June 25, 2010 -- The selection of companies for Santa Monica's taxi cab franchises was supposed to take place at Tuesday's City Council meeting. But that decision was delayed at the request of City staff for what was said to be procedural reasons.

City Manager Rod Gould said during the meeting that the City Charter requires a two-step process for approving franchises. The final approval at the second meeting must take place within 60 days of the first meeting. And Gould said with the current council schedule, there was no meeting within the 60-day timeframe that was without a full agenda and could accommodate the second vote.

Gould said the council should have the meeting with the initial vote in either September or October, which would allow for the franchises to go into effect in January.

“We think the public will be well-served by the delay,” Gould said. “It will give plenty of time for people to be adequately noticed and still allow for plenty of public dialogue on the matter.”

Prior to the meeting, a large number of protestors were stationed outside City Hall. They held signs noting the number of people from various companies who would lose jobs with the new City policy that will cut the number of cabs in half to a maximum of 250. According to City staff, Santa Monica has the most taxi cabs per capita in Los Angeles County.

City staff has recommended five companies for franchises with a fleet of 50 vehicles each. Thirteen companies had applied for the franchises. The council has final say on the franchise selections. The council approved the franchise system last year.