1 THESE MINUTES ARE NOT OFFICIAL
UNTIL APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL,
CULVER CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY BOARD,
CULVER CITY PARKING AUTHORITY,
REDEVELOPMENT FINANCING AUTHORITY,
AND SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE CULVER CITY
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD
REGULAR MEETING OF THE May 16, 2023
CITY COUNCIL, CULVER CITY 3:00 p.m.
HOUSING AUTHORITY BOARD,
CULVER CITY PARKING AUTHORITY,
REDEVELOPMENT FINANCING AUTHORITY, AND
SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE CULVER CITY
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA
Call to Order & Roll Call
Mayor Vera called the regular meeting of the City Council, Culver City Housing Authority Board, Culver City Parking Authority, Redevelopment Financing Authority, and Successo r Agency to the Culver City Redevelopment Agency Board to order at 3:01 p.m. in the Mike Balkman Chambers at City Hall.
Present: Albert Vera, Mayor
Yasmine-Imani McMorrin, Vice Mayor
Göran Eriksson, Council Member
Freddy Puza, Council Member
Dan O’Brien, Council Member
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Pledge of Allegiance
Mayor Vera led the Pledge of Allegiance.
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May 16, 2023
2 Community Announcements by Members/Information Items from Staff
None.
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Joint Public Comment – Items NOT on the Agenda
Mayor Vera invited public comment.
T’Ana Allen, Deputy City Clerk, indicated no requests to speak.
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Receipt and Filing of Correspondence
MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER PUZA, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER
ERIKSSON AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED, THAT THE CITY COUNCIL RECEIVE AND FILE CORRESPONDENCE.
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Order of the Agenda
No changes were made.
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Action Items
Item A-1
CC:HA:PA:SA – Continuation of the Budget Study Session - City Manager’s Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 202 3-2024:
Presentation of the Proposed Budget for Each City Department by its Respective Department Head
Mayor Vera invited public comment.
The following members of the public addressed the City Council:
Stephen Jones discussed comments made at the previous me eting regarding decreases in funding vs. budget cuts; the adopted budget last year vs. the budget this year; shutting down the conversation; lack of an explanation; the fact that less money is spent on bus operations; the contrast with police spending; May 16, 2023
3 expiring one-time expenditures that do not translate into a decreased budget for the police; choices made to keep the same number of officers despite the decreased number of traffic stops; the choice not to offset mandated salary increases with reductions in personnel or the non -personnel police budget; disingenuous statements about police spending; and he asked that the City Council stop pretending there are not decreases being made in other departments.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members re garding interpretation of the budget; the adjusted budget; carryover amounts; encumbered amounts; base budgets for departments; approved positions; benefit and merit increase calculations; one-time expenditures and fees; maintaining current levels; the 2% adjustment on operation and maintenance categories; stability of the CCPD budget vs. the Transportation budget; and staff indicated that there was no intent to mislead anyone.
Jessica Harwood was called to speak but did not respond.
Jeannine Wisnosky Ste hlin was called to speak but did not respond.
Karim Sahli asserted that when running for office, Mayor Vera had not been transparent in letting people know that his daughter works for CCPD; discussed the conflict of interest in permitting the Mayor to vote to increase his daughter’s salary; intention; fairness and transparency; he felt that the Mayor should recuse himself from the vote to ensure against the appearance of favoritism; and he asked the Mayor to respect his constituents.
Mayor Vera stated that he had not hidden the fact that his daughter was in the Police Academy , and he reported that the City Attorney had not indicated that he needed to recuse himself.
Heather Baker, Deputy City Attorney, indicated that approving the budget was not a direct fiscal impact to the Mayor’s daughter as the budget did not relate to the direct negotiation of salaries.
Council Member Eriksson provided advice to Mr. Sahli about how to get additional information on the salary ordinance.
