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By Olin
Ericksen
Staff Writer
October 24 -- From balancing budgets and amending a
sustainable city plan to expanding bus yards and buying a building
for a future light railway, City Council member are expected to
check several items off their to-do list Tuesday night.
With the City carrying out several multi-year and multimillion
dollar improvement projects, Santa Monica officially spent more
than it made last fiscal year, with nearly half a billion dollars
tied up in expenditures, and $480 million coming in in revenues,
according to finance staff figures.
Nearly $370 million in capital improvement funds from the previous
year were rolled over for projects in progress, totaling $867.7
million in capital improvements for the City. There are no year-end
budget savings, according to staff.
An additional $46 million was approved during the year largely
due to a rise in construction costs associated with facility improvements
for the Big Blue Bus, staff noted in their report.
Yet another $19 million will be needed -- for redevelopment,
bond insurance costs and parking citations paid twice that are
being returned -- before the budget is officially balanced, City
officials said.
“Special deployments” of the police department –
including a special operation this summer to halt gang violence
in the Pico Neighborhood known as Operation Safe Streets –
and fire department costs contributed to the rise in spending.
Also jacking up expenses were insurance cost hikes connected
to a few high profile lawsuits against the Big Blue Bus and litigation
fees related to lawsuits filed by the City to force oil companies
to clean up water wells contaminated by the dangerous chemical
known as MTBE, staff said.
In addition to several changes to the 2006-07 fiscal budget,
the council is expected to approve resolutions supporting salary
changes and redefining several top staff positions to give more
hiring and firing power to City Manager Lamont Ewell. (see
story)
A City sponsored measure known as Proposition U that addresses
the issue will be placed before voters November 7.
The council will move from balancing greenbacks to talk of being
greener and keeping Santa Monica’s growth manageable when
it considers annual changes to the City’s sustainability
plan.
While City officials gave themselves high marks in many categories
in a report published last month, they acknowledge there was work
still to be done to boost affordable housing and clean up local
beaches. (see
story)
City staff also outlined ambitious goals to cut greenhouse gas
pollution – which affects global warming – by 15 percent
below 1990 levels by the year 2015, and 30 percent below 1990
levels for City government.
Those levels are double and quadruple the targets set by the
Kyoto Protocol of 7 percent. The protocol is the largest international
conference held so far to coordinate the reduction of greenhouse
gases, which many reputed scientists have concluded are making
the planet hotter.
The City Council is also expected to hop aboard an $80 million
dollar expansion of its Big Blue Bus facilities with a dramatically
scaled back redesign.
The project originally called for more and much larger repair
bays for the growing fleet, a new administrative building on Colorado
Avenue and two subterranean parking garages.
The scaled back project includes “only the urgently needed
maintenance building… (while) retaining a site that could
be considered for a new administrative/operations building with
subterranean parking in the future,” staff noted in their
report.
In the new plan, the maintenance building was moved north, keeping
the existing administrative building, while a 10-foot wall will
screen surface parking on Colorado Avenue.
Anticipating a light rail line could roll into Santa Monica by
2015, the officials have earmarked property for a terminal Downtown.
If approved by the City Council Tuesday night, the City would
lay down $7,625,000 plus closing costs for a 17,100-square-foot
building occupied by Apple Computer at 16432-36 5th Street. Escrowed
at $1,000,000, the deal will close around March 2009.
Redevelopment funds will be used to purchase the site, according
to staff.
The “entire block” bounded by Olympic Boulevard,
Colorado Avenue, 4th and 5th Streets has “been identified
as a suitable location for future development of a public purpose
project which may include a light rail transit terminus, public
parking, affordable housing, and supportive commercial uses,”
staff said.
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