Council Passes New $387 Million Budget

Includes an additional $1.5 million for schools

Reeve T. Schley
Mirror staff writer

   The Santa Monica City Council dished out over $1.8 million in one-time funds to cashed-strapped schools and other organizations before approving the fiscal year 2002-2003 budget on Tuesday, June 18.
   The Council voted 7-0 to approve an operating budget of $387 million, a decrease of $23.1 million from last year, because of unprecedented tax losses that ended a ten-year run of yearly revenue increases.
   City Manager, Susan McCarthy, opened the meeting by saying the City was “not in an emergency or crisis situation at this point,” but warned that economic recovery would be slow and that further “take-backs” by the state could be expected later this year.
   After listening to a stream of proponents – mostly for education and the Santa Monica Playhouse — the Council wasted no time in voting 5-1 to award $1.5 million of one-time funds to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD), hit especially hard by state cuts in school funding.
   With remaining one-time and “discovered” on-going money, the Council awarded $75,000 to the Santa Monica Playhouse; $250,000 to Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), $33,000 to maintain the mounted police unit, and $22,400 to the Santa Monica Historical Society.
   Councilman Ken Genser supported allocation of $1.5 million to the SMMUSD, even though he warned that appropriating $1.7 million of one-time funds — to underwrite schools’ and CVB grants — from the Main Library project would cost Santa Monica tax-payers $100,000 a year for the next 20 years.
   “In the past, I’ve objected to giving one-time funding, but this year is different,” Genser said. “The school district is talking about this as bridge funding, and that makes a big difference in my mind.”
   “I, too, support this wholeheartedly. I’m sorry it can’t be $2 million. The school district has shown it really wants to get back on its feet. We have to do it. It’s needed,” said Councilman Herb Katz who added that John Deasy, Superintendent of the SMMUSD, had “done a wonderful job with the backing he has gotten from the community.”
   Even with the addition of the one-time money, the District still has a budget deficit of over $1.3 million for this fiscal year and faces even larger deficits for future years. Financial projections show a total $4.5 million deficit for the 2002–2003 fiscal year, and a $5.7 million deficit for the 2003-2004 fiscal year.
   Further, on June 6, Deasy recommended a hiring freeze to the District’s Board of Education and asked that “$1.644 million be taken out of the budget immediately.” And to plug future budget deficits, on June 17, the school board gave preliminary support of a $300 parcel tax that would generate $9.6 million a year for 12 years. The tax is slated for the November ballot.
   During the first part of the meeting, a long line of speakers implored the Council to give money to the Santa Monica Playhouse so it can purchase its current home, rather than having to move or close down.
   “I have an eight-year-old daughter who worked in the Playhouse,” said one concerned parent. “It gives children confidence, trust, and a better understanding of themselves. If the playhouse closes, I will have to find something else for her, maybe outside of Santa Monica.”
   “I love the Playhouse more than I can describe,” Christine Folk said, as a large group stood behind her holding signs in support. “The teachers are so helpful and careful. It really is a miracle and a place of love. When I leave I come out with the feeling that everything is all right.”
   The council agreed to give the playhouse $75,000, slightly short of what it was asking.
   With this year’s budget shortfall caused by a drop in tourism, the Council also opted to give $250,000 to the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau to bolster tourism in Santa Monica, and build a visitors center.
   “Visitors, when they are here, need to have a resource that will keep them here,” said Councilman Richard Bloom.
   “We have to invest in the CVB,” said Councilman Bob Holbrook in agreement. “Our boat is floated by tourists. They spend a lot of money in the City. It’s very, very important that we have a healthy tourist industry. It’s like gardening. If we don’t take care of it now, it won’t be here in the spring.”
   Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown lobbied to spend the funds designated for the tourist center for money for social services, saying that residents, seniors, and people with disabilities needed to be taken care of first, but failed to win support from his fellow Council members.
   They also gave one-time grants to save the Santa Monica Police Department equestrian unit and underwrite the Santa Monica Historical Society’s organization of Santa Monica Outlook archives.
   Earlier in the evening, June Lockhart, who played the mother in the television show “Lassie,” gave a dramatic speech describing the mounted horse unit as “literally worth their weight in gold.”