Cerritos : $89-Million Budget Studied

A proposed $89-million budget for fiscal 1987-88 will be submitted to the Cerritos City Council for approval tonight. The budget includes $30.5 million for city operations and programs and $58.5 million for redevelopment projects such as the Towne Center office, hotel and shopping development and the Auto Square expansion along Studebaker Road and 183rd Street. The proposed budget is about $1 million larger than last year’s budget.

A large chunk of the new budget--about $25.3 million--is related to Towne Center projects, including a $5-million interest-free loan to Torrance-based Transpacific Development Corp., which is building a hotel on the site. Other Towne Center expenditures include $3.1 million to build streets and install water and sewer lines on the 125-acre parcel and $4.2 million for a freeway overpass and interchange on the project’s east side.

The budget also earmarks $10.5 million to begin construction of a community center and theater on the site, which many believe will become the city’s commercial heart once completed in the mid-1990s.

The budget calls for $10.3 million for expansion of the Auto Square west of Studebaker and north of 183rd. The city wants to add four new dealerships to the highly-successful venture, but must first acquire the land. Two major park programs are also in the budget for next year--a $2.46-million expansion of Liberty Park on Studebaker south of South Street and a $2-million complex of athletic fields at Cerritos Regional County Park.

The council meets at 7 p.m. in City Hall.