CITY HALL
Severe drops in sales tax and other revenue for the city have created an $8.4-million budget gap this fiscal year, officials reported Tuesday, setting up a citywide hiring freeze and the elimination of 24 vacant positions.
In a special City Council budget session Tuesday morning, city officials said they would suspend the use of general-fund money to pay for road improvement projects or augment the capital-improvement budget, instead using funds generated by the state gas tax.
They also planned to pursue opening the city-owned Scholl Canyon Landfill to other cities to offset revenue loss there. Dump rates have dropped in recent months, with revenue down by about $230,000, city officials said. Opening the landfill up to outside agencies for the interim could make up the difference, they added.
Taken together with other cost-cutting measures, the plan was expected to generate $8.46 million in savings and additional revenue, enough to close the current gap.
The City Council also met in closed session Tuesday with the city’s four main employee unions to discuss their role in helping to shore up the city’s large budget shortfalls.
Even after the council closes the current gap, it must address a roughly $7.3-million shortfall projected for next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
The first batch of fundraising reports filed for the April 7 election showed the City Council’s three incumbents with a significant advantage over their challengers as they head into the main stretch of the campaign.
For the fundraising period that ended Dec. 31, Councilman Bob Yousefian had the most cash on hand with $70,938. His colleagues Ara Najarian and Frank Quintero claimed $70,341 and $58,785, respectively, for their reelection campaign accounts, according to statements filed at the city clerk’s office.
The campaign disclosure forms, which were due Monday, covered only candidates who had raised funds before Dec. 31.
Laura Friedman, a former Design Review Board chairwoman, reported $3,681 cash in hand at year’s end, while Vartan Gharpetian, who also headed a Design Review Board, claimed $19,729 for his campaign account, although both had raised more money since the start of the year.
Many challengers have only recently begun to ramp up their fundraising efforts and so were not included in the latest round of filings.
EDUCATION
