Funding

Students who use the Got Wheels! bus service after school and around the city will have to make other plans for this summer after the City Council this week voted to move ahead with eliminating the program. Since February, city officials have been talking about cutting or eliminating some of the bus service because less money is available to fund the programs. Services like Burbank Bus and Got Wheels! rely heavily on sales tax revenue that has steadily declined during the economic downturn.

LOS ANGELES ? Federal stimulus grants have helped the Verdugo Workforce Investment Board assist more jobless workers in recent months than ever before, but the funds have also turned the spotlight on a looming problem: The money is running out. Don Nakamoto, the board?s labor market specialist, alerted members to the issue Thursday during a quarterly meeting for the organization, which oversees job training and counseling services for unemployed workers in Glendale, Burbank and La Crescenta.

A total replacement of the Central Library, complete with a new parking garage, is no longer feasible, city officials say, although they did ask the City Council for $3.5 million “to keep the dream alive.” Because the city has been unable to secure a state grant of up to $26 million, it has been unable to tap a bond approved by voters in 2003 worth about $14 million. This inability to access necessary funding is delaying the project. Meanwhile, the projected cost for the original plan - including knocking down the existing library for a new facility and garage - has grown to more than $100 million, placing it far outside the reach of city officials.

Laura Sturza BURBANK -- Organizations seeking grant money to fund youth activities and facilities can apply for city funding by May 1. The financing is meant to be used for community organizations, both public and private, that serve the city's young people. One grant recipient, Burbank High School, got funding for several programs, including a fence that separates the football and baseball fields. Before the fence was installed, community members and students had several near-misses with baseballs.

Connie Baker Developers of the city's first independent- living complex for the severely disabled have moved a step closer to breaking ground. The Redevelopment Agency voted Tuesday to approve $61,544 in additional funding for United Cerebral Palsy of Los Angeles, developers of a proposed 18-unit project that would serve those with very low incomes. "This is a good project," Councilman Dave Golonski said. "It's a very expensive proposi- tion, but the project is needed, and I am pleased to support it."

Irma Lemus BURBANK -- State Senator Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) announced that Bill 1542, which would provide additional funding to Burbank schools, could be included in Gov. Gray Davis' 2000-01 budget. Schiff's office announced last week that, if passed, the bill will provide equalization aid to state districts that have below-avarage funding and districts that received minimal compensation as a result of recent changes in the way the state pays for student attendance.

CITY HALL — A new conflict-resolution and student-growth program is headed for secondary schools in the Burbank Unified School District, after the City Council approved funding on Tuesday. The program, called Challenge Day, is a six-hour workshop where students participate in interpersonal exercises, sharing their feelings and experiences about stereotypes and personal problems, said Teri Stein, deputy director of the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department. The goal of the program is to inspire students to make positive changes for themselves and others when they return to school, concentrating on commonalities above differences, she added.

In the past four years school libraries have seen their state funding drop nearly $28 per student.BURBANK -- The newly renovated library at Burbank High School is airy and sophisticated. Windows let in light from all angles; a balcony provides an ideal study spot while students browse the bookcases below. The pristine atmosphere scarcely reveals the budget challenges now facing the district's libraries. In the past four years, the state's public school libraries have seen their state funding drop from nearly $28 per student to 71 cents per student.

Molly Shore Local performing arts groups will have to make do without some much-needed funding in the coming year. Community Services, Park and Recreation officials on Thursday announced plans to withdraw $77,000 in grant funding scheduled to be disbursed Jan. 1, citing $1.3 million in budget cuts for their decision. The city did, however, award about $39,000 to 14 local organizations -- including $10,000 to the Burbank Philharmonic -- to complete the 2003 grant cycle, said Garth Nelson, deputy director of recreation services.

DISTRICT AUDIT REPORT The Board of Education will accept an audit report detailing the district?s spending, payments and attendance. An audit firm monitored all the district?s finances to assure that officials have reported figures correctly and used funds in accordance with regulations. The report will also offer insight into the percentages of funds that the district allocates for its expenditures, as well as its major funding sources. WHAT TO EXPECT The presentation, which will be a major focus at Thursday?

