GLENDALE COUNCIL OKS BUDGET OF $643 MILLION, OPTION FOR CUTS.Byline: EUGENE TONG Staff Writer GLENDALE -- The City Council has approved a $643 million budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year, which includes contingency cuts in case the city loses the right to collect a cell phone utility tax. The spending plan unanimously approved Tuesday night assumes revenues of $656 million -- just over half from taxes -- and provides a $149 million general fund for city services The examples and perspective in this article or section may represent an unduly geographically limited view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. and operating expenses Operating expenses The amount paid for asset maintenance or the cost of doing business, excluding depreciation. Earnings are distributed after operating expenses are deducted. for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The budget also includes about $1.4 million in cuts, from an $11,000 reduction in library supplies to $200,000 in overtime reduction for firefighters and police at the jail. This was offset by $1.39 million in new expenses, including $450,000 for a new paramedic par·a·med·ic n. A person who is trained to give emergency medical treatment or assist medical professionals. paramedic unit and $203,000 for the Adams Square Storefront Library. ``I've heard the council is spending like drunken sailors Drunken Sailor is a famous traditional sea shanty also known as What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor?. It is now rarely called by its other name Sailor’s Holiday. on shore leave,'' City Councilman Ara Najarian said. ``That's not the case. ... As a whole, I'm proud of the work the entire council has done.'' Still, the belt-tightening didn't go far enough for some. ``They're not trying to keep up with the Joneses, they're trying to set the pace for the Joneses,'' said Barry Allen, head of a City Hall watchdog group called Vanguard. Allen has pressed the city to reduce overtime spending, especially for the Fire Department -- about $4 million was budgeted for extra hours for 2006-07. For the current year, it was $3.9 million, though the estimated overtime spending already has surpassed $4.3 million. Councilman Rafi Manoukian Rafi Manoukian is a former member of the city council in Glendale, California. He was recently notified that he has been selected by the Board of Directors and the Selection Committee of the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO) as a recipient of the 2006 Ellis Island said the new budget was a fair compromise. ``I wanted more hours for the library, but I didn't get that,'' he said. Meanwhile, city officials have prepared a contingency plan A plan involving suitable backups, immediate actions and longer term measures for responding to computer emergencies such as attacks or accidental disasters. Contingency plans are part of business resumption planning. with about $5 million in spending cuts Noun 1. spending cut - the act of reducing spending cut - the act of reducing the amount or number; "the mayor proposed extensive cuts in the city budget" in case they lose a utility-user tax collected from local cell phone owners. The right for municipalities to collect the tax is being challenged in court by consumer groups. ``With any kind of major contingencies like that, it always involves staff, which would hopefully involve nothing but vacant positions,'' said Ron Ahlers, the city's assistant director of finance. eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com (818)546-3304 |
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