Mayor Responds To Budget Story

A headline in last week's Observer bears some clarification: "City Dips Into Reserves Again: $2.5 Million Shortfall." While the headline is eye-catching, I find it misleading. The article itself, by reporter Lynn Bronstein, provides a more accurate picture: "General Fund operational costs are anticipated to be fully covered by operating revenues, with some use of reserves for one-time costs and Capital Improvement Projects." This means that our ongoing expenses are fully covered by our revenues (for the second year in a row... after the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression).

So why is the city taking money out of the reserves? What's characterized in the headline as a "shortfall" is really an investment. Many years ago, past Council members passed a very wise reserve policy. Based on accounting best practices, the city keeps 30% of operating expenditures in an emergency reserve. Good news: we've exceeded this reserve. So rather than socking away money above and beyond what's needed, we're investing in Culver City; repaving streets, improving our Parks, Fire and Police departments, and making city facilities more energy efficient which will save on ongoing expenses for years to come.

Here's what we're not doing: we're not committing this money to long term, ongoing expenses. There are major expenditures on the horizon, like employee retirement pre-funding, Federal and State mandates to ensure stormwater and dry-weather run-off does not pollute our watersheds, and a growing need for even more capital improvement. We know we must be fiscally prudent if we are to meet those demands, which is why we are using this money for needed one-time investments rather than long term obligations. At the same time, we're working with local businesses to expand the city's fiber optic cable network, along with many other economic development initiatives that will boost our long term financial health.

Financial transparency is a priority for the City Council. In the last two years, we've created a Public Finance Advisory Committee, launched an interactive online platform with the city's financial data called OpenGov (http://culvercity.opengov.com ), significantly expanded the budgeting process to allow for more public participation, put a user-friendly Budget Input Box online, to name just a few. These and other online resources are available on the City's website: https://www.culvercity.org/Government/Finance.aspx. We're proud, but not surprised, that our Finance Department was recognized for its excellence in fiscal management and transparency by the Civil Grand Jury.

We have the voters to thank for this improved financial state. In 2012, voters supported Measure Y, the ½ cent sales tax by an impressive 76.79% of the vote. Despite reducing the workforce by 18%, re-negotiating employee benefits, and cutting operating expenses by more than $10 million, the city was facing an $8 million deficit in 2011. The tax measure and upturn in the economy have filled that gap, and allowed the city to continue to thrive without drastic cutbacks in services. The sales tax is expected to generate $7.8 million into our General Fund this year.

Prudent planning, spending cuts, and the city's reserve helped us get through the worst of the Great Recession. The sales tax, improved economy, and smart investments in the community we love will help us thrive for years to come.

Meghan Sahli-Wells

Culver City Mayor