Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMRR) on Monday proposed hiking taxes on select businesses to help the city recover from the steepest and swiftest economic downturn in its 145-year history.

Representatives of Santa Monica's crippled business sector, which already faces a daunting path to recovery, called the proposal "mystifying" and "unreal."

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2020/May-2020/05_07_2020_SMRR_Proposes_Business_Tax_Hikes.html

On April 30, 2020, the City of Santa Monica issued a revised supplemental emergency order that extends the City’s eviction moratorium to June 30, 2020.  The supplemental order also extends from six to twelve months the time for tenants to pay rent they were unable to pay because of financial impacts related to COVID-19.

Read More: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2020/04/30/santa-monica-extends-its-temporary-eviction-moratorium-to-june-30-2020

The Tuesday City Council meeting was what we in the business call a doozy, but after watching eight hours worth of debate a few highlights and low-lights are readily apparent.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/thumbs-up-down-for-councils-budget-deliberations/190573

Tenants will soon have the right to sue landlords who violate restrictions that Los Angeles has placed on evicting renters during the coronavirus crisis, under a law passed Wednesday by the City Council.

Read More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/new-law-allows-tenants-to-sue-landlords-over-violating-l-a-restrictions-on-evictions/ar-BB13HHVX?ocid=hplocalnews

Over 400 city employees set to lose jobs, $203.2 million in budget cuts approved

At an over seven-hour meeting Tuesday, City Council authorized the abolition of 337 permanent positions and 144 part-time positions while approving $203.2 million in budget cuts.

The plan approved Tuesday frees up $117 million in one-time funds while slashing $86.2 million in ongoing expenses via cuts to city services, programing and staffing.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2020/05/santa-monica-city-council-approves-sweeping-cuts-layoffs/

AND: https://www.smdp.com/santa-monica-budget-cuts/190547

The Revised City Budget NOW includes $1 Million for a new Task Force to speed economic recovery in Santa Monica.  $1 million to a committee that has had no public process or public vetting.

The Santa Monica Transparency Project was formed in 2010 to assure openness and accountability in city government.  We are concerned about the pro-developer bias on this committee as announced.  It’s important for the public to understand who the city has invited to serve as task force members and whether reasonable growth members will also be included.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/task-force-transparency/190539

Santa Monica is in the midst of an economic crisis and despite the headlines surrounding budget cuts, we don’t think the magnitude of the problem has fully permeated the public consciousness yet.

While we are going to lose a lot, there are services that will remain and some concepts should be put at the top of the list.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/what-to-keep-in-a-world-of-cuts/190457

The City of Monica has enough money available in its Housing Trust Fund to avert many of the budget cuts the City Council is expected to make Tuesday.

But it would have to sacrifice one of its top funding priorities -- the creation of affordable housing -- to help bridge the massive budget gap caused by the coronavirus shutdown.

Under a proposal hammered out by staff over the past two weeks, only $5.6 million of the nearly $58 million available in the Housing Fund would be used to help fill a $150 million budget gap by next July.

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2020/May-2020/05_05_2020_Housing_Fund_Mostly_Off_Limits_to_Budget_Cuts.html

By Mary Marlow

The Revised City Budget NOW includes $1 million for a new Task Force to speed economic recovery in Santa Monica. $1 million to a committee that has had no public process or public vetting.

The Santa Monica Transparency Project was formed in 2010 to assure openness and accountability in City government. We are concerned about the pro-developer bias on this committee as announced.

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-2020/05_05_2020_The_1_Million_Dollar_Question.html

As Californians shelter at home, eagerly awaiting the eventual reopening of myriad businesses and hoping for the quick rehire of millions of the virally unemployed, at least they can be thankful state legislators had the good sense early this year to bury a proposed law called SB 50.

That was the effort by San Francisco’s Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener to make most of this state as densely populated as the Castro District he has long called home, filled with aged wooden walk-up apartment buildings.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2020/05/virus-proving-how-disastrous-sb-50-could-have-been/