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Beverly Hills City Council Approves Annual Municipal Budget PDF Print E-mail

For Immediate Release June 17, 2009

Contact: Cheryl Burnett
(310) 285-2454

Beverly Hills City Council Approves Annual Municipal Budget
Budget Reflects Economic Slowdown, While Preserving Vital City Services

Beverly Hills, CA – Despite volatile and uncertain economic conditions, the Beverly Hills City Council adopted a Fiscal Year 2009/10 annual budget of approximately $399 million that maintains a wide range of high-caliber, core city services. The budget adopted at the June 16th City Council meeting fills an $18.3 million gap in the General Fund, necessary to meet a decrease in City revenues brought about by the global recession. Over 75 percent of the City’s revenue comes from retail, hotel and other business taxes.

The City’s budget reflects the community’s priorities and impacts every resident, business and visitor. The budget affects how public safety, parks, roads, sanitation, parking and services are funded and maintained for the community. Cities are required by state law to have a balanced budget. The budget approved by the Council prepares the City in the event of on-going negative economic conditions and potential impacts of the State’s financial situation.

“The City Council has approved a conservative budget that reflects the economic slowdown and the resulting revenue losses, while upholding critical programs and services which the community values,” said Dr. Scott Miller, the City’s Chief

Financial Officer. “The City is implementing plans to control costs, while continuing to provide the levels of service required to maintain our world-class reputation,” he continued.

Budget Process
The development of the FY 2009/2010 budget began over seven months ago and included a series of educational discussions, community outreach meetings and City Council sessions that were open to the public for input. As a first step, the City Council set several policies that served to guide the direction of the budget, including the overriding goals of maintaining public safety, supporting the City’s public schools, keeping overall service standards high, preserving the City’s economic viability and maintaining its reserve fund for emergency situations.

Months of intense public and internal scrutiny followed, with several public study sessions focusing on the economic climate in Beverly Hills, community expectations, budget projections for the coming year and City departmental presentations on possible budget reduction options. Every budget line item was carefully examined for possible savings, with potential budget scenarios evaluated during numerous meetings with stakeholders and then posted on the City’s website.

The City’s elected Treasurer, Eliot Finkel, also solicited the community for additional expertise, forming a Citizen's Budget Review Committee, which critically evaluated the budget process and provided ideas for creating additional revenue and spending cuts.

Budget Reduction Impacts
The City has implemented cost saving strategies for each department, allowing the City to maintain a balanced budget despite a significant decrease in revenues. Core Police and Fire Department services were left intact. To meet the needed $18.3 million in budget cuts, reductions have been made in programs and services across the City, including $9.7 million in non-public safety departments and $4 million of non-essential services in the Police and Fire departments. Other measures to balance the budget include new revenues, possible furloughs and other cost saving measures.

Due to the weak economy, some City program and service budget impacts include:
-  Closing the Library early three nights a week (Tuesday-Wednesday at 8pm; Thursdays at 6pm)
-  Reducing Community Service Grants to organizations which receive funding from the City
-  Reducing landscaping and tree pruning in City parks and green spaces
-  Reducing from 7 to 4 the Summer Plaza Sweets concerts
-  Reducing some programs and classes at City parks, including some decreased staff hours
-  Charging a $50 fee for participation in the Team Beverly Hills program
-  Eliminating the Youth in Government program
-  Eliminating 46 staff positions, most of which are vacant
-  Not filling certain open positions in the Community Development department, which may result in longer permit processing times and increased waiting time at the customer service counter
-  Moving coordination of CPR training to the not-for-profit Beverly Hills CPR to maintain and enhance this life-saving training for residents
-  Rotating two School Resource Officers (SRO) between two elementary schools (a full-time SRO will remain at the high school)
- Reducing tourism and marketing programs, including the holiday program

“The City Council has adopted an overall budget strategy that seeks to cut non-essential programs, rather than attempting to cut all existing programs by providing fewer resources,” said Miller. “Thanks to the City Council’s leadership and guidance, along with the public’s vital participation, the City has adopted a budget that reconciles the realities of a volatile fiscal situation, but still remains true to the City Council’s priorities and the community’s core values,” he continued.

More information about the Beverly Hills City budget can be found on the City’s website at
www.beverlyhills.org.


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