A total replacement of the Central Library, complete with a new parking garage, is no longer feasible, city officials say, although they did ask the City Council for $3.5 million “to keep the dream alive.” Because the city has been unable to secure a state grant of up to $26 million, it has been unable to tap a bond approved by voters in 2003 worth about $14 million. This inability to access necessary funding is delaying the project. Meanwhile, the projected cost for the original plan - including knocking down the existing library for a new facility and garage - has grown to more than $100 million, placing it far outside the reach of city officials.

Burbank might be able to use one-time money to plug a projected $1.1-million budget gap for next fiscal year - but that's only if the City Council approves a collection of utility, sewer and trash-collection rate increases. Financial Services Director Cindy Geraldo said the city takes a “multi-pronged approach” to balancing the budget, including service reductions, fee increases, efficiencies and the use of one-time funds. With the mix of proposed spending reductions and rate increases, the city has the money to plug the remaining $1.1-million gap, she said.

The Burbank City Council on Tuesday approved a grant that will help offset the cost of swimming classes, lifeguard lessons and competitive swim events for local youth this summer. For the third consecutive year, the city was awarded $7,000 from the LA84 Foundation. Established with surplus money from the 1984 Summer Olympics, the LA84 Foundation has donated millions to youth sports programs across Southern California since 1985, according to the organization. Of this year's $7,000 grant, $5,023 will support 45 part-time, seasonal staff members who will attend to locker rooms, coach swim lessons, team sports or life-guarding classes, according to the city.

Credit rating agency Fitch said Thursday that it might downgrade the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority after it gets a clearer picture of the airfield's financial standing later this year. Fitch has already put the airport authority on “watch negative” status, citing weakened parking revenues and plans to build a multimillion-dollar transit center for Bob Hope Airport. Construction bids for the transit center, which will bring rental car, bus and rail services under one umbrella, are expected to be opened in mid-March, said airport spokesman Victor Gill.

Burbank Unified officials may be able to wipe the nervous beads of sweat off their foreheads after an outside firm determined that the district didn't misspend any of the $274 million it received through bond proceeds and state and city sources during the past 15 years, but the workout's not over yet. With the school district exploring another possible bond in 2013, it still has a ways to go in convincing taxpayers that it's capable of accurately and...

An outside consultant has determined that the Burbank Unified School District - despite confusing record keeping that had raised accountability questions - accurately reported how it spent roughly $274 million during the past 15 years. The findings in a report to a joint meeting of the City Council and school board on Tuesday was seen as a key part of building public trust as Burbank Unified officials set the stage for another school bond in 2013. About $112.5 million in bonds for school improvements were approved by voters in 1997, and roughly $23 million of that was provided by the city, according to the report by Vicenti, Lloyd & Stutzman.

Martina Maina happened to listen to talk radio in her car last week on her way to lunch, two things she rarely does. The founder, hair designer and make-up artist at TBirds Hair and Nail Salon in Burbank is usually so busy she skips lunch and said she was “just devastated” by the news of the Salon Meritage hair salon shooting in Seal Beach Oct. 12. The shooting left eight people dead and a ninth recovering from gunshot wounds. “We wanted to do our part,” Maina said for the reason to host a fundraiser Monday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at her salon.

The redesign of Johnny Carson Park is underway, and city officials could tap three grants to help cover the estimated $5-million price tag. The city has been setting aside money for the project - $2.5 million so far through the Redevelopment Agency - but three grant applications, if submitted, would determine the city's eligibility for additional funds, said Jan Bartolo, deputy director of park services. Should the city qualify, that could mean an additional $2.8 million to help meet its sustainable design goals, including a drainage system to keep dirty water out of the Los Angeles River.

When Burbank Unified's network supervisor announced his departure earlier this year, school board members decided to take the position in a new direction. They re-penned the job description to include a significant instructional component, and hired 31-year-old Charles Poovakan, well known in tech education circles for pushing the envelope. Poovakan, the new director of information technology and educational support services, said that his love of computers started at the age of 5, when his parents brought home an 8-megahertz word processor.

A Burbank accountant who has worked as a campaign treasurer for many prominent California Democrats is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the election fund of Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Santa Ana), according to a criminal complaint released Tuesday. Kinde Durkee, head of Durkee & Associates, was arrested Friday afternoon at her firm's Burbank office on a federal charge of mail fraud. She remained in custody awaiting her scheduled first court appearance Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles.