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Los Angeles County, CA April 10, 2012 Election
Smart Voter

Financial Security & Stability for Culver City

By Jim B. Clarke

Candidate for Member, City Council; City of Culver City

This information is provided by the candidate
Jim will use a common-sense approach to stabilizing Culver City's budget without making drastic cuts.
Even before the dissolution of the redevelopment agency, the Culver City had a significant structural (long-term) deficit which the Council and staff were working to reduce, partly through the use of reserve funds. Now the City has an added financial burden with the loss of about $4 - $6 million per year of redevelopment funds. The school district faces cuts of $1.7 million from the loss of redevelopment funds.

Job #1 for our Council should be to find ways to maintain financial security and stability without making drastic cuts in City services and workforce. To this end, I believe my experience and my contacts will be invaluable.

We need to do five things well:

  • Review all our existing contracts and service agreements to ensure we are receiving all use revenues and, where necessary, renegotiate contracts and agreements to ensure the City is getting the best possible financial deal.
  • Proactively seek more federal, state, foundation and non-profit grant funding opportunities.
  • Pursue partnerships with other government agencies, businesses, academic institutions, foundations and non-profit organizations to leverage City dollars to maximize City services. Doing so will require us to develop "win-win" strategies with our partners.
  • Eliminate barriers to attracting new businesses or restricting the growth of our existing businesses. Revenues from Culver City businesses account for more than 65% of our City's budget. Helping businesses to thrive will help the City thrive.
  • Create consensus on finding workable alternatives to simply cutting services and laying off employees. This should be our last, not first, resort.

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