City is set to shell out for help with revenues
By JASMIN PERSCH Special to the Daily Press
(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 leaders tonight are expected to spend more than $500,000 on a cafe at the new Main Library, consultants to advise city officials on airport disputes and auditors to retrieve missing money from City Hall coffers.
THE ‘BOOKMARK CAFE’ The City Council plans to put $175,000 towards the construction and start-up costs for a new cafe, which will be nestled in the central courtyard in the Main Library.
City officials chose G.W. Inc. to manage the 750-square-foot cafe after a series of reference checks, interviews and food sampling, according to city staff.
G.W. Inc. was picked because of its healthy food options and the best reputation for quality food and customer service, city staff said.
The company owns two local restaurants — Bud’s Deli and Gary’s Grill — and had favorable references from its landlord and people in the restaurant industry. G.W. Inc. wants a five-year contract with two five-year options.
Under the proposal, G.W. Inc. will pay a monthly license fee of $2,250 — about $3 a square foot. That fee will be adjusted annually with the Consumer Price Index, or 9 percent of gross revenues that the cafe generates.
The new library on Santa Monica Boulevard will be completed this fall, but won’t open until early next year.
AIRPORT CONFLICT Close to $175,000 will likely go into legal services for city officials dealing with the airport following a two-year-long dispute over landing fees.
After the long conflict with the Federal Aviation Administration, City Hall wants lawyers who can advise it on matters with the administration to help with future negotiations. Palm & Dodge, LLP., based in Washington D.C., has been chosen. The firm charges between $200 and $450 per hour, according to city staff.
The City Council changed the landing fee in June to a standard $2 per 1,000 pounds, exempting airplanes that can prove they are based in Santa Monica. The new landing fee satisfies the demands of the airport, according to FAA and city officials.
City Hall has contracted with the firm in the past when it played a pivotal role in gaining FAA approval of the revised landing fees. City staff argues that the firm’s experience with FAA procedures will provide City Hall the expertise it needs, according to a staff report. The contract will include the firm providing communications with the FAA, giving legal advice and consultation, legal opinions and drafting legal documents. A city attorney will be assigned to the law firm to work with legal matters, according to city staff.
SPEND MONEY TO SAVE MONEY City Hall is expected to pay $55,000 to hire a consulting firm that would audit sales tax revenues and monitor other revenue streams for up to five years.
State records show that the same auditors, over the past four years, have helped recover $500,000 for City Hall through misallocated payments to other jurisdictions. Sales and utility taxes are collected by the state government and then reimbursed to local municipalities. Oftentimes that money gets misallocated, which is why city officials want to hire a firm to track the revenue.
The firm has provided City Hall with sales tax analysis and forecasting, as well as sales tax-related legislative and regulatory issues for the past four years. It also provides property tax, property transfer sales, and business license services to City Hall.
City Hall has used these types of services since 1987, according to city staff.
The records also are used to predict money coming into City Hall and to keep track of sales tax trends.
REAL ESTATE EXPERTISE About $200,000 is expected to be approved for a new contract with a law firm that handles issues that involves buying and redeveloping property for City Hall.
The firm, which has worked with City Hall since the 1980s, provides legal advice, legal opinions, drafting documents, approving contracts and attending local hearings and meetings. A city attorney will be assigned to work with the firm on legal services provided, according to a staff report.
The firm charges between $145 and $200 an hour and will give its expertise to not only City Hall but the Santa Monica Redevelopment Agency and the city’s parking authority, which oversee major properties and parking structures, and are funded partially by federal money.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 27, 2005. Read the original PDF.