By Bob Wolff Santa Monica Neighbors have a right to complain Editor:
It is incredulous that the city is going to spend over $5 million for improvements on the five acre mobile home site on Stewart Street. This amounts to almost $139,000 for each of the 36 tenants.
This spending leads to a much bigger question; should the city even be operating as owner and landlord of this site and other parcels of property?
I am sure this property could be sold as is for more than $5 million. The city could then take $5 million of the sale proceeds and pay each tenant $2,000 a month for the next 69 months. If the city invested the funds at 4 percent, it would be able to pay them $2,000 a month for 79 months. Just think of the administrative savings from not having to operate that property. Then think of the property taxes the city would receive from a private owner over the next 5 (to) 10 years.
Is anybody at City Hall doing any analysis of its proposed spending before committing our tax dollars?
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 31, 2008. Read the original PDF.