The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 109, No. 19 - May 7, 2020
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................9
Classifieds............................4
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................5
Legals....................................9
Letters...................................3
Obituaries.............................2
Police Reports.....................3
Real Estate.......................6-8
School Spotlight..................2
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Sunny
77˚/62˚
Saturday
Partly
Cloudy
75˚/61˚
Sunday
Partly
Cloudy
72˚/60˚
ESUSD’s Mandate is to Worry About
the Kids and Their Well-being First
Taken just prior to school closure on March 11th at the State of the City. This photos features District administrators and board members. Top Row, from left to right,: Board Members Nancy Cobb
and Paulette Cauidill, Dylan Farris, Marisa Janicek, Kim Linz and Ali Rabiei. Bottom Row, from left to right: Board Member Tracey Miller-Zarneke, Dr. Melissa Moore, Board Member Emilee Layne,
Danny Gauna. To find out more about Dr. Melissa Moore see School Spotlight on page 2.
Economic Slowdown Upends the
City of El Segundo’s Budget
By Rob McCarthy
El Segundo expects to lose at least $14
million in business taxes and revenues because
of public-safety restrictions that have emptied
Community Counts
Teacher and Staff Appreciation
Reverse Teacher and Staff Car Parade
at Richmond Street School. Students and
families drove past to tell the teachers and
staff how much they are appreciated and
missed. Vice Principal Carie Oulashian is
dressed as Princess Leia to greet students
on May 4th, Star Wars Day. May the 4th
(Force) be with you!
– Rebecca Tompkins (parent at RSS)
“The job of an educator
is to teach students to see
vitality in themselves.”
– Joseph Campbell
the city’s hotels, stores and restaurants.
Finance Director Joseph Lillio detailed the
severe effects of the shutdowns at Tuesday’s
City Council meeting, where he presented
a coronavirus budget-recovery plan. It cuts
spending, freezes hiring and delays City Hall
and some park construction projects.
A major reason for the downturn is local
hotels are empty, according to the finance
department. “Both leisure and business travel
has come to a complete standstill,” Lillio said,
describing the sudden and immobilizing effect
of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry
around the airport. Hotel occupancy before
the coronavirus event was at 90 percent.
Hotel occupancy dropped 44 percent in the
first month of the pandemic and is expected
to hover at 5 percent until the economy is
going again. The city lost $6.1 million in
bed-tax receipts in the first 60 days.
Sales tax receipts fell off by $820,000
and the utility users tax fell by $457,000
in the year’s second quarter. With the regional
economy sliding toward recession,
new business licenses and non-renewals fell
by $200,000 and aren’t expected to recover
because of the poor economic climate for
starting a business. The closure of the city’s
parks and ballfields contributed to a $1.5
million drop in service fees. Those pay for
recreation programs, zoning and planning,
plan checks, energy plan checks, planning
services and emergency transport by city
paramedics. All Recreation and Parks programming
is closed through early June. With
the Police Department issuing few parking
tickets because of the stay-at-home order,
another $200,000 has dried up.
No layoffs are planned, though that’s a
possibility if the coronavirus doesn’t reach
a peak before August when the City Council
goes to work drafting next year’s budget.
Lillio estimated the economic slowdown -
entering its third month - has stripped $9.6
million from El Segundo’s business tax
base. The General Fund, which pays for city
services, salaries and public safety, has been
losing almost $1 million per week since the
coronavirus emergency started. With those
revenues gone, El Segundo officials went
to work Tuesday, adjusting their budget and
preparing themselves for what may come later.
The City Council accepted Lillio’s recommendations
Tuesday for an immediate hiring
freeze. The city won’t fill 33 full-time and
125 part-time positions that are vacant. The
unfilled city positions are expected to trim
$3.1 million in costs. Essential positions can
still be filled; however, the city manager must
approve all hiring during the budget-recovery
process. El Segundo does not plan to tap its
reserves to close the fiscal gap.
Cuts could go even deeper, depending on
the speed of economic recovery. Under the
See City Council, page 11