The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 107, No. 26 - June 28, 2018
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................14
Classifieds............................4
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................6
Legals............................ 12,13
Letters...................................3
Pets......................................16
Police Briefs........................3
Real Estate.....................7-11
ES Art Walk Takes Flight Again
Here is Blake Warren (the string he is holding leads to a balloon) at last week’s El Segundo Art Walk – the first of three events planned this summer on the third Thursdays of June, July and August in the
Downtown and Smoky Hollow areas. Maps with the names and locations of the various participating venues were available at the central headquarters in the Fire Station 1 parking lot that also hosted live
music, a beer garden and food trucks. Photo by Tara Warren.
Sports.............................. 5,15 New Mayor Ready to Tackle the
Weekend
Forecast
Challenges Ahead for El Segundo
By Brian Simon
LA County that doesn’t pass through the cost
Perhaps more than ever in today’s rapidly
of trash collection services to their residents-
evolving world, change is inevitable…and
-only multi-family housing units pay for this
El Segundo is not immune from it all. City
and it’s often indirectly,” he said. “This will
leaders continue to look for ways to preserve
soon amount to over $800,000 annually. As
historical small town sensibilities in the face of
a city, we tend to expect a lot for free or for
new economic realities, major shifts in business
next to nothing just because ‘it’s always been
models, technological challenges and quality
that way.’ In some situations, residents expect
of life issues that didn’t exist a decade ago.
fees to be fully paid for or highly subsidized
The realization that this is no longer “your
even when those benefit only a small part of
grandfather’s El Segundo” (and probably not
the community. And yet, they do not recognize
even your older sibling’s El Segundo either)
has especially hit home for the community’s
new mayor, Drew Boyles.
Nearly two months into the role after being
selected by his colleagues on May 1, Boyles
noted that the most pressing challenge moving
forward is finding balance across the board.
“It means ensuring we are first and foremost
a safe place to live and work while managing
public safety expenses and a looming pension
liability—and knowing we have to make this
work with a limited budget being a small
city,” he said. “In case citizens don’t already
know this, pension costs and debt payments
exclusive of salaries, wages and benefits will
represent roughly 25 percent of our town’s
overall general fund budget within five years.”
Boyles identified another major challenge
as shifting residents’ perspectives on fees and
services. As previous city councils looked for
various ways to raise revenues, items such as
charging homeowners for trash collection would
come up as options only to get the inevitable
axe. “We are the only city out of 87 others in
how greatly times and budgets have changed
since these expectations were established long
ago when life and circumstances in El Segundo
were so very different.”
The prospect of major change has not gone
over well in El Segundo in the past and one
of the latest “testers” to that effect was the
reaction to the recent aquatics facilities fees
that the City Council adopted earlier this
month. Boyles sees communication as abso-
See New Mayor, page 13
Friday
Partly
Cloudy
71˚/63˚
Saturday
Partly
Cloudy
70˚/62˚
Sunday
Partly
Cloudy
70˚/63˚
El Segundo School Board Updated
on Bond Numbers, Site Safety
By Brian Simon
On July 10, the El Segundo School
Board will decide whether or not to place
a bond measure on the November ballot.
As opposed to the usual simple majority
requirement of 3-2, this action will require
approval from at least two-thirds of the
Board (4-1 or 5-0 with all members present)
in order to move forward. This past
Tuesday night, the group (with Nancy Cobb
absent) heard a lengthy presentation from
consultants detailing the financials of the
bond ask, the ballot question and project list.
In contrast to previous El Segundo Unified
School District bonds that were site-specific,
this one addresses needs at all campuses.
If placed on the ballot, a minimum of 55
percent (plus one) of the votes cast must
be in favor for the measure to pass.
Tim Carty, financial advisor from Piper
Jaffray, outlined the proposed numbers:
a $92 million bond program with the
monies issued in four increments starting
in the spring of 2019 ($26 million) with
subsequent allocations in the fall portions
of 2022 ($20 million), 2025 ($26 million)
and 2028 ($20 million). Of staggering the
funds, Carty explained that the District
must spend the amounts within three years.
He also spoke of a 30-year repayment
period for each of the above issuances.
Prop. 39 puts a tax rate cap of $60
per $100,000 of assessed valuation for
See School Board, page 14