Approved by the City Council in June after weeks of discussions, the $164.8-million budget included department-wide cuts of at least 5%, wage concessions, the elimination or downgrading of about 30 positions and a restructuring of the way the city pays for street and capital improvements to balance a $9.7-million gap.
During an update on the budget at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, council members were also notified of a more than $4-million surplus left over from last fiscal year’s General Fund budget.
City officials attributed last year’s surplus to a slew of midyear budget reductions, including a citywide hiring freeze that remains in place.
About $1.7 million of the surplus will be set aside in anticipation of future rate increases for contributions to the state’s city employee pension system, while the rest of the money will be used to bolster the city’s reserves.
As of Sept. 30, the city’s General Fund had received $25.8 million in revenue — a more than 2% increase on the ratio of projected funds received at the same time last year, according to a city report.
General Fund expenditures are also running as expected, other than a $550,000 appropriation of funds in October to use for Station fire recovery and mudslide prevention efforts. City officials project additional costs associated to the fire could continue to arise during the next few years.
The City Council on Tuesday directed officials to craft a plan that could grant the Americana at Brand and Glendale Galleria permission to place billboard-sized ads on their exteriors, even as Glendale has worked to eradicate large signs from its streets.
