From: Karen Melick
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: David White
Subject: June 27 City Council Meeting agenda item 12.A, $600,000 for Rec and Arts Director and 2 Assistants, $10,594 for more aquatics staff is wrong!
Date: Monday, June 26, 2023 9:35:58 PM
EXTERNAL
Hello,
The Biennial Budget for your approval includes the restoration of 3 positions for the re-creation of a Recreation and Arts department. A Director (which in a change from the May proposal now says it's a limited-term position ending June 30, 2025), an administrative Services Officer and an Executive Administrative Assistant (which aren't footnoted to be limited-term positions). Why is the Director limited term but not their staff? Including salary and benefits, these 3 positions will cost the City around $600,000 per year.
While this is less than the cost of the previous pre-Covid Community Services department's executive group that got combined with Housing and Human Services during Covid, restoring these three executive positions, while not adding a significant number of boots on the ground staff and services, is not the right thing to do to service the Santa Monica community.
Aquatics is only getting 0.2 self funded FTE in this budget for the next two years and the services at the Swim Center are only about 70% of the pre-Covid services. Many of the other City services for youth and seniors are also still significantly below pre-Covid levels. These services should be restored before $600,000 is spent on executive positions.
Given that the current Recreation Manager manages what will be 76% (62 of 82) of the new Recreation and Arts department's staff, the need for 3 additional executive positions is very questionable. The two previous directors of this area have said that adding these 3 positions is not needed and wasteful.
I agree that the Recreation and Arts area needs more priority and attention from the City and agree with having a Recreation and Arts Director. In a meeting I had with City Manager David White, I suggested elevating the Recreation Manager to be the Recreation and Arts Director and to utilize existing administrative staff.
This could save up to $500,000 that could be used to restore the youth and recreation programs and Swim Center services that are still significantly below pre-Covid levels and fund a learn to swim program for our city's youth.
Please direct the City staff to reduce the costs associated with the Recreation and Arts department's Director and their administrative staff and use the savings to restore recreation, youth and senior services.
Thank you.
Karen Melick
Santa Monica resident for 31 years
Regular patron of the Santa Monica Swimming pools for 35 years Chair of Santa Monica Aquatics Advisory Committee but sending this on my own From: Jessica Rich
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Fwd: Your request has been closed - CS0081256
Date: Tuesday, June 27, 2023 3:35:56 PM
EXTERNAL
Dear SMCC
I am a long time resident and homeowner in Santa Monica. I wrote to the Parks Maintenance division of 311 to find out why the courts at Los Amigos Park open at 6pm on weekdays (see below)? It used to be that John Muir and SMASH used the courts during the day, but they are no longer on-site. Why can't the basketball and tennis courts at Los Amigos Park be open to the public earlier until a school is there during the day to use them? And I was told that you denied the request for maintenance funding. That was an unfortunate decision for a space that has such frequency of use and definitely requires more maintenance than it receives. Please reconsider allocating additional funding TEMPORARILY so the courts at Los Amigos Park can remain open during the daytime hours UNTIL a school is onsite and has priority of use during the day.
Thank you!
Jessica
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Santa Monica – Customer Service <[email protected]> Date: Tue, Jun 27, 2023 at 3:10 PM
Subject: Your request has been closed - CS0081256
To: <>
City of Santa Monica Logo
Hello -
Your submission CS0081256 has been closed, please refer to the notes below for more information.
Reason For Closing: Question Answered
Closure Notes: Thanks for your message. The recreation department requested funding to maintain the park full time during construction, but the city declined to allocate the funds, so it remains on the old schedule.
This is in reference to the request you submitted on 06-27-2023 14:52:44 PDT for Park Maintenance.
Description: I am trying to find the hours for the tennis and basketball courts at Los Amigos Park. Why do they still open at 6pm if there is no school open to use it in the hours up to 6pm? Please contact the 311 customer service team if you have any questions.
For more information about our full list of 311 services, how to download our mobile app, or ways to contact us, visit SantaMonica.gov/311.
City of Santa Monica
Public Safety Reform and Oversight Commission
Report to City Council:
Review and Approval of the Santa Monica Police Department Proposed Budget for FY 2023/2025
June 26, 2023
INTRODUCTION
City Council directed the Public Safety Reform Oversight Commission (PSROC) to review, discuss, and make recommendations regarding the Santa Monica Police proposed budget for FY 2023/2025 budget cycle.
On June 21, 2023, the ad hoc Budget Committee of the Santa Monica Public Safety Reform and Oversight Commission (PSROC) met to review the proposed Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) budget through 2025. Presenting the offered budget on behalf of SMPD was Deputy Chief Darrick Jacob and Lieutenant Ericka Aklufi, who provided testimony aided by written documents presented as slides. The committee then made recommendations for the full commission to consider what recommendations to make to City Council.
The PSROC met on June 26, 2023. At that meeting, SMPD Chief Ramon Batista appeared and briefed PSROC for an hour. The Commission than deliberated and voted as to whether to recommend to council to approve the offered SMPD budget and what changes to recommend.
The PSROC recommends that Santa Monica City Council approve SMPD's budget as written, with the added recommendation that SMPD, or the Santa Monica City Council, or both working in conjunction find $20,000 to finance the unanimously approved Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training program as recommended by the PSROC within the fiscal period of FY23-FY25 and implement the program within the first fiscal year.
As a reminder, the PSROC previously recommended the following:
1) Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training for officers as recommended in a prior PSROC report submitted to City Council.
In that report the PSROC recommends that officers, who wish to participate, have Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training funded by SMPD. Other police departments who have adopted similar or identical programs, as proposed in PSROC's prior Brazilian Jiu Jitsu report, had the following results:
1) Reduction in Worker's Compensation claims
2) Reduction in funds spent on Worker's Compensation
3) Reduction in excessive force claims against officers 4) Reduction in officer injuries
5) Reduction in injuries of suspects and those arrested.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an art that involves zero strikes. Instead, it relies on grappling techniques. This is safer for everyone involved.
CONCLUSION
The PSROC recommends that Santa Monica City Council approve SMPD's budget as written, with the added recommendation that SMPD, or the Santa Monica City Council, or both working in conjunction, find $20,000 to finance the PSROC unanimously approved Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training program as recommended by the PSROC within the fiscal period of FY23-FY25 and implement the program within the first fiscal year.