The biggest financial decision the City Council makes each year is the adoption of the city’s $75 million budget, which was unanimously approved Tuesday night after a final public hearing on the matter at which not a single member of the public spoke.
“We had more people show up to discuss Park and Rec fees than we did in five budget meetings,” said Councilperson Richard Montgomery.
This wasn’t an unusual occurrence, but this was a particularly pedestrian budget. Some of its biggest line items included radio interoperability equipment for the police, fire, and public works departments ($1.2 million) and three large software systems replacing decades-old systems for city planning, permitting, and digital storage and backup (a combined $1.4 million). The largest capital improvements included a resurfacing of The Strand to make it less slippery ($200,000) and about $1 million in resurfacing key city corridors, including Rosecrans and Marine avenues, as well as the streets Liberty Village.
“East side residents are happy to finally see things being touched up,” Montgomery said.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the newly adopted budget was that it added six new positions but realizes a savings of $200,000 in staffing by eliminating two management positions — the assistant city manager and economic vitality manager. The new positions are what City Manager Bruce Moe described as “boots on the ground” and Montgomery, a critic of the former management positions, called “actual needs.” Those positions are mainly clerks and analysts as well as the restoration of two positions lost during the Great Recession, a building inspector and an in-house electrician, who is projected to save money.
“We didn’t go back a half million in salaries and benefits,” Montgomery said. “It’s a much more balanced and conservative budget.”
Another large line item was a $1 million outlay to the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, earmarked to improve safety on its campuses in the wake of mass school shootings that have occurred throughout the country. The budget also funds a few studies, including a climate action plan ($150,000) and a review of the city’s short-term rental ban’s effectiveness ($80,000).
This was the first budget in more than two decades that Moe, the city’s former finance director, did not directly oversee. Acting finance director Steve Charelian oversaw the budget, with help from 45-year veteran Henry Mitzner and the rest of the staff.
“They had to do it without their fearless leader, so to speak,” said Mayor Amy Howorth.
“Thanks to finance staff, who took the ball and ran with it while I was down the hall,” Moe said.
“You are so good at finance,” Councilperson Steve Napolitano told Moe, “we demoted you to city manager.”
