City looks to cut costs

CITY HALL — An open-ended set of cost-cutting options to address an $8-million budget gap for this year is scheduled to be unveiled at a special City Council meeting Tuesday.

The full scope of options, which have been under development for months, had not yet been released Friday, but Finance Director Bob Elliot said everything was on the table, including possible employee work furloughs like those ordered by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for state agencies, freezing or consolidating vacant positions and slashing entire programs.

“We’re looking at anything and everything,” he said.

Furloughs — forcing employees to take days off without pay — and layoffs are still considered a last resort in lieu of cutting expenses and stymieing losses, city officials said. That means enterprise services that are no longer netting a profit, such as the city’s money-losing passport services program, will likely be shut down, they said.

A 50% cut in employee take-home vehicles, drastic cuts in travel and training expenses and reduced capital spending plans are also possible options as the City Council looks to close the $8-million gap for this fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Engaging in city layoffs this fiscal year would be “contrary to helping with the current national economic situation and contrary to maintaining needed public services,” City Manager Jim Starbird said.

Glendale, like many other cities, is under pressure from declining revenues against unwavering demand for most city services. Reconciling that gap has proven harder during an economic recession, which has pulled down the values of property tax rolls and gouged business development.

In what Mayor John Drayman called a “major presentation,” city officials will present only a preliminary overview of possible cost-cutting measures and economic forecasts, with more solid figures coming in April after the sales tax data for the most recent quarter is available.

Even so, the council will likely offer its opinions on the slate of politically unpopular moves and suggest other possible avenues.

“We will, I’m sure, ask a lot of questions,” Drayman said.

Much like last year, when the City Council undertook the arduous task of closing a $9.9-million gap that was projected for this fiscal year, the issue is expected to draw special interests.