AGOURA HILLS : City Layoffs, Utility Tax to Be Considered

The Agoura Hills City Council today begins considering a proposed utility tax and layoffs of city employees to offset a projected $356,600 budget deficit next fiscal year and expected tough financial times in the future.

In a budget proposal submitted to the council, City Manager Terry Matz suggested that a 5% utility tax and layoffs of planners and administrative staff might be needed, due to the effects of an expected $315,000 in state property tax cuts and the region’s lingering recession.

Budget decisions in Sacramento and “the persistent malaise in the economy will be, to say the least, counter-productive to the city’s ability to deliver the current level of service. . .,” Matz stated in his message to the council.

“New revenue sources will need to be explored seriously to assure fiscal stability.”

The council scheduled the first in a series of public meetings today on the proposal to, among other things, enact the city’s first utility tax. The fee would raise an estimated $500,000 next fiscal year and $1 million in following years. The meeting is at 4 p.m. at City Hall, 30101 Agoura Court.

The proposed budget also includes a 32% drop from last year’s capital improvements budget of $2 million, which would freeze some street construction and other projects. The public safety, public works and most other departmental budgets would stay about the same.