> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # City Hall slated to adopt annual budget this week - URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-hall-slated-to-adopt-annual-budget-this-week/ - Published: 2005-06-20T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T07:16:14.000Z - Author: Ryan Hyatt - Tags: Government & Politics, Pico, #archive-import, Homelessness *Departments highlight changes from last year* CITY HALL — Elected leaders on Tuesday are expected to approve the city’s $418 million budget, which for the first time in a few years shows a surplus. The Santa Monica City Council is set to adopt the 2005-06 budget after spending months pouring over City Hall’s financial plan for the upcoming fiscal year. Top city officials in late May presented to the City Council their individual budgets for their respective departments, which have been scrutinized by elected leaders in the past few weeks. Elected officials at the study sessions in May made suggestions and inquiries to city staff and remarked on changes that have been undertaken at City Hall in an effort to adapt to recent financially lean years. Meanwhile, city officials are cautiously optimistic that times are improving, as reflected in the $12 million surplus in next year’s budget, according to City Finance Director Steve Stark. The majority of the surplus already has been earmarked for programs intended to improve the quality of life in the Pico neighborhood ($2.3 million); help better address homelessness ($1.1 million); streamline the planning process ($312,000); better maintain streets ($230,000), parks ($1.7 million) and landscaping ($460,600); increase the focus on the arts ($284,610); and build the new library ($3.1 million). The following is a department-by-department budget breakdown and highlights from the study ses- The city manager’s office budget has grown from $6,372,887 in fiscal year 2004-05 to $7,802,806 — an increase of $1,429,000, or 22.4 percent. Stark said the seemingly dramatic increase is because City Hall is looking to do away with its “non-departmental” department, which was previously used to categorize city funds that might not have easily fit under other financial rubrics. As part of that process, City Hall’s communication division and its associated cable fund will be moved to and administered by the city manager’s office, accounting for a majority of this budget increase. “These changes should make the budget easier for people to read and understand in the future,” Stark said. The main addition to the city manager’s office for 2005-06 will be an administrative assistant. As part of its belt tightening in recent years, City Hall chose not to hire another assistant after one reitred. Staff is asking the council to reinstate that position. “The community has been looking for us to right the level of service,” said City Manager Susan McCarthy, who argued that the decrease in staffing has made it more difficult to fulfill customer-service expectations. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE’S WORKLOAD PILING UP In fiscal year 2004-05, the city attorney’s office had a budget of $6,480,685, with a proposed $6,615,581 for 2005-06 — an increase of $134,896 or 2.1 percent. “On the litigation front, it continues to be a challenging year,” City Attorney Marsha Moutrie reported to the City Council. Moutrie said City Hall continues to hash out two lawsuits that are drawing the most time, money and resources from the attorney’s office. One is the Farmers’ Market case, in which City Hall is being sued by numerous individuals after 10 people died and dozens were injured after an 86-year-old man drove through the Farmer’s Market on Arizona Avenue on July 16, 2003. The other is the MTBE fee dispute case, in which attorneys who helped City Hall win a lawsuit against the big oil companies regarding contamination of the city’s water supply are now suing City Hall in the hopes of collecting upwards of $70 million in fees they said they were promised. “In short, we are doing more work with less people,” Moutrie said. “I’m not sure how much longer we can continue (at current staffing) doing this amount of work.” DEPARTMENT TO ENTER DIGITAL POSTAGE ERA The city’s records and elections department will most likely experience a small decrease in the budget, from $1,930,842 in 2004-05 to $1,683,664 for 2005-06, a $247,178 or 12.8 percent difference. City Clerk Maria Stewart said the single largest expenditure change to the city’s records and elections services department will be the purchase a digital postage meter that will cost $28,000, to bring the city up to federal postage guidelines. Janet Shelton with the city’s finance department said her group has strived for efficiencies to improve customer service, while minimizing growth of its budget. “We’ve focused on improving internal and external customer service,” Shelton said. To do that, the group is requesting an additional staff member. The finance department went from a budget of $6,341,480 in 2004-05 to $6,449,138 in 2005-06 — an increase of $107,658 or 1.7 percent. The human resources department is looking for an $18,000 budget boost from now on, mostly to provide professional courses on such topics as sexual harassment and leadership in the workplace. The budget has grown from $2,298,958 in 2004-05 to a proposed $2,366,256 for 2005-06 — an increase of $67,298 or 2.9 percent. NEW LIBRARY TAKING OFF The new library, set to open late this year, will be two-thirds larger than the old library and provide more pro-gramming for children and adults. To improve maintenance, collections and servicing at the new library, City Hall has proposed to increase the budget more than any other department. The budget was $6,523,754 in 2004-05 and is proposed to be $8,143,094 in 2005-06 — an increase of $1,619,340, or 24.8 percent. “We’re looking forward to a busy and exciting year,” said Greg Mullen, city librarian. Santa Monica Fire Chief Jim Hone said the Santa Monica Fire Department has noticed a 45 percent increase in the number of calls in the past decade and is expected to respond to a record high of 11,000 this year. Still, the SMFD is expected to be the slowest growing city department going into the next financial year. In 2004-05, the SMFD budget was 20,429,597\. In 2005-06, it is expected to be 20,500,942 — an increase of $71,345 or.3 percent. Part of the reason the SMFD expects to adapt so well to the increase in calls without adding more staff is due to the dispatch service being transferred to Los Angeles. “We have a six-month transition period with a go date in January,” Chief Hone said. PLANNING GETS BOOST FOR LAND USE The planning and community development department is set to experience substantial growth in its budget from $15,119,981 in 2004-05 to $18,065,015 — an increase of $2,945,034 or 19.5 percent. Stark said the primary reason for the growth has to do with a transfer of funds from the city’s parking authority, to be managed from now within the planning department. One suggestion City Councilman Herb Katz made at the budget study session was for planning to reduce the red lines on curbs to increase the amount of parking for cars citywide. “I’m not seeing a reduction in the red line on the curbs,” Katz said. “Can we get on with that?” RESOURCE MANAGEMENT BREAKING AHEAD Jeff Mathieu, director of the city’s resource management department, which handles in part city assets such as the Santa Monica Pier and airport, said the group he oversees will be looking for a budget increase of $233,603 from the $4,740,144 it operated with for fiscal year 2004-2005. If approved, it would mean a 4.9 percent increase, bringing the budget for 2005-06 to $4,973,747. City Councilman Ken Genser asked the status of the breakwater project, intended to create a barrier off the pier to reduce the flow of water onshore and would allow a boat harbor. Mathieu said City Hall was waiting to hear back from the federal government, which is a partner in the project, before moving forward with it. OTHER CITY DEPARTMENT BREAKDOWNS The city’s police, community and cultural services, and environmental and publics works departments are all expected to grow in the 2005-06 budget. The Santa Monica Police Department’s budget is set to bump from $52,253,942 for 2004-05 to $55,002,388 for 2005-06 — an increase of $2,748,446, or 5.3 percent The community and cultural services department is set to bump from $25,657,877 to $27,922,553 — an increase of $2,264,676 or 8.8 percent. Stark said the primary reason for the increases for both departments is because of increased staffing for park rangers and programing technicians intended to be involved with the new Virginia Avenue Park expansion. The city’s environmental and public works department, which is requesting a variety of utility rate increases for next financial year, also is set to grow by 10 percent. In fiscal year 2004-05, the department operated on a $12,900,254 budget. In fiscal year 2005-06, the department is looking to expand to $14,258,110, an increase of $1,357,856. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 20, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/062005.pdf?ref=smdp.com)