Jim Clarke, new to City Council but a veteran of council affairs

Michael Miller

Jim Clarke, one of two newly elected Culver City Council members, brings a unique perspective to his job on the dais at City Hall. He has worked in local government and politics since 1976, and while this is his first elected office, he brings a wealth of experience to the position.

Jim’s current “day job” is Director of the Mayor’s Office of Grants for the City of Los Angeles. He helps to secure federal, state, non-profit and foundation grant funding and serves as the point person in the Mayor’s Office overseeing $611 million dollars of federal stimulus funds. He previously headed the City of Los Angeles’ federal relations program, which involved frequent contact with California’s two U.S. Senators and the L.A. area’s 14-member Congressional Delegation to obtain nearly $10 million annually in federal appropriations.

Jim has also served as chief of staff to Congresswoman Diane Watson and Congressman Brad Sherman.

In addition, he has been an executive recruiter specializing in public agency boards and city councils. Jim holds a Master of Public Administration degree from California State University, Long Beach, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Coastguard Academy in New London, CT. Commissioned as an Ensign, he served in the Coast Guard  on active and reserve duty, retiring as a Commander.

So why, with all this experience under his belt, did Jim decide to run for Culver City Council? “It was very sudden. I went to an event last year that (California State Assemblywoman) Holly Mitchell was running, called Christmas in July, for underprivileged children, and I became a volunteer. It sparked my interest in what was happening in Culver City on the political level.”

With four spots open on the City Council after Scott Malsin resigned and Chris Armenta decided not to run again because his job was taking him to Sacramento, Jim saw his opportunity and announced his candidacy last December.

But he knew he was facing an uphill battle. "I had to put together a new campaign from scratch.  I had no group, no campaign committee, nothing.” But undaunted, Jim set about contact ring previous mayors, school board members and anyone else who he thought could help his fledgling run for office.

Jim sees the fiscal issue as the most important facing the city. “We are not San Bernardino or Stockton, but we do have a structural deficit of $7 million to $8 million a year. While we can cover it at the moment, in four or five years we will run out of reserves, so we have to figure out how to move forward.”

The loss of Redevelopment Agency money has hurt the city badly and left a legal mess over projects that can no longer move forward. It has also cut into the city’s Cultural Affairs programs, which were funded by Redevelopment Agency money.  The concert series is now privately funded and has been reduced to four concerts instead of eight. This, said Jim, is an example of how the city needs sponsorship and public support to keep cultural programs going.

When California decided to terminate Redevelopment Agencies and take away their funding, it left many projects in Culver City in the lurch, including Parcel B, the unused parking lot stretching from the Culver Hotel along Venice Blvd. to Trader Joe’s, which was to have become a mixed use project of high end stores and condominiums.

It also impacts the development of a boutique hotel and stores adjacent to the new Metro Line station at Washington Blvd. and National Blvd.

Culver City is part of a group of eight to ten California cities considering taking the state to court over what are known as “obligated expenditures,” or projects that had been agreed on with developers before Redevelopment Agencies were cut off.

“The waters are very muddy and it will be to the end of the year before we see any sort of determination. Developers may drop out and we need to force this issue to get a determination that these are valid contracts and the sale is valid,” said Jim,

But the outcome is very much in the air. “Everyone is waiting to see if you’re going to get your head handed to you.”

The first step in the city’s battle comes during the third week in August when it will argue before the Oversight Board that the contracts between the city and the developers are valid and should go forward. “If they veto this we will go to court with the other cities, “ said Jim.

Michael Miller is a staff writer for Culver City Progress and the co-founder of the Culver City Downtown Neighborhood Association.

Willow School Request Postponed Based on Planning Commission Bias Against Non Profits

Carlene  Brown

My second participation in a Public Hearing scheduled by Culver City’s Planning Commission left me in a state of “shock and awe” even more profound than what I had experienced at my first meeting —which is perhaps what Commissioner John Kuechle intended.

Upon my initiation into Planning Commission territory, Wednesday evening, June 20, Commissioner Kuechle led the charge to deny the Conditional Use Permit application from a non-profit special needs educational facility, The Help Group. (See my previous Culver City Progress blog, “Silver Lining for The Help Group and Culver City.”) I was shocked at both Kuechle and Commissioner Scott Wyant’s thinly veiled disdain toward the expansion of innovative educational facilities and their outright disregard for the value these institutions bring to our community.

