(Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series that tracks the city’s expenditures which appear on the upcoming Santa Monica City Council consent agenda. Consent agenda items are routinely passed by the city council with little or no discussion from elected officials or the public. However, many of the items have been part of public discussion in the past).
CITY HALL — Elected officials tonight will most likely sign off on $1.3 million in expenditures for everything from hiring outside management companies to maintain the pier carousel and a city-owned mobile home park to creating a bike path along the old rail line on Santa Monica’s eastside.
About $230,500 will come from City Hall’s budget, with the remaining $1.1 million stemming from state and federal grants.
Of local taxpayer money, the City Council is expected to approve a two-year contract with Roth Management, which has operated and maintained the carousel since 2001. The annual management fee is $88,500 and another $100,000 will be needed to cover company costs for staff salaries and maintenance, according to a city staff report.
Because of City Hall’s living wage law, Roth Management estimates a 36-percent increase in reimbursement for employee wages as compared to the previous contract. City Hall requires companies that contract with it to pay their employees a minimum of $11.50 an hour. The management company also estimates a higher contract fee because of a 3-percent increase in worker’s compensation insurance and an 8-percent hike in liability insurance, according to city staff.
The management fee covers day-to-day operations, employee operation training, recording and depositing revenue, payroll management, paint restoration, repairs, weekly maintenance and carving and replacing missing pieces from the carousel.
MOBILE MANAGING Local government coffers are also expected to provide for a $42,000 service contract with Castle Breckenridge Management to run Mountain View Mobile Home Park, which is owned by the city.
City Hall signed a contract with the management company last March for the same amount and staff believes it should be extended for another year. Given the complexities of mobile home park operations and anticipated infrastructure upgrades over the next few years, city staff advises that it’s in the best interest of City Hall to keep the management of the mobile home park status quo, according to a staff memo.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 14, 2006. Read the original PDF.