City Manager's State of Arcadia Report Details Budget Deficit, Freeway Closures

At the recent annual Chamber of Commerce planning conference, City Manager Don Penman shared some updates about the City of Arcadia. Here are some of the nuggets I thought would be worth sharing with you:

• Expect all eastbound lanes of the 210 Foothill Freeway to be shut down for 10-days at a time starting this summer as the new “Iconic Freeway Structure” (aka, the ironic freeway structure, the basket bridge, the hand grenade bridge) is constructed to soon carry the Gold Line into Arcadia.

• The economic downturn has resulted in $2.3 million less revenue coming from Arcadia sales taxes (dropped from $9.5 million to $8 million) and “bed” taxes from hotels ($3 million down to $2.2 million).

• $2 million has already been cut from the City budget in the last three years.

• Projected $2.2 million budget deficit in 2011-12.

• 78% of the City’s budget is “people” costs.

• PERS (pension) rate is up $750,000

• “This may be the new norm,” Penman said.

• The good news: upticks of 3.4% in property taxes – highest in County; business and bed taxes are up this year, and retail sales also appear to be up.

• City budget reserves down to $23-$25 million.

• With budget cuts not allowing the long-planned building of a new , $1.5 million will be spent on renovations of the existing City Hall, including air conditioning and new windows.

Regular updates of this kind and from other city, county and state officials can be heard at the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Forum at 8 a.m. on the first Thursday of each month at 388 W. Huntington Drive.

Read more from Scott Hettrick at ArcadiasBest.com.