Kenny Stevenson provided background on himself; urged the Council to invest in the community, neighbors and children; May 16, 2023
4 voiced disagreement on raising the CCPD budget by over $2 million; discussed approving tasers, body cameras, and yet to be named technology to aid in high spee d chases over name d issues that need to be addresse d such as parks and after -care for children; money that could be used to address the backlog of parks repairs, irrigation, a nd staffing; valuing police technology over the general well -being of the communi ty; automatic approval to added staffing for the police, but not for parks to deal with overflow; the view of the community as the enemy; adding undue stress, mental, and physical trauma to the unhoused and to people of color; and he asked that the City invest in the community.
Tevis Barnes, Housing and Human Services Director , introduced staff and provided a presentation on the proposed Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Housing and Human Services budget.
Marna Johnson, Housing Project Manager, discussed enhancement requests for Fiscal Year 2023-2024; Senate Bill 296; dangers to Code Enforcement Officers; development of safety standards; applicability to other non -sworn staff ac ting in a similar capacity; training; officer safety and awareness techniques; protective gear; and mag lights.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding appreciation to staff for their efforts; Project Homekey; annual costs; interim and permanent housing; the pilot street medicine program; services provided; the Mobile Crisis Intervention Unit (MCIU); the MCIU vehicle; non -emergency transport;
participation in community events; interdepartmental
collaboration; rent control; outreach to property owners; landlord registration; the Safe Parking Program; collaboration with Saint Joseph Center (SJC); the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS); available resources; the Mental Health Evaluation Team; collaboration; care; meeting people where they are; the master lease motels; food and nutrition; case management services; funding; ensuring that people do not fall through the cracks; the emergency declared in December; the work of staff to move forward as quickly as possible; moving faster than the speed of government; Council priorities; the budget increase; working to stop the homeless from dying on the street; the fentanyl epidemic; the amount of money dedicated to addressing the issue; making Culver City a better place to live for everyone; showing other cities how to improve the situation; residents facing issues with the homeless population;
groundbreaking work being done; and working through the process.
May 16, 2023
5 Additional discussion ensued between staff and Council Memb ers regarding addressing community concerns; public comment regarding the budget; including as many voices as possible; allowing time to create a well-funded participatory budgeting process; community education; the appearance of cuts being made across departments; sharing adequate information so the public understands; the subjective experience of having one’s reality questioned by another; appreciation for the advocacy of former Council Members Fisch and Lee to create the Housing and Human Services Department and for the responsiveness of staff to incorporate nutrition into hotel stays; grant applications; the grant writer; the need to find a location for Safe Parking since Safe Camping took the proposed site; coordination with the School District; potential expansion of the scope and duties of the Landlord Tenant Mediation Board ; habitability issues; shareable information in the Rent Registry; public records requests; costs for Urban Alchemy; the importance of finding other ways to provide housing; and acknowledgement of the work done by staff.
Michele Williams, Chief Information Officer, introduced staff and provided a presentation on the Fiscal Year 202 3-2024 Information Services Department budget.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding appreciation for the presentation, the expansion of Wi-Fi, and for allowing meetings to be hybrid ; increased public
participation and equity; clarification that Wi-Fi is provided at the Safe Sleep site; delays to addressing the system at City Hall due to staff resources; plans to release an RFP (Request for Proposals) in July to work toward replacement; the Cyber Security position; addressing ph ysical security; staffing; retention; and installation of Wi-Fi on the buses.
Dana Anderson, Human Resources Director , introduced staff and provided a presentation on the Fiscal Year 202 3-2024 Human Resources department budget.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding appreciation to staff for their efforts; hiring; the Racial Equity Action Plan (REAP); DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) training; the employee recognition program; annual department recognitions; vacancy standards; the competitive market; the classification and compensation study; challenges with
recruitment; research into comparable positions in neighboring cities; regularly scheduled performance reviews; employee wellness initiatives; the Employee Wellness Fa ir planned for May 16, 2023
6 September; staffing retention; compensation ; ensuring that people feel valued, seen, and supported; deepening mental health and wellness supports; the deep workload of the EHRAC (Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee); events; the importance of focusing on education; providing sufficient support for the scope of work of the EHRAC; issues with the REAP consultant; and the proposed timeline.
