Local News in Brief : Hermosa Beach Approves Budget

The Hermosa Beach City Council has unanimously approved a $14.3-million budget for the 1988-89 fiscal year calling for the city to spend $800,000 more than it will take in.

Having one year with “expenditures exceeding revenues should not be alarming,” City Manager Kevin Northcraft told the City Council. No city services will have to be cut, he said, because the deficit will be more than offset by revenues brought in this year.

Northcraft called the next fiscal year “The Year of the Study,” because about 60 studies will be commissioned to determine how the city can save money or improve services. “That will be a major effort,” he said, adding that the city will spend about $30,000 on the studies, not including staff time.

Some cost-saving measures should be implemented before the end of the fiscal year and will help reduce the projected deficit, he said.

The budget also allows for increases in employee salaries, he said. “Our surveys are showing that . . . (Hermosa Beach salaries) are considerably lower than surrounding cities,” Northcraft said. The City Council approved a 9% salary increase last week for police officers and sergeants and will be negotiating with other employee groups during the next year, he said.

While the salary increases may not make Hermosa Beach competitive with neighboring cities, Northcraft said that city officials are trying “to at least move toward competitive salaries rather than maintain the status quo.”