That June 20^th display of disdain was nothing compared to the spectacle that shocked me at The Willows Community School Public Hearing, July 11, however. Commissioner Kuechle, in particular, dragged out his arsenal of assault weapons in an attempt to demolish The Willows Community School proposal.

The Willows application called for allowing the school to phase in a maximum of 150 students and expand school operations to abutting properties in the Hayden Industrial Tract.  Two other existing private schools in the Industrial General (IG) zone would be required to present their own applications for Conditional Use Permit Modification if they chose to expand their operations. The Willows proposal provided a template for that process.     

Culver City Staff recommended that the Commission adopt a resolution approving The Willows application. Staff report included 24 letters of Willows support from local businesses, 13 letters of support from local residents, and 304 letters of support from School parents.

With that recommendation from Staff, I expected The Willows agenda item to move through just as quickly as had the first agenda item of the evening—a business enterprise application for which Staff recommended the Commission’s approval.  Environmentally conscious Commissioner Anthony Pleskow raised questions about fulfillment of photovoltaic requirements. With very little questioning, Commissioner Kuechle readily agreed to allow the business construction site next to the Culver City Dog Park to exceed maximum height requirements by nearly four feet. The rationale for allowing this modification to a previously approved Administrative Site Plan Review was “economic hardship” for the contractor. The Planning Commission reached a decision in a matter of minutes, with unanimous approval for the modification.

I was unprepared for what followed as the Commission moved to the second agenda item, with Commissioner Anthony Pleskow recusing himself because two of his children had attended Willows Community School. 

Lisa Rosenstein, Head of Willows, introduced their presentation on a positive note: “We are excited to be back,” she said. “We have crafted a 20-year plan that offers a win-win situation for our school and Culver City.”

The proposal certainly looked like a win-win to me, as various presenters took their turns at the microphone explaining a highly detailed and attractive Power-Point presentation that outlined three phases of a 20-year Master Plan.  Willows presenters emphasized that they took very seriously concerns raised by the Commission at a 2009 hearing. For the past two and a half years Willows had been working with Culver City Staff to address those concerns.

“We believe The Willows presented an application that not only allows the School to achieve its goals, but goes further than any other school in Culver City has ever gone with making the City whole financially,” said Denise Gutches, Chief Financial Officer, when I spoke with her following the hearing.

Financial Analyst Paul J. Silvern, Architect Dwight Long, and Lawyer Mark Armbruster took turns narrating The Willows Power-Point presentation, which outlined the three phases and addressed all concerns Council had raised in 2009, especially concerns about lost revenue. Ms. Gutches occasionally stepped to the microphone to answer questions posed by Commissioners following The Willows presentation.

The Willows presenters indicated that Willows would reimburse the City for its lost “opportunity cost” for the properties they hope to expand. Presenters explained that this is a significant departure from similar school and non-profit expansions approved by the Planning Commission. “Opportunity cost” reimbursement would provide revenue to the City based on the difference between the tax revenues the City will receive after implementation of the School’s plan and what it might otherwise receive if the plan were not approved, thus providing opportunity for other types of private development to occur on the adjacent properties included in the School’s plan.

Positives for the City regarding The Willows reimbursement plan:

·         Reimbursement payment includes several categories of potentially lost property tax reimbursement.

·         Reimbursement payment also includes potentially lost sales tax, business tax, and utility users’ tax.

·         City will receive significantly more revenue after the school expands than it does today.

·         City will receive it sooner than it might otherwise see those revenues in the absence of the School’s plan, and with more certainty.

·         Based on the analysis of HR&A (retained by the School), as reviewed and approved by the City’s staff and financial consultants, at the completion of the phased development of the School’s expansion, the School shall contribute approximately $104,000 annually to the City’s General Fund. 

Other positives for the City:

·         The Willows has agreed to participate in a variety of traffic mitigation parking management measures in the Hayden Tract. The traffic study determined that the flow of traffic would actually be improved over the course of the three phases.

·         According to architectural drawings in the PowerPoint presentation, it is obvious that both the parking situation in the Hayden Tract and exterior building aesthetics will be greatly enhanced.

·         The Willows will continue to provide theater and gym space for public schools, the police department and the City’s recreation department.

