As such, Yousefian said he may not vote to support the raises next week “because truly, honestly, I don’t think the budget is balanced. It may be on a piece of paper; in reality, we keep borrowing more and more.”
The comment appeared to conflict with Yousefian’s stance on the budget proposal last week, when he thanked his colleagues for making tough decisions in order to balance the $162.5-million general fund through reduced library hours, freezing vacant positions and cuts to fire and police department staffing.
“It would have been nice to see the support follow through from last week,” Mayor John Drayman said. “But I’ll be just as happy with a 4-1 vote.”
Tuesday was the official public hearing on the tentative budget, which is scheduled to come back June 24 for final adoption, in time for the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. The $162.5-million general fund pays for the vast majority of city services as part of an overall $750.3-million budget.
After calling on the council to take another serious look at departmental issues that could be contributing to the shortfall, Yousefian vowed to make it a major campaign issue.
Yousefian, and Councilmen Ara Najarian and Frank Quintero, face reelection in 2009.
“We’re sitting here trying to be the smartest people on planet Earth — we’re not, we’re just like you,” Yousefian said, referring to the speakers who minutes earlier had lodged their concerns and criticisms over the proposed cuts. “We come here to serve the public.”