Lisa Soghor , Chief Financ ial Officer, introduced s taff and provided a presentation on the Fiscal Year 2023 -2024 Finance Department budget.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding appreciation for the update of the User Fee Study; the property tax rate for Culver City; Prop 13; business license tax collection; being proactive about the new tax rates; current status; stragglers; compliance; expected confusion with the changes; Measure BL; plans for further community engagement as it pertains to the budget; participatory budgeting; costs; planning and engagement; the Budget in Brief document;
synthesizing information; room for improving education; tax cut incentives for businesses; and appreciation to staff for their hard work.
Jesse Mays, Assistant City Manager, introduced staff; provided a presentation on the Fiscal Year 2023 -2024 City Manager’s Office budget; and discussed proposed budget enhancements for the City Clerk’s Office.
Shelly Wolfberg, Assistant to the City Manager, provided a presentation on proposed budget enhancements for the City Manager’s Office.
Elaine Gerety Warner discussed requested budget enhancements for Economic Development.
Christine Byers, Cultural Affairs Manager, discussed the one- time Cultural Affairs department request to support the 2024 Performing Arts Grant Program.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding appreciation for the presentation and for the work of staff; clarification on job responsibilities for the Communications Manager position; Cultural Affairs staffing; contractual positions; budget constraints; and the challenge of distilling information for the community.
May 16, 2023
7 Council Member O’Brien received consensus from Mayor Vera and Council Member Eriksson to make a budget adjustment for an ongoing Communications Manager staff person, and consensus from Mayor Vera and Council Members Eriksson and Puza to add a contracted Public Arts Coordinator with reevaluation after one year.
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding the difficulty and importance of distilling
information and communicating with residents; finite resources; the booklet created on historical places in the City; tourism; Economic Development; monies to support the staffing requests from the General Fund reserves; the Housing Stipend received by Council Members; Brown Act training after CBC (Commission, Board and Committee) appointments; effectiveness of moving Equity from the City Manager’s Office to the Human Resources Department; and appreciation to staff for their service.
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Public Comment – Items Not on the Agenda (Continued)
Mayor Vera invited public comment.
The following member of the public addressed the City Council:
Denise Neal discussed including creative categories in the budget; the creative community; community meetings for the budget; the reparations budget; and she received clarification that the meeting tentatively planned for May 17 had been cancelled as all items had been covered with the budget would be considered for adoption on June 12, 2023.
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Items from Council Members
None.
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Council Member Requests to Agendize Future Items
Council Member O’Brien discussed enhancing housing development; received consensus from Mayor Vera, Vice Mayor McMorrin , and Council Member Puza to adjust the Planning budget to include money for one-time expenditures including $30,000 for Objective May 16, 2023
8 Design Standards, $25,000 for reacting to state mandated zoning code updates, $20,000 for review of d evelopment applications for compliance and efficiency to streamline proposed
developments, and $70,000 for review of the City Sign Ordinance; and he received consensus from Vice Mayor McMorrin and Council Member Puza to consider allocation of $150,000 in the list of adjustments to the Fiscal Year 2023 -2024 budget for a minimum wage increase impact study and an econ omic impact study that includes hiring a project manager and legal counsel with experience in minimum wage ordinances.
Vice Mayor McMorrin received clarification that the budget amendments would come from General Fund reserves.
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May 16, 2023
9 Adjournment
There being no further business, at 5:31 p.m., the City Council, Culver City Housing Authority Board, Culver City Parking Authority, Redevelopment Financing Authority, and Successor Agency to the Culver City Redevelopment Agency Board adjourned to a meeting to be held on May 22, 2023 at 7:00 p.m.
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Jeremy Bocchino
CITY CLERK of Culver City, California
EX-OFFICIO CLERK of the City Council and SECRETARY of the Successor Agency to the Culver City Redevelopment Agency Board, Redevelopment Financing Authority, Culver City Housing Authority Board, and Culver City Parking Authority, Culver City, California
ALBERT VERA
MAYOR of Culver City, California and CHAIR of the Successor Agency to the Culver City Redevelopment Agency Board,
Redevelopment Financing Authority, Culver City Housing
Authority Board, and Culver City Parking Authority
Date: _________________________