CITY BUDGETS : Budget-Balancing Deadline Sends Some Cities Scurrying

In Santa Ana, a city financial squeeze means that 90 positions are being eliminated from the city payroll. But the budget for tiny Villa Park, Orange County’s smallest city, is rising 60% this year--thanks entirely to capital spending on road improvements. And in Irvine, last year’s deficit crisis is nearly forgotten and 38 employees will be added to the city payroll.

In most cities where spending is up, it is for increases in public safety personnel or road improvements. But whether the numbers are rising or falling, the story at city halls throughout Orange County is essentially the same: it is budget-balancing time.

The new fiscal year for California’s cities began Friday, and legally they were required to have had their budgets balanced and approved by the night before. However, several Orange County cities are still working with proposed budgets, including Fullerton, which is scheduled to approve its spending plan tonight.

Following is a city-by-city look at the budget picture in each of the county’s 27 cities. Garden Grove

Police Services to Top Expenditures in 1988-89

The 1988-89 Garden Grove budget is about $68 million, up 5% from last year, said Mike Fenderson, assistant city manager.

The single largest expense is the city’s 150-member police force, for which the city will spend $14.7 million this year, about the same as last year. “We are becoming more urbanized,” Fenderson said. “And the demand for police services has increased significantly.”

To have more officers patrolling the street without affecting the budget, the city has restructured the Police Department, eliminating three management positions and adding five uniformed officers, Fenderson said.