“For us this is more about community value, not dollar value,” said Denise Gutches, Chief Financial Officer. “We did not include that in our proposal as an offsetting credit.” Other presenters mentioned that neither were such benefits as out-of-town parents shopping, eating, or buying gas in Culver City calculated as offsetting credits.

During Public Comment, Michael Hackman, Real Estate Developer and owner in the Hayden Track, stated that he views Willows as a great asset to the area because it creates a sense of community, a sense that this is a safe and interesting place.  “Tenants don’t want all concrete,” he said.

Hackman cited the Crossroads School in Santa Monica as an example of surrounding property values increasing.  “I would never have been exposed to Culver City were it not for Willows,” he added. 

Diana Kunce, of Culver City Middle School Arts Program, spoke of the “incredible gift” Willows is to Culver City. In support of an award-winning, parent-volunteer theater production with Culver City Middle School students, Willows donated their theater, including lights and sound, plus access to the lunch area and a paid custodian for two full weekends. “I say a big thank you to a private school that supports public schools!” Kunce concluded.

A parent spoke of Willows Community School taking the idea of community very seriously. The JASON Cosmetics plant manager who, like Willows, runs his business from “a service perspective,” said he “totally supports the project” and believes that “it will greatly enhance the area.”

Once Public Comment was closed, Commissioner Kuechle dragged out his arsenal and launched his attack, most of it related to fear, a word he used repeatedly. “The 2009 application was turned down due to fear of unlimited expansion,” he said. “I want to make sure that schools don’t checkerboard their way through the Hayden Tract.” If this lawyer had studied Staff’s report, he would have known those fears were irrational and unfounded.

“Schools always evolve and grow,” said Staff representative Joshua Williams. “As was stated in 2009, it is unreasonable to deny those opportunities. Staff believes these issues have been addressed.”

As questioning continued, it appeared to me that, regardless of Staff recommendations and the impeccable nature of Willows’ application, lawyer Kuechle’s fierce anti-nonprofit agenda drove his obsession to refuse approval, just as it had with The Help Group.

Commissioner Scott Wyant echoed that anti-nonprofit agenda, raising additional concerns about lost revenues. With the train stopping near the Hayden Tract, Wyant asserted that “the next best use” of properties adjacent to Willows could be retail stores in a mini-mall.

Some repeated questioning implied character attacks on Willows personnel. Willows lawyer returned to the microphone occasionally to rebut the attacks, saying on one occasion, “I do not want Willows’ character impugned any further. We want you to make a decision tonight based on our presentation here.”

As they had done more than once throughout the evening, various Staff members chimed in, urging the Commission to decide. They underscored their reasons for recommending approval of the project.  One Staffer even uttered the word “hardship” in reference to the effect that either denial or postponement would create for Willows.

Commissioner Linda Smith-Frost favored postponement, however, saying that she liked both the project and presentation, but thought it needed to be fine-tuned. “You’re very close,” said Smith-Frost.

Finally, after 11pm, the Commission made its decision. Kuechle moved to continue the hearing until August 8^th, followed by a second from Smith-Frost and yes votes from the remaining two commissioners: Scott Wyant and newly-sworn-in Kevin Lachoff.

Those of us who remained in the audience looked at each other in disbelief and bewilderment. I dared not try to verbalize what I felt. How could this have happened to such an immaculately conceived project? What started out looking like a win-win looked like a lose-lose.

The next day, Willows Chief Financial Officer, Denise Gutches, validated my lose-lose perception when I asked about the “hardship” imposed by the Planning Commission’s decision. “Perhaps the biggest impact the delay will have is on our ability to finalize financing for the proposed improvements and start improving our campus,” she said. “The campus improvements will not only address our program needs, but we will also address the City’s needs by providing additional on-site parking in the Hayden Tract which is severely constrained by a limited parking supply in the area.”

Living up to what their school name implies, Willows personnel have demonstrated that they can “bend gracefully in the wind but do not break.”

I would love to see large group of informed Culver City citizens showing up at City Hall on August 8^th at 7pm to support The Willows project, especially a contingent from the Downtown Neighborhood Association.

Along Jefferson Boulevard, a large Cannon sign now towers almost four feet above the maximum height requirement—evidence of the Commission’s pro-business bias.  Simultaneously, the anti-nonprofit agenda of two commissioners has put on hold the Willows School’s win-win plan for themselves and Culver City.

