About the budget we just passed…
Hi friends,
I hope you are holding up okay considering how difficult these past few days have been.
A Culver City car wash was raided twice this past weekend and I just read this account from the daughter of a man who was abducted. She has still has no idea where they took her father and no way to contact him. It is beyond devastating to imagine what these families are going through.
It is important to show up for one another however we can right now. If you see ICE in your neighborhood, call the LA Rapid Response Hotline at 1-888-624-4752.
I have also been trying to find ways our Council can make our city safer for everyone.
Our police do not collaborate or coordinate with ICE on immigration enforcement, but they also are not interfering with it per federal law. This leaves folks in our community extremely vulnerable.
I have agendaized a complete review of our data privacy policies including data collected by police and have agendaized a conversation about creating a Public Safety Subcommittee in which members of the public could raise concerns and we can have dedicated space to strengthen safety services for our community.
No human being is illegal. We must continue to fight for a future where we protect and empower our immigrant brothers and sisters, not attempt to erase and criminalize them for simply existing.
There are demonstrations planned for this weekend, one outside Culver City Hall. If you plan to participate, remember to bring goggles, a mask, a hat, sunscreen, water, a portable charger, and of course, don’t give Trump the violence he so desperately wants to incite.
Sending you love and comfort— we will get make it through this together.
Budget Passes with Funds for Affordable Housing, Parks, & Budget Reform
Here’s some positive news to (hopefully) uplift your day.
Monday night, Culver City passed it’s budget, and despite our fiscal challenges, there’s a lot to be excited about.
The budget passed 3-2 and included historic investments in:
🏡 93 affordable homes for low income families
💰 a brand new community-driven budget process to address our city’s financial challenges
🧑💻 new grant writer / sr management position for Parks, Recreation, and Community Services
🚸 funding for school crossing guards and a new timer at the Plunge for swim meets.
🚐 expanded Hours for Mobile Crisis Team (10a-10p Monday Through Friday)
Thank you everyone who spoke up at the meeting and to Vice Mayor Puza and Councilmember McMorrin for your support passing this historic budget!
Funding Secured for 93 Affordable Homes!
Funds for 93 affordable homes at the Culver Palms United Methodist Church for low income families was included in the budget that just passed, finally creating a viable path for this project after over 6 years of community work!
The project will use $20M of city funds, which comes out to $215K per unit, less expensive per unit than several other developments recently completed by the same developer.
The city is paying for its share of the project using $8M in dedicated housing funds and $12M from our contingency reserves, reducing those from 30% to 21.6% of our General Fund, still higher than the 20% reserve policies of Manhattan Beach, Norwalk, Azusa, Carson, Torrence, Riverside and Pasadena and well beyond that of our neighbors in the City of Santa Monica which mandates 15%.
We also passed an agreement with CCSM that adds guardrails to the city’s financial contributions and prioritizes Culver City residents, workers, and students who apply to live in Jubilo.
Every 100% affordable housing project that gets to this stage is a near miracle. There’s still more work to be done, but we are finally on track to build our second affordable housing project in 30 years.
I’m deeply grateful to our community for rallying around this project, to Community Corporation of Santa Monica, which has been building affordable housing for four decades, to our city staff for their diligence, and to the Culver Palms United Methodist Church for deciding to be a part of the solution to our city’s greatest crisis despite six years of challenges.
Thank you for taking the time to catch up with me.
Stay safe, and I hope you have a great start to your weekend.
- Bubba