Monterey Park Budget Deficits

I am a member of the 15-person, Monterey Park Council-appointed, Community Advisory Budget Committee charged with the responsibility of recommending to the council how to overcome a 91-92 deficit of $600,000 and a 92-93 deficit of $800,000.

Residents should be aware that CBAC is recommending the following cuts for a savings of $300,000: elimination of tree trimming and gopher eradication, loss of one animal control officer, layoff of one member of the city manager’s staff, elimination of all council salaries and reduction of library service to four days per week.

However, since the cuts are insufficient to balance the budget, we are recommending the following: an increase in the business utility tax, a new utility tax on our residents affecting 20,000 households and $30,000 in staff salary cuts.

While the CBAC has been struggling with the budget deficits and how best to solve Monterey Park’s financial crisis, we were unaware that the Community Redevelopment Agency owes our city general fund some $560,000 for cash advances from 1984 through 1990.

Why has the city been subsidizing the CRA while reducing services to the community? Why have we not required the CRA to pay for police and fire services in the CRA districts?

To make matters worse, with scant public notice or input, the City Council voted 3 to 2 (Kiang and Balderrama dissenting) to certify a shaky property tax appraisal and negotiate the purchase of two South Atlantic properties for a price of about $3.8 million.

As residents, we should be demanding that our City Council/CRA immediately repay the General Fund the $560,000 owed! This payment would wipe out the current debt and at the same time send them a message that CRA is not to be quietly subsidized from the general fund while we, the residents of Monterey Park, face cuts in services and higher taxes.

IRVING WILLNER

Monterey Park