BIG SPENDING AT CRUNCH TIME PROJECTS PROCEED DESPITE BLEAK FINANCES.Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer BURBANK - Despite the uncertainty created by a budget deficit of at least $3 million, Burbank officials are set to move forward on a number of high-profile projects long demanded by city residents. The Burbank City Council unanimously agreed earlier this month to use $27.7 million from bonds and the general fund to build a new Development and Community Services building and state-of-the-art soccer field, while purchasing the City Hall annex an·nex tr.v. an·nexed, an·nex·ing, an·nex·es 1. To append or attach, especially to a larger or more significant thing. 2. and bolstering its reserve accounts. ``Although the problems we're facing are quite real, the council is committed to investing in the community, and these projects have been in the works for quite a while,'' said Financial Services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. Director Derek Hanway. The three-story, 68,500-square-foot community service building, bounded by Glenoaks Boulevard, Third Street and Olive and Orange Grove avenues, will cost $25.5 million, making it one of the most expensive projects ever undertaken by the city of Burbank, Hanway said. Forecasts of Burbank's budgets over the next five years show that revenues are expected to continue to lag behind expenses, with the biggest pressure coming from increasing retirement costs, especially for police officers and firefighters. ``We have to bring that back into balance,'' Hanway said. But as of yet, the City Council has yet to develop a plan to combat the problem, which cities throughout California are grappling with. ``That's the tough part,'' Hanway said. Last year, the Burbank City Council trimmed nearly $7 million from its budget, making it unlikely that more cuts could be found easily. ``Our departments are already lean,'' Hanway said. ``There's not much more that can be cut without hitting muscle.'' Burbank's woes are complicated by California's enormous fiscal crisis, which threatens to swell the city's shortfall Shortfall The amount by which the capital required to fulfill a financial obligation exceeds available capital. Notes: Shortfall risk is often combated with an efficient hedging strategy created by a fund, group, institution, or individual. by another $4 million if the State Legislature A state legislature may refer to a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. The following legislatures exist in the following political subdivisions: ``To be honest, I'm not very optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op that will happen,'' Hanway said, referring to the state replenishing funds lost through the car-tax rollback A DBMS feature that reverses the current transaction out of the database, returning the data to its former state. A rollback is performed when processing a transaction fails at some point, and it is necessary to start over. See two-phase commit. . ``It will be a huge hit for us to absorb.'' That is especially true this year because Burbank's largest source of revenue, the 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. , is expected to grow slower than it has in recent years, Hanway said. In addition, last year's state budget compromise requires the city to trade half its sales tax revenue to the state for an equal amount of property tax receipts in order to finance a large part of the state's deficit. Burbank could lose at least several million dollars if budget pressures prompt lawmakers in Sacramento to renege on Verb 1. renege on - fail to fulfill a promise or obligation; "She backed out of her promise" go back on, renege, renegue on countermand, repeal, rescind, revoke, annul, vacate, reverse, overturn, lift - cancel officially; "He revoked the ban on smoking"; their pledge to ``make cities whole,'' according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. City Manager Mary Alvord. Also feeling the pinch pinch, n a small amount of chewing tobacco (snuff) an individual takes to use the substance for its desired effect. A “pinch” is called a quid in Britain. is the Burbank Redevelopment Agency, which was forced to hand over $1.3 million to the state earlier this month from the West Olive project fund. Because the agency has enough money on hand to fund the ongoing efforts, the cuts were not as painful as they otherwise would have been, Hanway said. ``However, it would really hurt if it became permanent, and it's a great concern to all of us,'' Hanway said. ``The budget situation is only going to get worse.'' Heather MacDonald, (818) 546-3304 heather.macdonald(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Burbank Financial Services Director Derek Hanway shows the site for the Development and Community Services building. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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