The City of Santa Monica is preparing to establish new water rates for the next five years and officials will be soliciting public input into new rates as early as this month.

2019 is the last of the current five-year rate structure approved by Council in 2015 and Council adopted a 9 percent increase this year.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/council-to-adopt-new-water-rates-later-this-year/175774

While every budget cycle represents an important opportunity to preserve our City fiscal sustainability, the next three biennial budgets represent an important inflection point for Santa Monica’s future.

Read More: https://www.santamonica.gov/blog/santa-monica-s-proposed-fy-2019-21-biennial-budget

Two weeks ago SMa.r.t. (Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow) wrote about the dangers of SB50, a complicated State bill whose purpose was to create Wall Street profits for mega-developers but whose real consequence was to destroy local control of our City all sugar coated, of course, under the guise of creating more affordable housing.

Fortunately, the bill is now bottled up in committee, so for another year, unless there is a miraculous resurrection, the City is safe. Our State Senator, Ben Allen, seems thankfully against this bill but our Assemblyman’s position is unclear and our Chamber of Commerce is still misguidedly agitating to revive it.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2019/05/sb50-dead-or-dormant/

Serious crime in Santa Monica dropped by 3.2 percent during the first quarter of this year, and it has continued dropping in April and May, according to data provided by the Santa Monica Police Department.

The drop reflects an overall trend that saw crime in the neighboring City of Los Angeles drop by 8 percent during the first quarter of 2019, with eight of the ten Westside neighborhoods registering a decrease, according to an analysis of crime data by CrosstownLA..

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2019/May-2019/05_22_2019_Santa_Monica_Crime_Continues_Dropping_Mirroring_LA_Trend.html

In a few weeks, Los Angeles is expected to report an increase in homelessness — the latest in a string of similarly dire reports from cities and counties across California.

The pressure is on to find ways to get more people indoors quickly and to prevent others from becoming homeless in the first place. To that end, Gov. Gavin Newsom this week announced the leaders of a new statewide homelessness task force.

Read More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/even-if-california-spends-millions-more-on-homelessness-heres-why-few-will-notice/ar-AABQSl5

Angelenos living in rent-controlled apartments may see monthly rent payments climb slightly higher than expected in the coming months.

In the city of Los Angeles, price hikes for most apartments built before 1978 are regulated by the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, and for the last decade have been capped at 3 percent annually. But in the 12-month period starting in July, landlords will be permitted to raise rents up to 4 percent.

Read More: https://la.curbed.com/2019/3/12/18260567/los-angeles-rent-control-increase

Serious crime in Santa Monica dropped by 3.2 percent during the first quarter of this year, and it has continued dropping in April and May, according to data provided by the Santa Monica Police Department.

The drop reflects an overall trend that saw crime in the neighboring City of Los Angeles drop by 8 percent during the first quarter of 2019, with eight of the ten Westside neighborhoods registering a decrease, according to an analysis of crime data by CrosstownLA..

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2019/May-2019/05_22_2019_Santa_Monica_Crime_Continues_Dropping_Mirroring_LA_Trend.html

The City of Santa Monica has 31 openings on one of 14 boards and Commissions.

According to City Hall, there are annual appointments available for the Airport Commission (2), Architectural Review Board (1), Arts Commission (3), Audit Subcommittee (1), Commission for the Senior Community (2), Commission on the Status of Women (2), Disabilities Commission (2), Housing Commission (2), Personnel Board (1), Planning Commission (3), Recreation and Parks Commission (1), Santa Monica Library Board (1), Social Services Commission (3) and the Urban Forest Task Force (7).

Read More: https://www.actiontakesaction.com/admin/website/system-pages/?pageId=1837908

The report shows a shortfall of nearly 759,000 units affordable to low-income renters in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties as of 2017, according to the California Housing Partnership, a state-created nonprofit dedicated to promoting affordable housing.

Read More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/southern-california-lacks-759000-affordable-homes-report-says/ar-AABGQoa

Gov. Gavin Newsom came to Oakland on Tuesday to announce the creation of a task force to help address California's homelessness crisis.

The Homeless and Supportive Housing Advisory Task Force, co-chaired by Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, will meet at various locations around the state to learn best practices and get input from local governments and

community members.

Read More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/california-creates-homelessness-task-force/ar-AABH4eb