Wings almost as spicy as the budget discussions
Hi everyone,
Did y’all catch the budget conversations from last week?
Don’t worry, most people didn’t. Here’s what went down:
Budget Talks Hit a Wall
Basically, the city is facing a $35M deficit this year and an ongoing structural deficit of $6-8M per year.
And after two days of 7+ hour work plan presentations, Councilmember McMorrin requested that each department return with:
⬇️ One budget that is 5% lower
⬆️ One budget that is 5% higher
This is a practice used in other cities (i.e. Santa Monica and LA) that would give the public (you) options to explore how we can best put our limited dollars to work for all of us. I supported her request.
The request recieved significant pushbaack from the City Manager, who claimed it would lower morale amongst city staff. See the full exchange below.
The suggestion failed to garner a third vote, so our budget will more than likely be very similar to whatever staff recommends.
Our city’s budget touches every aspect of our lives, and there is currently no known path for the public (again, you!) to have an impact on it.
This result was disappointing, because budgets should be living, breathing documents that respond to the needs of our community. Not fossils set in amber.
Rest assured, I will keep fighting for a future where everyone has a voice in determining how our precious limited resources are spent.
Meeting tonight at 7pm!
Usually we get two weeks off between Council meetings, but last week was the budget workplan presentations so we are back AGAIN tonight with another Council meeting!
Here are just a few key items you might be interested in.
Culver City declares March Women’s History Month! Join us as we honor the continued struggle for gender parity and women’s rights! This is a great time to talk to our friends and family about how the the patriarchy impacts and reflect on our personal journeys with feminism.
A-1: Developer requests $16M loan from city to create 93 units of low and very low income housing.
A-2: Discussion of whether to become a climate emergency city and ways we can increase emergency preparedness for future catastrophes
A-3: Report on our sanctuary city policies and decision whether to amend the city’s anti-hate resolution to include other marginalized groups.
A-4: Recieve AARP report on how the city can be a friendlier place to age and discuss what actions to take next towards this goal.
As always, you can watch in person at Council Chambers or remotely via Zoom.
You can request to speak here or send in a comment by emailing city.council@culvercity.org.
Hope to see (or hear) you there!
Repping the Westside on all things mobility!
Big news: I’m now officially the Westside’s transportation nerd.
I am grateful to have been selected by my colleagues on the Westside Cities Council of Governments (WSCCOG) to represent us on the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Transportation Committee.
That is a lot of confusing acronyms but TL;DR: I now represent my Westside neighbors on all matters transportation on a body with electeds from across SoCal. I look forward to continuing the fight for safe streets, sustainable transportation, and a brighter future for the Westside and beyond.
Around Town!
I was happy to attend Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove’s fantastic Town Hall at the historic First AME Church about how we can best resist the MAGA movement in this moment. The Congresswoman has been putting in the work in D.C. calling out Trump and Elon Musk’s kleptocracy.
The tiniest and mightiest book
I challenged myself to read two books a month this year (please clap), and I’m a little bit behind already (please boo).
I’ve read 4 when I should have read 5 by now.
So for my latest book, I chose the skinniest book on my shelf to help me catch up (just being strategic!)
Nature, Culture, and Inequality by Thomas Piketty is just 82 pages, and it reads like the best TED Talk you’ve ever heard. This was one of Village Well’s free surprise books recommended by staff.
With easy to digest charts, he gives a high level overview of the history of modern progress toward socio-economic equality across the world.
Piketty succinctly defines the biggest drivers of inequality and the solutions pushing us forward (progressive taxation, single-payer healthcare, etc) .
It’s a rather hopeful read too, if you need a pick-me-up during these crazy times.
Thanks for taking a moment to catch up with me.
I hope you have a great start to the week :)
- Bubba