At a special study session on March 2, the council separated notecards indicating specific city services into three categories: must provide, should provide and would like to provide. Each card had an itemized annual city expenditure on it, and it was every council member's job to tack the colored pieces of paper onto individual bulletin boards under one of the three headings.

The consensus was that the city will not spend any money on its 50th anniversary celebration next year. The city might also decide not to pay for an extra traffic officer, a school resource officer or school crossing guards, and the city newsletter might be cut.

This is the fourth straight year of recession that the Saratoga has had to deal with, and the council is expected to cut $1 million from its budget.

Before the exercise began, City Manager Dave Anderson set the tone for the meeting with a somber introduction.

"The city can no longer use the same traditional budget mechanisms to cut costs. Each cut now affects programs or service delivery," he said. "The city council this year will begin the process of prioritizing city services and programs with the necessity of reducing the scope of city services delivered to the public."

The city manager said that the expectations of residents had pushed the city to expand services in recent years but the city could not continue to provide such services because revenues have remained stagnant.

He indicated that the city is exploring the "new normal"--a budget where expenses are cut so that long-term sustainability can be achieved.

Anderson's speech was followed by impassioned pleas by those likely to be affected by the cuts.

"We help get extra revenue for the city. After the city's economic development coordinator left, we have been helping with that job," said Nomita Shahani, the president of the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce.

She said that Chamber staff members interact with tourists and businesspeople and encourage them to visit the city.

Representatives of KSAR 15, the local community access channel, also asked the city council not to do away with funding for the channel. KSAR Director Christine Wasmund said that the channel is the voice of the community and keeps the city integrated.

But even with the air of despondency all around, KSAR staff members were still optimistic.

"I am sure we will work something out. We have a few ideas for generating revenues of our own," said Scott Peterson, a cable-caster with the channel.

Before the council members talked about cuts, Mayor Kathleen King reminded the audience that the council has 125 years of business experience between them and about 80 years of management experience.

"The cost of the school crossing guards should be borne by the schools," Councilwoman Ann Waltonsmith said.

The other areas in which she was willing to make cuts were the economic development program and the teen after-school program.

Councilwoman Aileen Kao, however, said that the city should continue to invest in the economic development program. "Our businesses need to be revitalized. We have to find a way to generate more revenue," she said. She was also in favor of doing away with an extra traffic officer in the city.

Councilman Nick Streit insisted that the only way to make the "new normal" work was to make the cuts. "Employees are leaving. I am in favor of instituting a performance-based incentive program for staff," he said. His choice of possible reduction in city services included the school resource officer, after-school teen programs and crossing guards.

Vice Mayor Norman Kline suggested that the city should cut expenses by doing away with the public outreach program and the newsletter. He was also in favor of putting the economic development program on hold.

King also said that the city could no longer fund the school crossing guards or the resource officer. Later, King seemed relieved that the meeting had gone off well. "Visualizing our ideas helped. The public got a better idea. We also got to see where there might be a consensus," King said.

She said that the next study session of the council would be used to flesh out ideas and talk in detail about possible cuts.

The next study session of the Saratoga City Council was to be held at the Senior Center at 19655 Allendale Avenue on March 8 at 5 p.m.