By Brooklynn Wong
The city of Anaheim is close to adopting its budget for the new fiscal year, and the future looks very bright.
The city has been holding budget workshops and will adopt the 2019-20 budget officially on June 18.
Prior to last week’s City Council Meeting, on Tuesday, June 4, a workshop was held, giving a broad citywide overview and then covering in detail the areas of administrative departments, police, fire and rescue, and community services.
The tourism industry is the lifeblood of Anaheim’s economy, and thanks to frequent improvements and expansions at the Disneyland Resort, like the recent “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge,” the number of people wanting to travel to, stay in, and spend their money in Anaheim is ever increasing.
The budget is balanced, and the economy is only projected to continue growing.
City Council Member Trevor O’Neil summed it up well when he said, “We’re the envy of all other cities in Orange County with a budget like this.”
The country, state, and county all experienced economic growth last year, and the city of Anaheim fell right in step with the pattern.
The city’s revenue from the Transient Occupancy Tax, which is the cut that the city gets of what visitors pay when they stay in the city’s hotels, is projected to be on a steady incline going forward. And the city’s other biggest sources of revenue will only continue to grow also.
The biggest chunk of money that the city spends is on police and fire, at about 67% of its expenditures. The chiefs of both of those departments gave an update on highlights from last year, and proposed budgets for next year.
Police
Anaheim Police Chief Jorge Cisneros gave the budgetary outlook for the police department.
Anaheim has one of the lowest crime rates nationwide amongst the country’s “big cities.”
He proposed a $168.5 million budget for fiscal year 2019-20 to continue operating at this high level.
Cisneros said last year with the finances allotted, the department was able to expand its Major Narcotics enforcement, establish a Data Release Unit (to improve getting messages out to the community; body-worn cameras also fall under the purview of this unit), and the creation of a Community Engagement Detail.
The PD held 206 community outreach meetings last year, and is aiming to hold 300 next year.
Cisneros said the department is currently made up of 390 officers, including those currently in training. However the proposed budget includes 405 officers. Ideally they would hire these 15 more as new officers that will be around for a long time, however, Cisneros said if the hiring process takes too long, an alternative the department would consider would be hiring back some recent retirees.
Fire
The Anaheim Fire Department budget, which covers both fire and paramedics, is proposed to be about $80 million for the new fiscal year, said Interim Fire Chief Pat Russell.
Though large amounts of rain in the region have officially put an end to the drought, Russell said the department needs to continue to be prepared for woodland fires in east Anaheim’s canyons and open spaces that were hit hard by the Canyon Fires in fall 2017.
The large department has 11 fire stations, and 57 engines that it also needs to continue maintaining.
In addition to these, a new fire station will be built in the platinum triangle, near Orangewood and the 5 freeway, to better serve Angel Stadium and Disneyland.
Community Services
The Community Services Department was the final entity to present its proposed budget and overall outlook for this workshop. This department includes libraries, parks and facilities, golf courses, Recreation Services and Park Security, among others.
Highlights from last year include a new skatepark being opened, improved amenities at parks, events like races and concerts on the green being held at golf courses, and after school programs for kids and programs like Senior Wheels being held for senior citizens.
As for the new year, Community Services hopes to look at currently vacant land for more opportunities to build new parks.
Two more city budget workshops will be held, today, June 12, at 4 p.m., and on June 18 at 3 p.m. That evening (June 18), the 19-20 budget will be officially adopted.
