CYPRESS : Council OKs Budget, Freezes New Hiring

Closing a $400,000 budget shortfall, the City Council this week approved a budget that freezes the hiring of new city workers but continues funding the Nature Park rabbits.

The $17-million budget, given final approval Monday night, holds spending at or below last year’s levels.

Despite the shortfall, the budget includes more than $600,000 for capital improvement projects, including street and traffic repairs. Areas of Holder Street and Orangewood Avenue are slated for improvement projects.

After working several months to balance the budget, the council had little to say before adopting it. Councilman Richard Partin did express his dissatisfaction with paying $13,000 for the upkeep of the Nature Park rabbits over the next year. The rabbits, many of which are abandoned Easter pets, were multiplying out of control until the city stepped in to sterilize the population.

The city now pays a worker to feed the rabbits and care for those that are injured.

Saying he didn’t want to start a debate on the subject, Partin said of the rabbits, “Hopefully, somehow that problem will just go away.”

In anticipation of the budget shortfall, the council in May imposed a hiring freeze that was extended this week. All full- and part-time openings have been frozen, and future openings can only be filled with council approval.

The balancing act is not expected to end here. The council may also consider increasing “user fees” for such items as building permits to help generate revenue, Finance Director Richard Storey said.