In its council meeting Monday, Culver City revealed fiscal revenues and expenditures well within budget over the first quarter of the 20/21 fiscal year. The total expenditures sit at $37.2 million, which was 30% of the budget, while revenues were at $11.7 million, or 11% of the budget.
Sales tax revenue is one of the biggest for the city, but saw an 8% decrease. While a drop off was expected, Culver City’s loss was greater than the 5% in the whole of LA County. This was somewhat offset by the business tax and cannabis tax revenue up higher than expected.
The utility users tax, which is a usage tax of 4.5% on communication, electric and gas charges, garnered $2.2 million in revenue. This continues the trend of steady decline that the revenue from the tax has been subject to over the past several years.
Transient occupancy tax, which places a 12% tax on rent charged to those staying in hotels, motels, AirBnB, and other short term rentals, saw a dramatic dropoff due to COVID-19. The 20/21 figure was down to $655,000 from $2,431,000 the previous year.
The real property transfer tax revenue currently sits at $713,000, $373,000 higher than last year. This figure comes in even without the implementation of Measure RE, which goes into effect April 1. Actual property tax numbers are low, but the first payment of the fiscal year came in Dec., so that revenue will be accounted for in the mid-year report.
The Community/Industrial development tax is down 90% to $110,000, which was expected as development came to a grinding halt during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Due to a variety of factors that includes alleviation of certain parking restrictions, fines and forfeitures revenue was just $269,000, which is a 60% from the prior year.
Charge for services was also down by $1.6 million to just $810,000. This comes mainly due to cancellation of rec classes and building/safety permits.