Concern about the disparity between these two decisions made by the Planning Commission on July 11^th should bring out a big crowd to hold the commission accountable on August 8^th, as they continue the Public Hearing and make a final decision regarding the Willows School proposal.

Carlene Brown is a retired teacher and a Certified Life Coach who is currently writing a memoir.

Didi Hirsch; a valuable community asset

Judy Miller

NOTE: This is the ninth in a series of Culver City Progress Blog articles highlighting local community groups doing good work in Culver City.

Located in Culver City, Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center is a non-profit agency which has been transforming lives since 1942.  Their mission is to provide services to children and adults experiencing emotional and substance abuse challenges.  The agency provides a wide range of services to help people lead successful, productive lives and continues its ongoing commitment to erasing the stigma of mental illness.

Last year, the agency provided service in 11 centers throughout LA County and helped almost 75,000 children and adults.  Programs include outpatient treatment, employment assistance and wellness centers.  They partner with 65 schools in 13 districts providing student and parent counseling on site. Didi Hirsch also provides short term private counseling to individuals and families.

The agency was the first in the country to have a 24-hour suicide prevention crisis line using community volunteers. The Suicide Prevention Center is recognized as having developed the telephone crisis intervention model now used by most crisis centers around the world.  Providing service in both English and Spanish, the Crisis Line can be reached at 1800 273 TALK (8255). This service is not only for people who are depressed; but is also available to family members or friends who seek guidance in helping someone they care about.

It is estimated that in the U.S. someone takes their life every 15 minutes. Since 1980, as part of a national suicide prevention initiative, Didi Hirsch has also provided a program called “Survivors After Suicide.” Surviving the suicide of a family member or friend is one of the most traumatic experiences a person may ever experience.  Whether the loss is recent or past, professional therapists help people find a healing path.

Didi Hirsch is organizing a 5K Walk/Run for Suicide Prevention on September 23, 2012, starting from La Tijera Blvd and 88^th St. For details on time and location, please contact Didi Hirsch at 310.751.5420 or email tmarkowitz@DidiHirsch.org

Two of the agency’s case histories exemplify how Didi Hirsch works:

After losing her job, her car and her home, Angela, 26, was finally ready to kick her 9-year addiction to methamphetamine.  But she couldn’t do it alone.  She checked herself into a substance abuse treatment program but was so distressed by her separation from her 5 year old daughter that she left the program after just 2 nights.  Then she heard about Didi Hirsch’s outpatient substance abuse program.  Six months later, Angela was completely sober for the first time since she was 14 years old.  

Roger was a part-time longshoreman whose dreams had become derailed by mental illness.  He came to Didi Hirsch’s Excelsior House which provides residents an opportunity to live in a 28-day program, where he received counseling and learned better coping skills.  With the help and support of staff, he was able to go back to work and continue to receive treatment.

Clients who receive intensive mental health services at Didi Hirsch have seen big improvements in their lives.  Hospitalizations have decreased buy 55%, homelessness by 47% and incarcerations by 21%. 

Culver City is fortunate to have Didi Hirsch in our midst, serving the LA community for over 70 years.

What you can do to help:

·         Join the Didi Hirsch 5K Walk/Run for Suicide Prevention on

      September 23, 2012

              La Tijera Blvd. @ 88^th St. For details contact Didi Hirsch at 310.751.5420

·         Make a contribution to continue the work of this agency

·         Donate your car, boat, RV or motorcycle

·         Volunteer!

The DidiHirsch CommunityMental HealthCenter is located at 4760 S. Sepulveda Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90230

Judy Miller is a co-founder of the Culver City Downtown Neighborhood Association and is a licensed clinical social worker

Advocating, Educating and Sacrificing: Will A New Superintendent Lead CCUSD towards a Rosy Future?

Roberta Sergant

It was a tough call.  Should I watch the Dodgers v/s the Philadelphia Phillies, or America’s Got Talent, Wheel of Fortune, or Hell’s Kitchen?  Then again, maybe I should get up off of my comfy sofa and attend
the Meet and Greet with the new Superintendent of CCUSD.  While baseball is important, putting the leadership of our schools is definitely not a game, it is serious business.

Unlike when Patricia Jaffe was chosen to lead our district as an Interim Superintendent, and then as our Superintendent, this time our talent search has led us beyond Culver City to mine the riches of South Kitsap School District, in the state of Washington.  Our newest addition to the CCUSD will guide us either more towards good fortune, or towards….well, let’s just say that Chef Ramsey will not be there to meet and greet us.

