As Culver City’s Chief Financial Officer Lisa Soghor noted at the Community Budget Information Session in March, “The financial staff is working on the budget all year.” The city must adopt the budget by July 1, 2025.
The public presentations on the city budget have been taking place over the last three months, and very few people have looked in at the process. The decision to seek a 1/4 cent sales tax must be approved by the voters, and the revenue will be crucial to maintaining services.
Like any budget, there are fluctuations. Having a budget is a legal requirement. Knowing that there will be changes is civic wisdom.
From the city, “The General Fund proposed expenditures are $199.3 million with an estimated $177.6 million in General Fund revenue. The proposed budget will draw down the General Fund Reserves by an estimated $21.7 million, leaving an estimated total of $108.8 million at the end of the fiscal year.
If voters approve Measure CL, the .25% sales tax in August, that revenue would buoy reserves to an estimated $65.8 million at the end of 10 years, Soghor said.
Historically, that’s a pretty easy reach. Culver City has approved every sales tax increase and every parcel tax put before voters in the last 15 years. But this is a special election, and the only item being voted on. Turnout will be critical, and there will likely be many reminders to vote.
The challenge is the ‘structural deficit,’ an issue that has come up before the council often since 2010. In the past, blame was placed on heavy responsibilities for pensions. Changes to state law have allowed the city to make shifts that have decreased the pressure. With the Real Estate Transfer Tax – approved by voters in 2020 – the city created another mechanism to bring in revenue, but that is dependent on how much corporate real estate changes hands.
It is very often the case for small cities in California to spend more than 50% on police and fire. It’s why many small cities rely on county services rather than fund their own.
Again, from the city, “With the deficit in mind,” City Manager John Nachbar tasked departments with finding expenditure reductions and potential revenue enhancements. Departments identified $1.5 million in cost reductions and $4.1 million in revenue enhancements. These reductions and enhancements are not enough to offset base budget increases of $11.9 million.”
Altogether, city departments requested to hire for 38 new positions. Nachbar only recommended 11 new positions in two departments – Housing and Human Services and the Fire Department. Within the parameters of the current budget, those positions are almost entirely off-set by reductions in contract services, grants, and salary savings.
With the city dealing with the structural deficit for more than a decade, it’s not a fatal flaw. But it’s a problem that the city would be better off without. It’s a chronic diagnosis, not a terminal one.
The city council will discuss the budget at the June 9, 2025 meeting.
Judith Martin-Straw