Financial Crisis

1. State Controller John Chiang has said the state may run out of money early this year if legislators do not agree on a budget. If Burbank were forced to make cuts, where would you recommend making trims, and in what way can Burbank weather this financial crisis? I don’t believe there is any one answer to the projected budget deficit. I will look at all potential solutions before considering a rise in our utility rates. We need to be more efficient and look at underutilized portions of a program or low-priority parts of a program to temporarily cut back on. I would consider regionalization of services to help share the costs with our neighboring cities, so long as the quality of the service does not suffer.

It's dismaying that so many well-spoken people would be so quick to absolve ex-school superintendent Dave Aponik of any responsibility for the deficits in the school budget, and be so quick to blame the school board. The city pays the Burbank Board of Education peanuts to oversee the district, while it paid Aponik more than $150,000 a year to run it. It was unconscionable that he sought a leave of absence when the district was facing this escalating financial crisis.

BURBANK — Teachers union representatives have agreed with the Burbank Unified School District on a contract that would continue current salary and benefit provisions through next year if it is ratified by union members, they said. The Burbank Teachers Assn. will present the agreement to its members in the coming days and expects it to be ratified after a relatively smooth series of negotiations. The talks came a year after the union won a 3% pay raise and an increase in benefit coverage during tense negotiations for a three-year contract, which lasted until April, said Susan Conway, the union’s co-president.

SUPERINTENDENT SEND-OFF The Burbank Unified School District Board of Education will recognize retiring Supt. Gregory Bowman and his accomplishments as head of the school district. Area federal, state and local elected officials and their representatives will be in attendance to honor Bowman, who has served the district for 15 years, including seven as superintendent. Bowman also worked as assistant superintendent of instructional services for six years and deputy superintendent for two years.

Massive condominium developments in Burbank and Glendale, faced with the pressures of the sputtering economy, have slashed their prices by up to 40%, attracting a spike in interest from first-time home buyers, agents reported. The projects — the Burbank Collection and the Excelsior at the Americana at Brand — have sat largely vacant for months, but as buyer incentives have warmed the market for single-family homes, developers have tried to make their properties more tempting.

1. State Controller John Chiang has said the state may run out of money early this year if legislators do not agree on a budget. If Burbank were forced to make cuts, where would you recommend making trims, and in what way can Burbank weather this financial crisis? As a first step we must change the way we spend our hard-earned tax dollars. We must do things more efficiently and insist on receiving full value and accountability. We must put an end to tax dollar giveaways, which will allow us to continue to afford the essentials such as police, fire and safety services while maintaining and upgrading our infrastructure.

1. State Controller John Chiang has said the state may run out of money early this year if legislators do not agree on a budget. If Burbank were forced to make cuts, where would you recommend making trims, and in what way can Burbank weather this financial crisis? I don’t believe there is any one answer to the projected budget deficit. I will look at all potential solutions before considering a rise in our utility rates. We need to be more efficient and look at underutilized portions of a program or low-priority parts of a program to temporarily cut back on. I would consider regionalization of services to help share the costs with our neighboring cities, so long as the quality of the service does not suffer.