The direction and destiny of CCUSD is now in the hands of David LaRose.  With complete biographies on the Patch, and in the Culver Currents, how do we get beyond the curriculum vitae to know the man?  One way is to look at the honors that have been bestowed upon him…Man of the Year from the Kitsap Chamber of Commerce, Service to Youth Award from Kitsap Scouting, and Whole Child Award from the Washington State Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Hmmmm, all of interest, but primarily the last one, given “for his systemic and strategic approach to meeting the needs of all students.”  Repeatedly, in his own writing he mentions that his goal is for  EVERY child to succeed, ensuring that they are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, challenged and hopeful. We can’t argue with that!  These goals jive perfectly with the CCUSD’s Mission Statement and Core Beliefs.

School Board President, Karlo Silbiger, wrote that Dave will “really elevate our focus on what’s best for kids in all aspects of their lives.”  With his background as a teacher, coach, principal, Assistant Superintendent for Family and Support Services, and Superintendent, Mr. LaRose comes with solid credentials and experiences to make this goal a reality. 

Much of Mr. LaRose’s writing deals with hopefulness, as opposed to being wishful.  He quotes Christopher Reeve and Dr. Martin Luther King, two brave men who inspired others with the importance of hope.  Now, we in Culver City need to help assure that the hopefulness that Mr. LaRose brings to CCUSD will be translated into positive change. 

EDUCATION:  Big changes lie ahead in education, including an entirely new set of Core Content Standards to go into effect in 2014.  Several of our schools need to improve our services to our English Language Learners.  This will be better achieved if we pay attention to the Low Socio-Economic Level students who often overlap with our EL population.  Mr. LaRose “addressed children’s needs beyond academics in South Kitsap schools,” said Kathy Clayton when Mr. LaRose was honored for his Whole Child leadership. He was recognized for a “broad spectrum of programs…. Making sure that kids are coming to school healthy and safe, and making sure that they are supported in the school system and beyond.”

ADVOCACY: In order to overcome barriers to success Mr. LaRose advocated broadened partnerships with the community in order to foster a wider safety net for South Kitsap students.  This is an area where our long established partnerships with CCUSD (Sony, Riordan Plumbing, Symantec, the Music Center, etc.) can be recognized and expanded.  Our ongoing search for expanded funds is also something that Mr. LaRose advocates.  Community groups and Support Groups (such as Scouts, Temples, Churches, Mosques, Advocates for Language Learning, PTA, booster clubs, etc) will step forward to assist.

SACRIFICE: This is the subject that will be the most difficult for the CCUSD community to swallow. Mr. LaRose has had experience with deficits, shortfalls, rising costs of labor, enrollment fluctuation, and budget challenges.  Part of his philosophy is the full inclusion of district employees in discussions and plans for implementation of any projected cuts.  In South Kitsap he said “We’re going to share in this; this is like family budgeting. It costs more to live now.”  Unfortunately, Mr. LaRose has familiarity with potential cuts to class size enhancements, elimination of funding for highly capable students, and reductions in staff.  He identifies these as “Value-Based decisions.” 

It is the hope of every employee, parent and child that our Culver City Board of Education has made the correct decision in hiring Mr. David LaRose to guide our schools through some lean times ahead.  It will be his values that will, in the end, have to mesh with our hopes and reality.  Culver City Unified School District is not Disneyland.  It is a happy place, but it is also a business.  We will need to watch our pennies, keep kids first, and hold on to each other on the scary rides.

Roberta Sergant is a CCUSD teacher at El Marino Elementary School

Momentum Building as Activists Continue Organizing Against Fracking

Rebecca Rona-Tuttle

By a unanimous vote of the Culver City City Council, on July 2 we became the first city in California to call for a statewide ban against fracking. KTLA Channel 5 proclaimed the vote “historic.”

Before the City Council weighed in, 24 speakers urged the City Council to recommend to the state either a ban or a moratorium on fracking.  Much attention during the meeting was paid to the terms “moratorium” and “ban.” After all, a ban implies that fracking will never be allowed. Period.

Ideally the City Council would have considered what many of us were asking for: a ban on fracking in and under Culver City. But it was clear from the outset of the July 2 meeting that only a resolution regarding the state would be addressed.

