At the City Council meeting on the evening of Monday, February 24, Action Item 1 (A1) called for the appointment of a “planning commissioner to fill vacant seat #4 for an unexpired full term through June 30, 2028.”
“On October 1, 2024, Jackson Brissette resigned from the Planning Commission because he moved out of Culver City,” a staff note reads. “He had served on the Planning Commission for 4 months. The available Seat No.4 is for an unexpired term through June 30, 2028. Pursuant to Culver City Municipal Code Section 3.03.015.A, because the unexpired term is longer than two years it shall be considered a full term with regard to term limits. The Planning Commission is both an advisory body to the City Council, as well as a final decision-making body on certain development projects/actions.”
There were three candidates: Andrew Flores, Edward Sim, and Alexander Van Gaalen. A fourth candidate, Dennis Park, withdrew from contention. All three were viable candidates, though the five members of the council all felt that Van Gaalen was the outstanding candidate and his appointment was unanimous.
A lengthy Item A2 called for, “Presentation on the Unaudited Fiscal Year-End 2023-2024 Report and the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Mid-Year Budget Monitoring Report,” as well as receipt and filing.
A presentation saw staff explain that General Fund revenue stands at $178,375,678, while General Fund expenditure is at $180,385,103. That’s a shortfall of $2,009,425. For 2024/25, the beginning fund balance is $151,381,193. Estimated revenues are $167,783,042, while estimated use of pension trust funds is $1,400,000. Estimated expenditures are a staggering $204,518,884. That’s an estimated shortfall of $35,335,842 and an estimated ending fund balance of $116,045,351. The dwindling general fund was clearly cause for concern at the meeting.
A third Action Item, “Consideration of a Request from Community Corporation of Santa Monica (CCSM) for a $16 Million Residual Receipts Loan for the Jubilo Village Affordable Housing Project,” was pushed to a future meeting while more information was obtained.