The following article was acquired from YourWestValley.com, and was authored by Jeff Grant. Click here to read the news release in its entirety.

Glendale budget plan: No primary property tax hike, new employees

A budget that would maintain Glendale’s primary property tax rate while relying on carryover funding and increased revenue to address capital needs is being considered by the City Council for fiscal 2017.

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It is following the recommendation of an outside consultant who performed a top-to-bottom review of Police and Fire department operations and concluded, among other things, the Fire Department needed to upgrade its fleet. So, the city will be adding three new fire pumper trucks.

The department will expand a low-acuity program begun last year to address less serious calls with fewer personnel, freeing up more staff to respond to more critical emergencies – a recommendation from the Citygate public safety study. A total of $120,000 will spend on new personnel and $100,000 on new equipment to add two units to the one already in use, Interim Finance and Technology Director Vicki Rios noted.

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The Police Department will add five new community service officers and a supervisor for the new unit at a cost of $389,000 – another recommendation from the consultant, Citygate Associates, based in Folsom, Calif.

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The council was scheduled to conduct a second daylong budget workshop Thursday, April 21 before taking a further look at the spending plan next week.

A new blueprint must be approved by June 30, the end of the current fiscal year.