Fracking is well described on the website of Citizens Coalition for a Safe Community, an organization co-founded by Culver City resident Paul Ferrazzi. It reads: “Hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’, is a process in which dangerous chemicals, mixed with enormous amounts of water, polymers and sand, are injected thousands of feet underground at pressures high enough to cause seismic explosions and create and prop open fissures in the sediment. This allows oil and natural gas to more easily escape and flow out of the strata to the producing wells.”

Frankly, we will never really be safe until fracking is banned throughout the world. But we’ve got plenty to do just getting bans in Culver City, LA County and the remainder of the state.

On the one hand, we activists are in a hurry. Why? Because we have absolutely no assurance that fracking is not going on right now. No moratorium on fracking is in place. And PXP is under no obligation to report its activities. So everything that we’re terribly concerned about—an enormous  earthquake causing death and destruction, the waste of many millions of gallons of water, pollution of the water in our aquifers, methane and possibly other pollutants in our air, and the many health problems associated with fracking, including cancer, asthma and possibly birth defects—could be occurring now or could be about to happen.

On the other hand, we know it will probably take many meetings, e-mails, speeches, letters to the editor, etc. before we are able to secure the safety of Culver City residents and people throughout the state—at least as it pertains to fracking.

Before I delve into what we’ve been doing in the days since that historic resolution, I’ll take you back to July 2.

The resolution drafted for the City Council’s consideration was for a moratorium, not a ban. The City had widely distributed its draft resolution, which recommended a moratorium on fracking to the State of California. But person after person strode to the microphone during the public comment period, nearly each of them calling for a ban against fracking. Their demands and pleas gave Councilperson Meghan Sahli-Wells the ammunition she needed to urge a ban rather than a moratorium.

She declared to all of us: “We have to be bold. The state needs pressure. We don’t have time to mess around. The message really does matter. ‘Ban’ sends a strong message.”

Councilman Jeff Cooper backed her up. “The word ‘ban’ shows we’re serious. We should let the state know how we really feel.”

In a lengthy speech about fracking and its dangers to the environment, Councilmember  Sahli-Wells  made it clear to all in the audience that she’d heard our concerns and shares them. The applause was long and loud—as close to a standing ovation as I’ve seen in the chambers.

Although Councilpersons Mehaul O’Leary and Jim Clarke stated they favored a moratorium, Mayor Andy Weissman requested the five-person body to achieve a consensus, and eventually the vote was unanimous: 5-0 in favor of a ban.

Unfortunately the City Council’s resolution falls short of recommending an outright ban. Instead it urges Governor Jerry Brown and the California State Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) to place a ban on hydraulic fracturing “until DOGGR takes all necessary and appropriate actions to adopt, implement and enforce comprehensive regulations concerning the practice of fracking that will ensure that public health and safety and the environment will be adequately protected.”

The resolution was nothing more than a request to the state. California might or might not pass a ban or moratorium. If California does not pass either, Culver City will have absolutely no protection prior to regulations being put in place. And goodness knows how effective or ineffective those will eventually be.

But there is value to the resolution. In the weeks leading up to the city council meeting, residents became further educated, and in the course of considering the resolution, the City Councilpersons learned much more about fracking and were further impressed with the level of concern residents expressed.

Next our City Councilpersons began to address the request for a ban “in and under” Culver City. We knew from the outset that they wouldn’t be voting on the matter that night. After much discussion two agreements were reached: the members need far more information before making any decisions. And fracking needs to be considered within the overall framework of updating and finalizing the city’s oil drilling ordinance. Mayor Andy Weissman directed city staff to demand information from PXP—“by subpoena or otherwise.”

Although many of us think it’s impossible for regulations to adequately protect us, Jim Clarke’s statement still gives me some hope. He told us: “Oil drilling is the most environmentally negative and risky thing we do in Culver City with or without fracking. We need to lobby DOGGR  to create regulations on fracking that will protect us. If their regulations do not sufficiently protect us, then we ban fracking.”

The mayor stated that the city council will address the oil ordinance in 45 or 60 days.

Meanwhile, the organizing is continuing. A group of us—some from Frack-Free Culver City, others representing Food & Water Watch and Citizens Coalition for a Safe Community—spoke out at a recent meeting of the Mar Vista Community Council. In an effort similar to Culver City’s, they were considering a resolution to recommend a fracking ban to Mayor Villaraigosa, the County Board of Supervisors and the Governor. Our presentations were well received, and the resolution to urge the city, county and state to ban fracking was passed by an overwhelming margin.

