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Campbell's city budget of $50.5 million has increased by 5.4 percent from the prior year's, and the city is looking for ways to keep service cuts at a minimum.
"We've tried to maintain a delicate balance, given the fact that revenues are falling short and we're in a economic recession," Campbell City Manager Bernard Strojny said. "In the eight years that I've been working with the staff, this has been the most difficult budget I've worked on."
Although the message he gave to council members at the May 5 public hearing was that Campbell can avoid cutting city jobs while maintaining services and a balanced budget, he also said that to accomplish this, the city will need to draw from its reserves.
In reviewing the upcoming 200405 budget, Strojny focused on several items. He told the council that $750,000 will need to be drawn from the General Fund's economic fluctuations reserve, which was established in 1996 to safeguard against economic downturns. He also said the budget will draw $550,000 from the public employees retirement system reserve fund, which will enable the city to meet its contribution requirements. And $264,000 from the General Fund's theater reserve will be needed to subsidize the Heritage Theatre while it builds its business.
When looking at the budget, he said, he tried not to incur any layoffs; he said that a hiring freeze will remain in effect.
"This amounts to about a 5 percent reduction in the permanent staffing," he said. "Everyone's working harder to try to get us through this."
The city also plans to close the library on Sundays. The library's Sunday hours were funded through the city's budget and not the Santa Clara County Public Library System. Campbell also decided to defer purchasing two additional pickup trucks for public works' use and new computer monitors for office employees.
But one of the most significant challenges that Campbell faces, he said, is the result of decisions coming out of the state Capitol.
In the 200304 fiscal year, the state has taken more than $1 million away from Campbell and its redevelopment agency through educational revenue augmentation fund takeaways and deferred repayment of vehicle-license fees. Under the state budget currently proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the redevelopment agency would lose an additional $300,000 in monies.
"The state is like a big robber baron," Campbell Councilman Matthew Dean said.
Despite the challenges, Strojny said he's optimistic about the near-term future.
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