MINUTES
MALIBU ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE SUBCOMMIITEE
SPECIAL MEETING
NOVEMBER 6, 2023
TELECONFERENCED - VARIOUS LOCATIONS
1:00 P.M.
The following meeting was held pursuant to AB 361 and fully teleconferenced from various locations during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Pro Tern Stewart called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL
The following persons were recorded in attendance:
- PRESENT: Mayor Pro Tern Doug Stewart and Councilmember Bruce Silverstein ALSO PRESENT: Steve McClary, City Manager; Joseph Toney, Assistant City Manager; Alexis Brown; Deputy City Manager; Renée Neermann, Finance Manager; Rob DuBoux, Parker Davis, Media Technician; Cynthia Alba, Executive Assistant; and Kathleen Stecko, Deputy City Clerk
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION Councilmember Silverstein moved, and Mayor Pro Tern Stewart seconded a motion to approve the agenda. The question was called, and the motion carried unanimously.
REPORT ON POSTING OF AGENDA
Deputy City Clerk Stecko reported that the agenda for the meeting was properly posted on posted on November 2, 2023.
ITEM 1 PRESENTATIONS
None.
ITEM 2 OLD BUSINESS
None.
ITEM 3 NEW BUSINESS
A. Approval of Minutes — October 10, 2023
Recommended Action: Approve the minutes for the Administration and Finance Subcommittee Special meeting of October 10, 2023.
Malibu Administration and Finance Subcommittee
Special Meeting
Minutes of November 6, 2023
MOTION Councilmember Silverstein moved, and Mayor Pro Tern Stewart seconded a motion to approve the minutes for the Administration and Finance Subcommittee Special meeting of October 10, 2023. The question was called, and the motion carried unanimously.
B. Malibu Schools Centralized Fundraising & Athletics Pathways Recommended Action: Provide a recommendation to the City Council regarding a Special Funding Request for Malibu Centralized Fundraising & Athletics Pathways.
Assistant City Manager Toney provided background information on the item and introduced Karmn Al-Hardan from the Malibu Schools Leadership Council 2023 to provide a presentation.
Ms. Al-Hardan provided a presentation on the Malibu Centralized Fundraising and Athletics Pathway fund request. She went over the goals of the project, current state of the fundraising program, recommendations, timelines, and budget. She explained that the reason for the monetary request from the City of Malibu is due to preparation efforts for the district separation, to serve young members beginning at the elementary level, and to provide athletic support for all. A three-year plan was presented along with a benchmark report and fundraising goals, which reflected the need for a consultant, executive director, and other operational resources.
Mayor Pro Tem Stewart opened the floor for public comment. At this time, there were no members of the public in this meeting.
Councilmember Silverstein asked a clarifying question whether the money was for an entity creation or for actual programing for the schools and asked what the projected fundraising levels will be over the next 3-5 years once established.
Ms. Al-Hardan explained that it would primarily be to create an entity with the guidance of a consultant and that the athletic pathway portion is funding the actual schools. She estimated a goal of offsetting half of the cost by the first year and full cost by the second year with the goal of establishing endowments, an alumni program, and pursuing corporate donations.
Mayor Pro Tern Stewart commended everyone who worked on this request. He inquired about the possibility of using the library fund. He also asked for clarification on exactly how much they are requesting, and if it was annual or total over two years.
Ms. Al-Hardan provided an update on the library fund request, stating that she has not heard back from the library team. She reviewed the budget attachment and clarified that they are requesting closer to half a million dollars each year and explained the columns where the City of Malibu money would fit versus the funds Malibu Administration and Finance Subcommittee
Special Meeting
Minutes of November 6, 2023
provided by the Santa Monica Malibu School District, reviewing both a break down of centralized funding and an athletic program.
Mayor Pro Tern Stewart requested to hear more about benchrnarks and more about the breakdown between the centralized fundraising entity funding and the athletics pathway funding. He emphasized that these funds are meant to be temporary seed money and after time less funds would be needed from the city. He also inquired what the total amount needed from the city would be.
Ms. Al-Hardan explained that the school district was unable to provide all requested funds and explained the budget attachment breakdown and where the city funds would be allocated to. She stated that once the entity is self-funding, they would stop requesting city funds and added that they have a three-year goal. She added that the total amount requested from the city over the years would be $2,085,500.
Councilmember Silverstein requested more information regarding how benchmarks would be measured and what would constitute success. He inquired about the ratio between what is being spent and what would be fundraised.
Ms. Al-Hardan explained that currently benchmarks have not been established and goals are based on hiring the needed staff to carry out this project. She added that with a consultant they would be able to have a better understanding of what the benchmarks would be within three months. She also explained that there would be a goal of establishing a three-million-dollar endowment similar to the model of the Santa Monica Education Foundation (SMEF).
Councilmember Silverstein requested more information on how SMEF was funding their entity, how it was initially funded, and what their operating budget is.
He inquired if there were any efforts to get seen money from the community.
Ms. Al-Hardan elaborated that SMEF was funded the same way, with an 80/20 model where 80% goes to the endowment and 20% goes to the schools. She added that they are currently self-funded from an initial seed money that came from the City of Santa Monica. She did not have the budget information along with the total amount of seed money provided by Santa Monica readily available and said she would provide it at a later date. She stated that there have been no efforts to get this seed money from the community because it is a lot of money to request from parents.