A few days ago, some Frack-Free Culver City members attended a Water Board meeting and heard heart-rending testimony about the harm caused by oil wells in Carson.

Other organizing is going on as well. Anyone interested in joining forces with Frack-Free Culver City can e-mail us at makeccsafe@gmail.com.

Rebecca Rona-Tuttle is a leader in Frack-Free Culver City and a Member and former Co-Chair of the Culver City Martin Luther King Planning Committee.

A Viable Solution to Culver City's Fiscal Emergency?

Stephen Murray

Culver City is in a state of fiscal emergency, still. Starting in 2010, a decline in City revenue was finally sufficient enough that the City had to spend from its savings account. Although previously the City had borrowed from other funds and sold property, in 2010 that wasn't enough and $3.2 million was taken from the reserves. Every year since then the reserves have been ransacked to make up the City's deficit. The City's current long-term structural deficit is $7-8 Million. At this rate Culver City is expected to be broke in 5 years.
   
How did this happen? The City has clearly lost income through the state's dissolution of Redevelopment Agencies, the collapse of the financial services industry, the housing market collapse and the tightening of credit culminating in a lessening of consumer spending at retail. Costs have increased too, not just from Cost-of-Living and the increasing complexity of running a city, but from rising employee/retiree medical costs, pension support and higher contribution rates into CalPERS- our public employees pension system.
   
The City lacks an auditing system, such as a Finance Committee, which works with Staff and Council to help create solutions. The City has made numerous and significant plans to address the deficit: deferring maintenance and capital improvements, borrowing from other funds, renegotiating labor contracts, pension reform, eliminating unfilled positions, selling more properties and incentivizing retirement. Each year's planning was helpful but insufficient to meet the City's revenue losses. This years budget analysis brings a suggestion to allow "our voters the opportunity to consider    increasing local tax revenues." 

From my perspective the voters already agreed to take on a tax increase in March. The City Council's proposed solution is to raise revenue via an add-on Sales tax increase of 1/2% or 3/4%. The council has been presenting the budget proposal as a Community Dialogue Series whose last session is tonight at City Council. Tonight's City Council Meeting will involve discussion of putting the Sales tax proposal on the Ballot.
   
California's has a base 7.25% State Sales tax rate and it ranks 6th in the nation on combined State and local Sales taxes behind Tennessee (9.45%), Arizona (9.12%) and Oklahoma (8.66%) to name a few.  Local add-on Sales taxes in California have traditionally been reserved for transportation projects, such as the three in LA County which add .25% each creating a 8.75% tax rate, but since 2001 over 120 local governments have attempted to use add-on Sales tax to fund General Purposes, and nearly 60% have been approved by voters. Of the 8.75% Sales tax in LA County, Culver City only receives 1%.
   
A 1/2% add-on Sales tax for Culver City increases the tax rate to 9.25% and brings in ~$7.5 Million- almost enough to cover the budget shortfall.  Santa Monica, Inglewood and 5 other cities have a 9.25% Sales tax and only 2 other California Cities have higher: South Gate and Pico Rivera at 9.75%. 1/2% won't get the City out of the red as it won't cover the deferred Capital Improvements, Maintenance and replenishment of the City's Self-Insurance and Reserves. An alternate proposal is to seek a 3/4% tax increase which would bring Culver City's tax rate to the 3rd highest in the State.
   
The attraction of using Sales tax is that, theoretically, most of the revenue would be from non-Culver City residents. Non-residents are using our roads and emergency services but aren't contributing their share. This could possibly be a compelling argument if the sales tax wasn't already our highest revenue source at 22% contribution. (When Prop 13 passed, Culver City's property tax rate was locked in below the States median tax-rate which resulted in Sales tax becoming our highest revenue generator.)
   
Sales tax has disadvantages. When Santa Monica proposed their Sales tax increase earlier this year they also expected a 10% loss in sales revenue. Sales tax revenue, like TOT, is relatively volatile compared to the more stable sources of property and utility tax. Dependence on Sales tax also skews land-use priorities by incentivizing local governments to prioritize commercial development and growth over lower income-producing residential uses.  Additionally, like other fixed-rate revenue streams, Sales tax is regressive- it proportionately costs more for those on the lower    income scale than those higher up- though there are exemptions for necessary goods: groceries, prescription drugs and some medical devices.
   
