The council voted 4-1 to approve its 2010-11 annual operating and capital improvement budget, which totaled $43,206,300 and came with a $13,000 surplus.

But wait. There's more.

For some reason, that figure did not include the $30,000 the city owes its lobbying firm. So, the council voted to use that $13,000 surplus to help pay the lobbyists, meaning there was now a $17,000 deficit with which to reckon.

The council touted itself, saying it had a balanced budget, but added it will still need to make $17,000 in further cuts to actually be balanced.

In other council news:

The council voted 3-2 to endorse what is being called "pension reform." This will reduce retirement benefits for all new hires after July 1 of this year. The resolutions also stressed there will be no salary cost-of-living adjustments or increases in employee benefits.

The council unanimously voted to endorse it capital improvement program from a year ago entitled "Neighborhood Traffic Safety Improvements." This involves traffic safety and calming enhancements at Rosemead High School, Encinita Elementary School, Muscatel Junior High School and Savannah Elementary School.

The council voted to have the city begin the process of establishing an underground utility district. The proposed project will include Walnut Grove Avenue from Marshall Avenue to Valley Boulevard and be administered by Southern California Edison with completion anticipated within approximately three years.

The council adopted the city's fiscal year 2010-11 appropriation limit. A bit more than $35 million was the appropriations limit for 2010-11 while nearly $13 million appropriations are subject to the limit.

In addition, the council honored the Science Olympiad Team from Muscatel Junior High School. The team recently won its sixth straight county championship, second straight state championship and took 15th place at the nationals in Illinois.

(Shel Segal can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)