Councilmember Silverstein proposed providing the initial funding for the next six months to cover a consultant in order to get more details about the benchmarks and plans.
Malibu Administration and Finance Subcommittee
Special Meeting
Minutes of November 6, 2023
Mayor Pro Tern Stewart clarified that the request is close to $500,000 each year for three years and recommended a model where the funds will be rolled out based on annual approval. He recommended a commitment for one year with quarterly updates back to the city. He requested numerical metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs).
Councilmember Silverstein shared a concern regarding hiring an athletics director who knows they have a job in the long term. He recommended committing to funding the first step of this project, which would be the $25,000 needed for the consultant portion to have a more detailed proposal. He noted that $50,000 was given through the grants program ($25,000 per each school) to be used for the arts.
He mentioned that not everyone in the city uses the school system and they are being asked to use the tax base of the city. He stated that when this item is proposed he would like to see a commitment from the council to explore other things we can be spending tax dollars on, that would benefit a portion of the population that does not benefit from the schools, such as a new senior center.
Mayor Pro Tern Stewart shared that there are community pockets throughout Malibu, such as parks and the pool. He stated he is prepared to make a recommendation to the council to fund the first calendar year with quarterly reviews and subject to performance reviews.
Councilmember Silverstein proposed funding per school year as opposed to calendar year.
Ms. Al-Hardan clarified that the first two quarters in the budget sheet are reflective of the second half of the 2023-2024 school year and the second two quarters are the first half of the 2024-2025 school year. She also mentioned that the athletic coordinator for Santa Monica is hired on an annual basis.
Councilmember Silverstein indicated support for providing the money necessary for a consultant, money to get the athletics program running, work through the beginning of next year, and funding the arts. He stated he would want to see another presentation in July for a proposal to fund the school year.
Mayor Pro Tem Stewart reviewed the proposed recommended commitments which would be $22,000 for the consultant, $175,000 for the arts and instructional aids, and the first three rows of the budget sheet for athletics, and a portion of the fourth row for the athletics coordinator. He requested comments from city staff.
City Manager McClary stated that if this recommendation from the subcommittee was supported by the City Council, staff would incorporate these funds as part of the mid-year budget adjustment which would fund through the end of June 2024.
He shared that if the City Council desired, the funds could be programmed as a placeholder through the budget discussions with the caveat of having an annual approval in future budget years. He agreed with Councilmember Silverstein that Malibu Administration and Finance Subconnnittee
Special Meeting
Minutes of November 6, 2023
the proposal is premature and would like to hear a little bit more. He cautioned that there is 200k in the general fund grant program and he understands that the committee and the City Council struggle with trying to allocate and balance out all the requests. He reminded the committee to keep that in mind as they consider this request, stated that it may be harder to say no in the future to other requests. He shared that at the staff level they could reach out to the grant consultant to see if they had ideas that may assist in this effort.
Councilmember Silverstein requested more information on how much the City of Santa Monica funded to get the Santa Monica Education Foundation up and running and what the numbers are for the other Las Virgenes-Malibu Council of Governments cities.
Assistant City Manager Toney echoed City Manager McClary’s statement and cautioned against funding special interest items because this will set a new precedent for future requests made outside of the budget process. He stated that this request has not been vetted by city staff. He shared that this could be a larger project long term that has not been considered as part of the strategic priorities. He shared that they could figure it out and come up with strategies but there is still some sticker shock to the high price tag.
Ms. Al-Hardan shared that she appreciates the feedback and mentioned that according to the last Census 20% of the population is under 18 and about 1000 of them go to Malibu schools.
Mayor Pro Tern Stewart reopened public comment.
Joe Drummond spoke in favor of the city helping fund the schools through this project.
Mayor Pro Tern Stewart closed public comment.
Councilmember Silverstein inquired how the money would be dispersed.
Assistant City Manager Toney stated that this would need to be reviewed by the City Attorney’s office and would likely need an MOU in place.
Ms. Al-Hardan shared that the already established Shark Fund could potentially serve as a temporary solution while they work with the consultant to get established.
MOTION Mayor Pro Tem Stewart moved, and Councilmember Silverstein seconded a motion to recommend the City Council approve two quarters for the consultant, three quarters plus $25,000 for the athletics portion, and for the arts programs for a total of $353,100 with a mid-year review in the middle of the calendar year 2024 with the Administration and Finance Subcommittee for future recommendation to the City Council.
Malibu Administration and Finance Subcommittee
Special Meeting
Minutes of November 6, 2023
Mayor Pro Tem Stewart cautioned the applicant that this is always subject to future funding and the city will need to see performance numbers that indicate results as opposed to hiring benchmarks, subject to the details being worked out by the City Council if approved.
The question was called, and the motion carried unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT
At 2:23 p.m., Mayor Pro Tem Stewart adjourned the meeting.
Approved and adopted by the Administration and Finance
Subcommittee of the City o libu on ary 17, 2024.
OU~1~WART, Mayor Pro Tern
ATTEST:
CYN~JIA ALBA, Executive Assistant