CUSTOMER SERVICES
DIRECTORY CORRECTIONS
As mentioned in the "Briefly" column, the city's new
Customer Services Directory is now available.
Please make note of the following corrections to several library telephone numbers which were printed in error:
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Page 15 –
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Library Cards: |
458-8614 |
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Page 20 – |
Public Libraries |
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Fairview Branch: |
450-0443 |
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Montana Avenue Branch: |
829-7081 |
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Ocean Park Branch: |
392-3804 |
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Shut-In Service:
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458-8646 |
LONG-RANGE COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS
MAJOR MATTERS EXPECTED TO COME BEFORE THE
CITY COUNCIL IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER:
- Auto dealers study session
- East/West Corridor Task Force recommendations
- Landmarks appeal, 125 Pacific
- Civic Center Parking structure design/build contract
- Street and park lighting retrofit
- Civic Auditorium East Wing ceiling and lighting replacement
- Lantana Project Development Agreement* Promenade uses
- 2901 Ocean Park appeal
- Ordinance setting FY2004-05 tax rate for library GO bonds
- Schematic design for Big Blue Bus facility expansion
- Big Blue Bus Service Improvement Program
Readers should note that the long-range nature of this list means that some items may not be heard in the month originally scheduled, as new matters emerge and agendas are re-worked. But no item will come to Council before the date originally published. Also available on-line at www.smgov.net.
 MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT!
OCTOBER 18 IS THE DEADLINE FOR REGISTERING TO VOTE IN THE NOVEMBER 2, 2004 ELECTION.
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COUNCIL ADOPTS "CAUTIOUSLY
OPTIMISTIC" 2004-05 CITY BUDGET
On June 15, the City Council adopted a $180.9 million General Fund budget--down $1.4 million from last year--that serves the community's needs while preserving financial flexibility in the face of continuing state budget uncertainties. At SeaScape press time, the state budget still had not been adopted and the $4.2 million state take-away the city budgeted for was in danger of growing.
The General Fund pays for basic city services, including police, fire, libraries, parks and recreation. Expenditure highlights for 2004-05 include $6 million to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, enhancements to operate and maintain the new Virginia Avenue Park and skatepark when they are completed, more park ranger coverage and community classes. The Council restored a total of $72,000 in proposed cuts to Legal Aid's Domestic Violence Program, the Santa Monica Historical Society, the League of Women Voters' Smart Voter project and the Santa Monica Symphony.
Adjustments were made in landscape maintenance, some community program hours, capital improvement projects and staff positions to balance the budget, along with adoption of certain revenue measures, including an ambulance service fee and some user fee increases. The Council also directed staff to prepare necessary documents to place a 2 percent hotel tax increase on the November 2004 ballot [see accompanying story], as a budget balancing measure.
The total budget for the new fiscal year is $377 million, down $5 million from last year. It includes $196.1 million in designated funds (i.e., restricted spending purposes), the largest of which are $70.3 million Big Blue Bus, $38.7 million Redevelopment, $14.1 million Housing Authority, $14 million Solid Waste Fund, $13.8 million Water Fund.
The city budget is posted in its entirety on the city website at
www.smgov.net/finance and copies are available at all branches of the Santa Monica Public Library.
HOTEL TAX INCREASE PIVOTAL
TO BALANCED CITY BUDGET
A pivotal strategy in balancing the 2004-05 city budget and planning for 2005-06 is a 2 percent increase in the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT or hotel/bed tax) paid by guests of Santa Monica hotels. This increase would generate an estimated $3.5 million more annually for the city's General Fund for purposes including police, fire, parks and recreation programs, and city payments to the local school district.
The Council is expected to put the increase, which would ensure that visitors to Santa Monica share the cost of general city services that help make this a desirable community, on the November 2, 2004 ballot. The increase would set the city's hotel tax at the same level as in Los Angeles at 14 percent.
For more information on the hotel tax and the difference between user-based fees and taxes, such as the TOT, and other taxes including sales tax that everyone pays, visit www.smgov.net/finance.
10FEST: EXPLORING THE POWER OF TEN
This fall, get into the power of TEN. Beginning Monday, September 27, through Saturday, October 2, the City of Santa Monica will host "10Fest," a festival of events and activities for your mind, senses, home and community to celebrate ten years of the Sustainable City Plan.
Count on a Good Time The week is packed with events that offer something for everyone in the family. Tour local sustainable homes and commercial buildings, taste organic cuisine during a cooking demo, watch a film, check out a family health fair and clean out your garage by participating in a hazardous waste round-up. Finally, let one of our lectures devoted to pressing environmental subjects motivate you to live a more sustainable lifestyle, or attend an awards ceremony that will honor individuals, businesses and organizations that are doing extraordinary things to make our community more sustainable.
 Are You in the Equation? In 1994, Santa Monica's beaches were polluted, and we were sending one million more tons of solid waste to landfills and using 328 million more gallons of water per year than we do today. On September 20, 1994, the Santa Monica City Council adopted the Sustainable City Plan, a set of groundbreaking policies that has achieved many notable successes and thrust our city into a leadership role that is recognized worldwide. Now, the city buys 100% renewable electricity, boasts the first schools in the nation to offer locally-grown, organic salad bars for their students, and our Big Blue Bus, the oft-named best bus line in the country, is a leader in clean air technology.
We have accomplished a great deal together in the past decade. This ten-year milestone gives us an opportunity to celebrate our successes and also look forward to the next ten years. What can we do now that will help protect the welfare of our children's generation, and those that follow? The Sustainable City Plan has some answers. You can learn more about the plan and the course it charts for our future by visiting www.smepd.org.
Look for more 10Fest information on the web at www.smepd.org or call 458-2213 to have a schedule of events mailed to you.
See you in September at 10Fest!
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