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City Council Approves Implementation of Employee Compensation Study Recommendations

05/11/2018 10:56 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

At its meeting last night, May 8, 2018, the Santa Monica City Council endorsed recommendations in an employee compensation study prepared by private auditing firm Moss Adams. The study came to Council after extensive review by the Audit Subcommittee. Council approved a motion asking staff to explore additional opportunities to tackle pension liability. Council also directed staff to proceed with an implementation plan to prioritize and meet the objectives of each recommendation. Staff will return to Council in six months and every six months after until the implementation actions are completed.

AND: Santa Monica moves to control staffing costs

at: http://smdp.com/santa-monica-moves-to-control-staffing-costs/166085

After 'Frank' Exchange of Views, Santa Monica Citizen Committee Is Bid Farewell

05/10/2018 4:06 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

May 10, 2018 -- A first-ever ad hoc citizens committee that looked into costly pay and pensions at Santa Monica City Hall was bid farewell Tuesday, with the calls for action by some of its members rejected.

Some on the five-member residents panel had called for immediate wage and/or hiring freezes to pay a looming $461 million bill for unfunded pensions as the City Council accepted the findings and recommendations of an outside audit.

Santa Monica Lawmakers' Bills Clear Committee Hurdles

05/09/2018 7:08 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

May 9, 2018 -- Two State bills by Santa Monica lawmakers that are geared to boost or protect affordable housing passed key committees Tuesday.

Sen. Ben Allen’s bill -- SB 961 -- which was approved on a 13-0 vote in the state Senate Transportation and Housing Committee would create special taxing districts near public transit to fund affordable housing, transportation initiatives and green spaces.

Also on Tuesday, Assemblymember Richard Bloom’s bill (AB 2384) -- which would make it harder for landlords to skirt protections for renters under the 1985 Ellis Act -- passed out of its second Assembly Committee on a 7-3 vote.

Rent Control tenants will see 2.9 percent increase in September

05/09/2018 8:18 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Landlords may raise the rent in controlled units 2.9 percent Sept. 1st, according to a city report on the annual general adjustment allowed under the City Charter. Elected leaders will consider whether to place a dollar cap to limit the increase for tenants paying some of the highest rents in the city at a June 14 public hearing.

How Stupid Do You Think We Are?

05/09/2018 8:16 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

by Charles Andrews

FASTER, WITHOUT MORE SIX-FIGURE HIRES

To say now it is a priority to pull back on that is like adding “a safe city” to the list of five priorities the City Council came up with
three years ago. Which is what they did, that day. It should have been number one in 2015, an obvious given ,not left off the list.

Neighborhood Organization and Union-Watcher Join in Verbal Attack of High Pay

05/08/2018 1:58 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

May 8, 2018 -- A key neighborhood organization and a new ally, a group fighting the influential hotel-workers union, is pushing back against the City of Santa Monica after an outside audit of City finances.

The audit found City workers were among the highest paid in Southern California, but not necessarily the most productive ("Outside Audit of Employee Pay at Santa Monica City Hall Heads to Council," May 7, 2018).

"We are paying far more than residents of other cities for our local government," wrote Tricia Crane, who sent the report as an alert to all members of the Northeast Neighbors Association Tuesday morning.

SANTA MONICA RENT CONTROL BOARD NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

05/07/2018 8:45 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

SANTA MONICA RENT CONTROL BOARD NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Thursday, May 10, 2018
A public hearing on the following topic will be conducted at the regular Santa Monica Rent Control Board meeting on Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber, 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401:

1) Consideration of amendments to Regulation 3120, respecting limitations on surcharges that may be added to controlled rents.

Read Notice on page 3: http://backissues.smdp.com/050518.pdf

COSTA-HAWKINS Rent-control might just wreck housing markets

05/07/2018 8:43 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Steven Greenhut Columnist

SACRAMENTO» “In many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city — except for bombing,” opined Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck. He’s right on target given that rent control destroys housing markets because it takes away the incentive to build new apartments, reduces the willingness of landlords to upgrade and maintain their properties, and encourages tenants to squat indefinitely in their below-market units.

How the Developer Won

05/07/2018 8:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Three takeaways from Santa Monica’s approval of a block-long building on Lincoln Boulevard

By Tim Tunks

The outcome was never really in doubt. The victors had gained too much momentum before the opponents even took the field, and our goalie/referee was handcuffed during the final April 24 shootout.

Developer CIM Group’s plans to build a four-story apartment, restaurant and retail complex on the east side of Lincoln from Ashland Avenue to Wilson Place survived an appeal by neighbors, winning a unanimous Santa Monica City Council decision. 2903 Lincoln will move forward just as it was approved during a Planning Commission hearing on Jan.10, two years after the developer began working the approval checklists that various agencies and laws require.

Santa Monica pays top officials better than nearby cities

05/07/2018 8:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A recent report on Santa Monica public employee salaries found unelected city leaders are among the best paid in the area. The report from Moss Adams found the city’s senior leadership makes about 15 percent more than the median when compared among peers – an average of $215,000 a year compared to $188,000 per year.

Nearly two years after Santa Monica’s public employee salaries made headlines and irked residents, an independent agency has completed an exhaustive analysis of city compensation packages. The City Council will review the 150-page report from accounting, consulting and wealth management firm Moss Adams at their Tuesday night public meeting.