The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 106, No. 42 - October 19, 2017
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................16
Classifieds............................4
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................7
Legals................................ 15
Obituaries.............................2
Pets......................................17
Police Reports.....................2
Real Estate........ 10-13,18-20
Sports.................................5,6
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Partly
Cloudy
72˚/59˚
Saturday
Sunny
80˚/62˚
Sunday
Sunny
88˚/66˚
West Basin’s 2017 Water Harvest
Festival Reaches New Heights!
This aerial view is of last Saturday’s Water Harvest Festival at West Basin Municipal Water District’s Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility in El Segundo. The fun-filled annual event featured tours, food,
games, stage shows, a kids’ costume contest, reptile petting zoo, and more. See inside for additional photo highlights. Photo Provided by West Basin. •
Council Considers Preemptive
Sales Tax Measure for April Ballot
By Brian Simon
Faced with the prospect of increasing budget
deficits after next year, the El Segundo City
Council on Tuesday night discussed possible
tax measures for the April 2018 ballot in order
to generate additional revenues. The general
consensus was that the members do not want
to raise any taxes, as the group did not wish
to pursue a utility user tax (UUT) hike or
change the rate, structure or sales tax credit
connected to the business license tax (BLT).
However, the Council did direct staff to
take the next steps in placing a general local
sales tax initiative on the ballot—but one
that (if passed by a majority of El Segundo
voters) would only take effect if Los Angeles
County later implements its own sales tax
increase. The current sales tax is 9.50 percent.
Wiseburn School Board Looking
to Select a New Superintendent
By Duane Plank
Barely six weeks into the new school
year, and with the work on the new edifice
on Douglas Street that will house the new
high school continuing to move forward,
the Wiseburn School Board bumped up its
normal Thursday meeting to Tuesday last
week so that all the assembled members
could hear a presentation led by Leadership
Associates. The search firm is tasked
with looking for a new superintendent
for the Wiseburn Unified School District
(WUSD) with Tom Johnstone set to retire
at the end of the school year after more
than 10 years on the job.
The bulk of the nearly two-hour meeting
involved the delineation of the selection
process for the new superintendent as
the construction process winds down
on Douglas Street. The opening launch
celebration for the high school is set for
early December.
Said Johnstone, regarding the new
school launch: “My goal is to provide
the most outstanding education for our
kids, and that is happening.” He noted
he had received a little push-back, but
added, “I don’t care if it is charter, I don’t
care whatever--that is my mission and I
am convinced that it is happening and I
have a clear conscience.”
Johnstone is looking for a quick movein
to the new digs on Douglas Street, but
See Wiseburn, page 14
The potential ballot measure is a 0.75
percent increase to go to 10.25 percent (the
maximum cap allowed). If the City is first
to pass the increase before the County, the
extra monies stay local. If the County beats
the City to the punch, the lion’s share of the
funds stay with the County.
Each 0.25 percent (or, one-quarter of a cent)
increase would yield the City an additional $3
million in annual revenue—which grows to $9
million at 0.75 percent. During his presentation
to the Council on Tuesday, Finance Director
Joseph Lillio spoke of the County’s Measure
M half-cent (0.50 percent) sales tax increase
that went into effect on July 1 of this year.
While all El Segundo residents and businesses
pay the extra amount, the City’s annual share
of the overall bounty is only $251,000. But
had it implemented its own half-cent tax
increase before Measure M happened, El
Segundo would have garnered $6 million a
year. With that in mind, the thought was if
people may ultimately have to pay an additional
tax regardless--and most pundits expect the
County to seek another sales tax hike sooner
than later--why not have those monies go to
the City and help the bottom line here? Hence
the concept of a preemptive measure.
Councilmember Don Brann thought staff
should move quickly on the matter. “If we
wait on this, they’re [the County] gonna get
the drop on this again,” he said. He later
emphasized the importance of a support
group launching a campaign to educate voters
on the item. Mayor Pro Tem Drew Boyles
referred to the potential measure as a “reactive
tax” that only kicks in if the County passes
its own increase.
See City Council, page 15