Page 10 February 20, 2020 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Election 2020
Candidate Q & A from front page
prepare, we have been tightening our financial
controls during the last two years and
putting aside more in reserves. El Segundo
voters approved Measure C, which will help
keep funds local if county voters increase
the sales tax to 10.25%. My focus over the
last four years has always been the same:
no net headcount growth; decision-making
based on financial ROI; and continuing to
differentiate and grow our city’s commercial
base, which comprises over 98% of our city’s
annual general fund revenue.
Lance Giroux: I do not believe that the
City has a spending or revenue generation
problem. What I see is that El Segundo’s --
and virtually every other city in California’s
-- main issue is its unfunded pension liability.
Our city council and city management have
done a great job of putting our city in a
strong financial position, especially in the
past two-plus years. They have focused on
balancing budgets, creating strong reserves
and revenue creation (TOT Tax, and the as
of yet not taken sales tax), and supporting
our booming business community (Top Golf
amongst others). On the whole, I feel that city
leaders laid a strong financial foundation and
poised El Segundo for even bigger growth
in the future. Nevertheless, we still need to
meet our pension obligations by continuing
to take aggressive stances to pay down the
debt. Pre-paying the debt obligation has saved
the City $11 million to date -- we should
continue on this path! Additionally, we must
continue to generate business revenue and
attract new business opportunities to El Segundo.
Nearly all (98-percent) of the City’s
revenue comes from business taxes. We must
continue to nurture this business climate by
streamlining the process for development and
approvals. El Segundo is in a unique position
where businesses are actively seeking it out
as a destination. We must continue to take
advantage of the opportunities presented to
us to grow our city steadily and responsibly.
Carol Pirsztuk: It is vital that the city
has an annual balanced budget. Due to previously
negotiated benefits and changes to
the CALPERS calculations, El Segundo does
have future unfunded debt. To address this
looming liability, the Council has approved
the following. 1) A net zero-sum hiring policy,
which means that any new position needs to
be funded by the elimination of an existing
position. 2) Implementation of technology to
streamline operations and, at the same time,
increase customer service. 3) Use surplus
funds to pay down the debt, which in turn
saves the city on interest payments.
This practice has saved the city approximately
$12,000,000 over the last three years.
As a Council member, I will continue to work
with the city manager and staff to look for
enhanced revenue opportunities and manage
expenses. My goal is to ensure that we
continue to have a balanced budget and a
healthy city for future generations to inherit.
2. Would you support an increase
in business taxes or fees to raise more
revenue for El Segundo?
Drew Boyles: I would like to see us first
focus on developing a performance-based
culture while using technology and other
enablers of efficiency to reduce expenses.
We are studying our business license and
other fees as one of our strategic priorities
this year. If we determine that our City is
significantly under market in some of these
areas, I’d possibly consider raising some fees.
I am the only Councilmember that owns and
operates several businesses inside and outside
of California. I have firsthand knowledge of
how comparably challenging California is
from an operational, compliance, regulatory
and expense standpoint. With this perspective
in mind, I will strive to make it easier,
not harder, to do business in El Segundo.
This is paramount to our success as a city,
with over 98% of our city’s general fund
revenue coming from commercial activity,
both directly and indirectly
Lance Giroux: No, absolutely not. I am
against taxing our way to prosperity. To
further tax businesses is essentially “biting
the hand that feeds you.” Business taxes
already account for 98-percent of the City’s
revenues. Increasing these taxes would be a
short-term solution with long-term implications.
Our plan should be to stay on the
path of accelerating business growth and
opportunity. We must continue to focus on
bringing more businesses not penalizing
the companies already here. I believe that
a steady, solid and responsible growth will
ensure the prosperity of El Segundo long
into the future.
Carol Pirsztuk: The city has not done a
complete assessment of its business license
fees in many years. For example, we still
have a fee to run a circus on our books.
One of the primary reasons an assessment
has not been completed is hat any changes
to the code will have to go to the voters.
However, the current Council agrees that it
is long overdue and has requested that an
assessment be commissioned so that we can
determine if we are competitive and if there
are any opportunities to enhance revenues.
Given that 90+ % of our city’s revenues are
generated from business fees, even a small
adjustment to ensure the business license code
includes new business forms (gig economy,
and dot.coms), it is likely that there are new
revenue opportunities. •
Crisp tortilla chips are layered with ground beef, cheese, tomatoes, olives and onion, then baked until piping hot to make this fun and flavorful appetizer in just 30 minutes!
Ingredients Directions
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 jar (16 ounces) Pace® Picante
Sauce
• 1 package (about 11 ounces) tortilla
chips
• 2 cups shredded Mexican blend
cheese or shredded Cheddar Jack
Send us a photo and recipe of your favorite dish. We’d love to share it with the
community. Send to: web@heraldpublications.com
Festive Taco Nachos
Provided by Brandpoint
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes • Servings: 8
• Step 1: Step 1 Set the oven to 350°F.
• Step 2: Cook the beef in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until well browned,
stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat.
• Step 3: Stir the picante sauce in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low
and cook for 5 minutes or until the beef is cooked through.
• Step 4: Arrange the tortilla chips on a rimmed baking sheet. Top with the beef mixture
and cheese.
• Step 5: Bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Top with the tomato, olives
and green onion.
cheese (about 8 ounces)
• 1 small tomato, chopped (optional)
• 2 tablespoons sliced pitted black
olives (optional)
• 2 tablespoons sliced green onion
(optional)