BURBANK OFFERS MUCH SMOOTHER RIDE CITY BOASTS SERVICES GLENDALE CAN'T.

Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer

Burbank transit vans pick up seniors at their front doors and youngsters compete on park water polo and swim teams, thanks to a city budget that, on a per capita basis, nearly doubles that of neighboring Glendale.

With movie studios, major hotels, giant retailers and the Bob Hope Airport, Burbank expects to take in more than $122 million in general fund revenues this fiscal year for its population of about 100,000.

Next-door Glendale, with a population twice as big, expects $138 million: about $690 per resident compared with $1,220 per resident for Burbank.

``Because of the lack of funding, we do without certain things, like a lot of park programs and such,'' said Glendale City Councilman Bob Yousefian. ``Burbank has much better programs for kids, and that's because they have put more money into it.''

Burbank, with pools at both McCambridge and Verdugo parks, will spend more than $238,000 this year on an aquatics program that includes money for youth swim teams and water polo. Glendale has no city pools and no aquatics program, although it cooperates in the school district's swimming program.

Burbank has a fixed-route shuttle bus service for commuters. It also has an $827,000 van service that allows seniors to call in advance and get picked up curbside at their home, then dropped off at the Joslyn Adult Center, a grocery store or hair salon or any destination they choose. The service also picks seniors up to take them home: travel is free, although donations are accepted.

Glendale has its own fixed-route bus system, the Beeline buses, and a Dial-a-Ride van service seniors can use for medical appointments, said Assistant City Manager Bob McFall.

And although Glendale officials have moved to hire more police officers, the city has fewer officers per 1,000 residents than Burbank. With 270 officers, Glendale has about 1.35 officers per 1,000 residents compared with a ratio of about 1.5 for Burbank, which has 150 officers.

``I would say that Burbank is extremely fortunate to have the studios as a strong (revenue) base,'' said Burbank City Councilman Todd Campbell. ``But I think it's a combination of small mom-and-pop stores with some of the stores that we were able to acquire (at the Empire Center), some of the locations that really supplement our revenue.''

Burbank will receive an anticipated $26 million in property taxes and $21 million in sales taxes for the fiscal year that began July 1. That compares with $28 million in property taxes and $26 million in sales taxes for the larger Glendale.

In addition to The Walt Disney Co., NBC and Warner Bros., Burbank's top property tax generators include Southwest Airlines, which pays property taxes on planes parked at the airport.

Costco, IKEA and Fry's Electronics are among the top sales tax generators for Burbank, which has more big-box retailers than Glendale.

``Providing services is difficult when we're always facing budget issues and budget problems because of the smaller tax base,'' said Robert Franz, Glendale's director of administrative services.

Yousefian said the proposed Americana at Brand shopping center should give Glendale more revenue when it opens. Meanwhile, he would like Glendale officials to set a goal of increasing revenue by millions a year.

``What bothers me is a lot of the big corporations frankly don't pay a hell of a lot,'' Yousefian said.

``We kind of have to put up with some of the people screaming at us ... if we want to get more parks and more libraries and better roads and sweep the streets every week,'' Yousefian said. ``All the things that Burbank has and we don't, we're going to have to move in a different direction and generate some revenues and get those.''

Alex Dobuzinskis, [phone]

alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Johnny Gonzalez, a driver for Burbank Transportation Services, helps a woman board a shuttle outside of Joslyn Adult Center.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer