Copyright, North County Times 2008

City Officials get first look at budget proposal

By Ruth Marvin Webster
4/28/2008

In the first of a series of budget workshops, City Council members last week had their first look at next year's proposed spending plan and said money could be tight, but that major cuts weren't expected.

At the same meeting, a taxpayer advocate complained that the city was withholding public information he had requested that outlined how the city might pay for retiree health care costs.

In its 2008-09 budget proposal, the city is estimating it will take in $53.4 million in revenue, a slight increase over the current fiscal year, when Encinitas was expected to take in $53.2 million.

Spending is expected to increase more significantly. The city estimates it will spend $48 million in 2008-09, compared with the $45 million it expected to spend in this budget year, according to the report.

City Finance Director Jennifer Smith acknowledged that an index of economic indicators show that "we are headed for a recession," but said Encinitas is faring better than other cities because property in the seaside town is generally retaining its value and the number of foreclosures has remained low.

Smith said that property taxes ---- which make up about 45 percent of general fund revenues ---- will probably dip by only about $90,000 in the next fiscal year. Sales taxes could decrease by just over $1 million next year, she said.

She said that by modifying the city's capital improvement programs and dipping into a newly created budget reserve, city officials do not expect any cuts in city programs or services.

By far the largest of the city's expenditures are personnel or sheriff services, which make up nearly 75 percent of total general fund expenditures.

At the April 24 budget workshop, Kevin Cummins of the Encinitas Taxpayers Association told the council he had requested the draft retiree health-care liability study that was presented but had been denied access to it.

"Under the California Public Records Act, public documents must be shared with the public," he said. The response from staff was that since the document was only a draft, they were well within their rights to deny its access.

"This is just one example of the behavior that has become so widespread that it is being accepted as city policy," said Cummins later. "There are only a few exceptions and a health-care liability study is not one of them ... These denials have had a chilling effect, and many in the public simply don't bother requesting documents from the city anymore."

Cummins said he brought the denial to the council's attention in large part to spotlight what he thinks is the staff's blanket denial of draft documents.

"It's against the spirit of open government and against the law," Cummins said.

The second budget workshop is scheduled for May 21 with June 25 as an alternate date for the budget's adoption. After adoption, the city finance department will present quarterly reports to the council throughout the year.