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# Council to Decide How to Spend $2.5 Million Budget Surplus
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/013006-story/
- Published: 2006-01-30T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T17:05:59.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

An emboldened tourism industry, surging real estate sales and some unexpected money courtesy of the state have pumped an additional $5.5 million into the city coffers, leaving council members with more money to spend when they approve the mid-year budget next month. While some of the cash is already accounted for — to cover increased costs for employee salaries — roughly $2.5 million will be left up to the discretion of the council, which will debate the issue at a meeting scheduled for Feb. 14.

So this week, Q-Line wants to know, “How do you think the council should spend the budget surplus?”

Call (310) 285-8106 before Friday at 5 p.m. and we’ll print your responses in the weekend edition. Please try to limit your comments to a minute or less. It might help to think first about the wording of your response.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 30, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/013006.pdf?ref=smdp.com)