City’s Latest Budget Is a Two-Year Plan

Deviating from its usual practice of approving fiscal plans 12 months at a time, the City Council this week adopted a two-year budget to take Brea through June 30, 1998.

“This is a new procedure for Brea, but a number of cities in California are implementing two-year budgets,” said Larry Hurst, the city’s finance director. “There is a significant saving in staff time, and it’s also helpful for long-term planning.”

Hurst said the city’s finances will continue to be audited by independent accountants every year. “It’s a time-saving measure, but there won’t be less accountability,” he said.

The general fund budgets--$30.2 million for 1996-97 and $30.9 million for 1997-98--each represent an increase of about $2 million from last year’s spending plan. The new Brea Community Center, a $9-million facility that opened last month, accounted for most of the change, Hurst said.

No layoffs or major cutbacks are anticipated in the next two years, officials said. The city has already trimmed more than $5 million in operating costs since 1990, mostly by eliminating vacant positions and contracting for some services.

The new budget does add one job, an officer for the Police Department, Hurst said.

The city’s largest source of revenue continues to be its sales taxes, projected to be $11.7 million annually for the next two years.

The largest city expenses, about $11.6 million a year, will be police services for Brea and Yorba Linda. The neighboring city pays Brea $5.8 million a year for law enforcement services.