolling stock are drawn by one locomotive or more. Avenue, and $2.4 million for street maintenance. About $3.1 million is slated for city reserves. Another $2.4 million might be used to establish a Newhall Redevelopment Reserve. Planners are currently drafting a specific plan to revive the aging downtown. ``It's starting a little savings account Savings Account A deposit account intended for funds that are expected to stay in for the short term. A savings account offers lower returns than the market rates. Notes: ,'' Boswell said. ``So we will be able to do something down there.'' With less than three weeks before the start of 2005, finance officials are looking ahead to the 2005-06 fiscal year. Boswell said the city will have to budget for loses of about $3 million over the next two years - money earmarked for the state as part of the Proposition 1A compromise. The ballot initiative voters approved last month entitles Sacramento to the funds in exchange greater local revenue protection in the future. ``We have already put that in our forecast,'' she said. ``So to us, what that means is our projection looks better than what we have anticipated.'' Eugene Tong, (661) 257-5253 eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: The new Santa Clarita Community Center, being built near the Newhall Metrolink station, may be getting more money from a windfall left by the state. David Crane/Staff Photographer |
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