LAGUNA BEACH : Budget Includes Chamber, AIDS

Earmarking $10,000 for AIDS support groups and helping the Chamber of Commerce for the first time in more than a decade, the City Council unanimously adopted a $24.5-million budget.

In a memo to the council, City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said the city is in “moderately good financial shape” with a balanced budget and a 10% reserve, but is hampered by severe staff shortages. Future budgets must accommodate 20 more city employees if services are to rise to a reasonable level, Frank said. The administrative staff is particularly thin, he said.

The 1990-91 budget includes $4,500 for the Chamber of Commerce, which has functioned without city funding for 11 years. Before the passage of Proposition 13, the chamber received $30,000 a year from the city.

In another departure from past years, the council set aside an additional $10,000 for organizations that directly helps city residents with AIDS. Previously, those organizations have had to compete for community assistance funds, which are split among a variety of organizations.