The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 105, No. 51 - December 8, 2016 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.....................16 Classifieds............................4 Community Briefs...............3 Crossword/Sudoku.............4 Entertainment......................7 Legals............................ 14,15 Pets......................................17 Police Reports.......... 2,14,16 Real Estate...................10-13 Sports.................................5,8 Weekend Forecast El Segundo Kicks Off the Holidays on Main Street On Thursday, December 1, large crowds packed El Segundo’s City Hall Plaza area to attend the Holiday Craft Boutique & Farmers Market, while youngsters received gifts from Mattel, went on train rides and enjoyed the Candy Cane Kid Zone--which included activities such as face painting, arts and crafts and games. At Santa’s Village, kids had the chance to visit with St. Nick. Live music and dance were also part of the afternoon festivities, which culminated with the annual Tree Lighting ceremony. Audra & Liam Potter posing for a photo with Santa. Photo by Marcy Dugan See more photos on pages 18 and19. • Friday AM Clouds/ PM Sun 65˚/56˚ Saturday Cloudy 64˚/54˚ Sunday AM Clouds/ PM Sun 66˚/52˚ City Council Approves Hiring an Information Services Director By Brian Simon During its Tuesday night meeting, the El Segundo City Council (with Don Brann absent) authorized the City Manager to recruit and hire an Information Systems (IS) Director. Before January 2011, an IS Manager supervised the division and reported directly to the then-Assistant City Manager. Both of those individuals retired at the end of 2010. Due to financial constraints, the City eliminated the Assistant City Manager position and relocated IS to the Police Department where a Captain oversees those duties. In September 2015, consulting firm Nex- Level completed an Information Systems Strategic Plan and recommended removing IS from the Police Department and having the division report to a dedicated director. During budget discussions for 2016/17, the Council members opted to “park” monies to fund the position in case they decided to move forward after further discussion. Last month, the City’s Technology Committee considered the structure of the IS Division and agreed with the consultant recommendation to hire a dedicated director, citing a number of benefits including the need to upgrade and integrate systems for efficiency and improved customer service; and the fact that the complexity and number of current and future technology challenges and decisions have outgrown current staffing. While praising the Police Department for its great work, City Manager Greg Carpenter pointed out there are 15 major projects reliant on IS in the coming year. “Now is the time for us to address IS and where it belongs in the organization,” he said, adding that the new position entails creating a ninth City department “led by an experienced executive professional.” Estimated timeline for the new hire is in 90-120 days. Annual budget for the position is $226,000—though only half of that will be allocated for 2016/17. Despite the aforementioned approval, the Council opted to hold off on a consent agenda request to also bring on an IS System Specialist ($128,000). Mayor Pro Tem Drew Boyles thought the timing isn’t right, opining that the City should wait for the new IS Director (as well as the Technology Committee) to weigh in on any hires. Police Chief Mitch Tavera argued in favor of the System Specialist, stating that current staffing isn’t sufficient to effectively manage projects and that the department won’t be able to proceed with planned automated license readers. Mayor Suzanne Fuentes made a motion in favor of the move “out of respect” for Tavera See City Council, page 16 Special School Board Meeting Features Bond Measure Presentation By Duane Plank in last month’s election. The numbers The December 5 special meeting of the bode well for California school districts of the El Segundo School Board featured contemplating bond measures two years a presentation that set the groundwork for down the road. According to Carty’s notes, a possible exploration of a bond measure 172 school districts placed general bond that could be on the ballot as early as June measures on ballots and 154 were passed 2018. The one-hour presentation was made by the voters. by Tim Carty, Managing Partner with Carty pointed out the “overwhelmingly Piper Jaffray, a leading investment bank positive support” of the November election and management firm and El Segundo results to support local bond issues to Unified School District partner that works schools. The standard threshold to pass a as a financial advisor to school districts. school bond, barring special circumstances, Carty also made a presentation at the is 55 percent. The last bond issue to pass October 25 Board meeting, detailing in El Segundo garnered more than 66 three District bond measures passed by percent back in 2008. the voters since 1997. Prior to the meeting, District Superintendent Carty started with a quick summary of the California general bond measure results Dr. Melissa Moore emailed about See School Board, page 8
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