Culver City needs to address its ongoing $7-8 Million budget shortfall and a tax increase may be the most expedient way, but the City also need to address the institutional problems that have led to the City not being flexible enough to respond to forces when it needed to.  Likewise there is question whether there should be a sunset or expiration on the Sales tax. A Sales tax increase can only be a temporary measure, real tax reform should occur where we balance off our existing revenue volatility and land-use decisions with a more stable and community-driven revenue mix.
   
BTW, those looking towards Amazon.com as a way to escape a higher Sales tax will be disappointed as Amazon starts charging local Sales tax this month.

Stephen Murray was a candidate for City Council in April of 2012.

Rodney King made Culver City a Better and Fairer Place

Gary Silbiger

Rodney King, the catalyst for Culver City’s progressive movement, died on June 19, 2012 at 47 years old.  A victim of a brutal beating by Los Angeles police officers, he became a symbol of all that needed changing in the way police officers racially profiled, arrested, and denied constitutional rights of those they promised to protect.

On March 3, 1991, Rodney King was stopped by police officers as he sped in his car.  When he departed from his car, several police officers severely beat and tasered him.  Four LAPD officers were criminally charged and when the trial was transferred from Los Angeles to Simi Valley, a conservative predominantly White community, 3 were acquitted and one had a hung jury.  This led to a riot that resulted in the death of approximately 50 people and destruction in the amount of more than a billion dollars.  On the third day of the rebellion, Rodney King addressed the people and said, “Can we all get along?” quite a remarkable statement given the fact that he had been damaged by those with badges who did not want to “get along” with him.  The federal government later brought civil rights charges against the same 4 officers, 2 of whom were convicted and sentenced to 30 months in prison. 

What in the world does this have to do with Culver City?  The answer is: Timothy Wind and Ted Cooke.

Timothy Wind, as you remember, was one of the 4 officers who  seriously kicked and beat Rodney King, a black man, with a baton at least 17 times, as shown on the famous videotape that was continuously televised on stations throughout the world.  Although Wind was twice found not guilty, he was fired by the LAPD in 1994.  Then, when he could find no other job, a small article in the Los Angeles Times informed us that Culver City had hired him as a community services officer – a stepping stone for becoming a police officer – by then-police chief Ted Cooke.

The L.A. Times article quickly caught the attention of a number of Culver City residents, many of whom did not know each other, that led to a meeting at a local residence to find solutions to a city government and police department that lacked the moral fortitude to tell Timothy Wind that his actions were unacceptable in our city.  This was the first time in recent memory that progressive minded individuals got together to plan solutions to city issues.  The individuals formed the Culver City Community Network which began immediately collecting over 1000 signatures demanding the immediate firing of Wind.  Several evenings were spent at City Council meetings addressing the Council with the request to fire Wind, sponsor a community dialogue with Police Chief Cooke, and form a public Police Advisory Committee.  Although a community meeting was held with Chief Cooke, nothing changed.  Public comment about the Wind issue was always held after the midnight hour when many individuals had left the Council meeting; the television and print media, however, stayed as late as required because of the importance of this timely issue.

The Culver City Community Network lasted for 6 lively years.  In addition to addressing police issues, CCCN focused on education topics, such as replacing the former Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp (JROTC) classes with ones stressing peace and justice, which was successfully accomplished.  In fact, the CCCN initiated in Los Angeles County many of the educational materials exposing the military for misleading youth when joining the JROTC.  The Culver City Community Network published a popular newsletter, had members often address the City Council and School Board, contributed to the high school scholarship program, and had booths at the yearly Fiesta La Ballona.  After CCCN disbanded, its members continued to work on City and School issues, often increasing their commitments.  Since those early years, the lessons learned by the CCCN members have been fruitful in elections and a wide variety of local issues.

Rodney King, you probably never knew the impact you made on the lives of Culver City residents.  You were an unknowing catalyst in the movement for justice.  You brought many people together to work endlessly for a better world.  And you were very successful.  We thank you for your inspiration.

Gary Silbiger is the Co-Editor of the Culver City Progress Blog, the former Mayor of Culver City, and a co-founder and Past President of the Culver City Community Network.