Community Corner

Expenses Outweigh Revenues by $400,000 for City of La Mesa

City council votes on next year's budget draft, which is only in the red because of the loss of redevelopment funds.

The city of La Mesa will spend $400,000 more than it takes in for the 2013-14 fiscal year, according to a rough draft of a budget that was approved 3-1 at the city council meeting last week, with Art Madrid opposed.

Proposition L has helped make sales tax more than 50 percent of general fun revenues, but sales tax is an unstable revenue source and property taxes remain a smaller portion of income, according to the staff report.

The $400,000 deficit will be taken from the general fund reserves, estimated to be at $9.3 million for fiscal year 2012-13, and is expected to drop to $8.9 million next year. 

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Revenues are on the rise, in 2014-15 the general fund revenues are expected to be $38.9 million with expenditures of $38.3 million.

Public safety, fire and police, account for 60 percent of city expenditures. Police staffing will remain stable over the two years, and the fire department will put into service a rescue/engine combination vehicle that will save the city the cost of purchasing two separate units and replaces older models in operation.

Find out what's happening in La Mesa-Mount Helixwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Upcoming planned projects include construction of the Downtown Village Streetscap Improvement Project, with $2 million funded through a SANDAG Smart Growth Grant and Safe Routes to Schools grant. Additional projects for the 2013-15 years include undergrounding of overhead utilities on Normal Ave, Massachusetts Ave, and Waite Dr, followed by resurfacing of surrounding streets.

Sarah Waller-Bullock, Director of Finance for the city, told the council that revenues are rising at about 2.5 percent annually, which she described as a "sign of economic recovery." She said what sent the 2013-14 budget into the red was a debt service payment of $750,000 related to the police station land sale and the nixing of redevelopment funds.

The final budget will be brought before council for a final vote next month.


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