Symphony funding saved in 60th anniversary year
Elected leaders passed a $377 million budget Tuesday night, finding extra dollars at the last minute for a domestic violence program, the local historical society and the Santa Monica Symphony.
Revenues are expected to increase across the board in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1, and City Hall hopes to begin restoring programs scaled back in previous years due to the sour economy. No layoffs were made this year, and the cuts that were selected should have a minimum impact on the public, according to officials.
Some two dozen people spoke at the Tuesday meeting, asking elected leaders to find extra money for a variety of programs cut in recent years. The council decided to grant nearly all of their requests, despite a warning from City Manager Susan McCarthy against using “one-time” money for items that come up annually.
City Council voted to give an extra $10,000 to Legal Aid’s Domestic Violence Program, which serves battered women throughout the area. Staffers had proposed reducing funding to the program to reflect the level of use by Santa Monica residents, but the council decided to first seek increased funding from surrounding cities.
Another $50,000 was given to the Santa Monica Historical Society, which had requested $75,000 to sort through and archive recently discovered documents from the collection of Sen. John P. Jones, co-founder of Santa Monica. Most of the $50,000 will be used to pay a 93-year-old descendent of Jones to help sort through the documents, which number between 15,000 and 65,000. Council members said they had to act quickly in order to take advantage of the historian’s expertise.
The Santa Monica Symphony, now in its 60th year, will receive an additional $11,000 to help stage its free concerts in the coming budget year. Symphony enthusiasts had requested increased funding for anniversary year events, but were glad the funding level was maintained at the last minute, as was the case last year.
Finally, the council agreed to give the League of Women Voters $1,000 for its Smart Voter program, which disseminates election information.
Even after the $72,000 in one-time expenses, City Hall maintained a 10-percent reserve fund for next year — and another $95,000 was left unspent in council reserve, travel and other funds. Prudent financial planning has given City Hall a triple-A bond rating, meaning investors will pay top dollar for future bond issues.
Tuesday’s budget meeting was the first time in several years that school supporters haven’t protested in front of City Hall and flooded council chambers to ask for extra money. The 2004-2005 budget calls for the city to give public schools $6 million in ongoing funds, or $3 million more than in previous years. That decision was made last month under pressure from a parent group that threatened to put a controversial charter amendment on the ballot forcing higher contributions.
In an effort to offset the school expense, the council agreed to ask voters to approve a two-percent hike in the hotel bed tax, which is charged on hotel rooms throughout the city. Currently, the bed tax in Santa Monica is 12 percent. If voters approve the new 14 percent level, Santa Monica will be on par with most surrounding cities — except Marina del Rey, which has a bed tax of 13 percent. That extra 2 percent is expected to generate an additional $3.5 million a year.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 17, 2004. Read the original PDF.