CITY JUGGLES FUNDS TO HEAD OFF SHORTFALL.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

The City Council on Friday approved $14 million in budget reductions and $16 million in transfers between departments as part of a continuing effort to deal with the state budget crisis.

The action applies to the current fiscal year, with the city still facing the potential of a $62 million shortfall. It expects to lose at least $209 million in state funding during the fiscal year that begins July 1.

``We're being pretty aggressive in identifying some hard-dollar savings now so we have sufficient funds for next year's budget,'' said City Administrative Officer Bill Fujioka.

City officials continue to study areas that can be cut.

Friday's action includes transferring $16 million from departments with surpluses to those running deficits. The cuts include eliminating vacant positions and consolidating programs.

Councilman Nate Holden objected to a plan to transfer five positions related to affirmative action enforcement from the Bureau of Contract Administration to the Chief Administrative Officer's Office, and had the issue referred to the council's Public Works Committee.

Holden said he wanted ``to make sure that every individual, every company, gets a fair opportunity, a level playing field. That's why we had this affirmative action program in the first place. We should not rush it, a slipshod approach - totally unacceptable.''

Fujioka at first resisted, saying the jobs were better dealt with at the same time as the entire plan, rather than separating them out as individual items. But eventually the council agreed with Holden, voting 10-0 to approve the cuts, except for referring the affirmative action positions to committee for further review.