Menlo council takes closer look at budget Menlo council takes closer look at budget (June 09, 2004)

By Rebecca Wallace
Almanac Staff Writer

Whether they're seen as painful or logical, all the proposed cuts and changes in Menlo Park's city budget will take another step toward reality on Tuesday, June 8.

The City Council will get its first chance to discuss the official draft plan for fiscal year 2004-05 in all its difficult detail, from employee layoffs to enhanced road and sidewalk repairs.

City Manager David Boesch is proposing spending $29.23 million in the general fund budget in 2004-05. That number is higher than the $27 million the council discussed in May, because it would involve dipping deeper into the city's $28.2 million general fund reserves.

Besides drawing out $958,000 for operating expenses and retirement costs, the plan also includes taking out $2 million to maintain the city's network of streets and sidewalks, and $250,000 to replace some aging police patrol vehicles, Mr. Boesch said.

Council members have said for months that they wanted to make maintaining Menlo Park's roads a high priority. When she took the mayor's gavel last December, Lee Duboc advocated having the city spend $3 million a year on road maintenance, as opposed to the $300,000 it was spending annually.

To keep pace with stagnant revenues, which Mr. Boesch projects will come in around $26.27 million in 2004-05, the city is also in the midst of its fourth straight year of budget cuts.

As in the previous, less formal versions of the upcoming budget, this plan includes eliminating the equivalent of 10.75 full-time city positions to save about $672,000. These include the coordinator of the city's shuttle bus service, a senior recreation leader at the Onetta Harris Community Center, and a community specialist at the Menlo Park Senior Center.

City officials have worked with the unions to avoid layoffs by enticing employees to take early retirement or enhanced severance packages, or work fewer hours, Mr. Boesch said. As of last week, about three-quarters of the people slated for layoffs had "stepped forward" and chosen one of these options, he said, declining to name names.

Some of the layoffs have sparked controversy in the city. In particular, residents have rallied around Debbie Helming, the shuttle service coordinator; and Tyrone Williams, the Onetta Harris recreation leader.

In hopes of boosting revenue by about $400,000, the council has already approved numerous fee increases for city services such as child care.

With California's budget not yet adopted, Menlo Park officials are also uncertain about how much money the city could lose to the state, Mr. Boesch added.

INFORMATION

The June 8 meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 801 Laurel St., following a 6 p.m. study session in the Burgess Recreation Center on a strategic plan for the city library.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.