Hawthorne Press Tribune The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - January 29, 2015 A View to the Future of Space Travel Our photographer’s view of the SpaceX building on Rocket Road, near Hawthorne Municipal Airport. On January 10, SpaceX launched its fifth successful commercial resupply services mission to NASA’s International Space Station. Photo by Osvin Suazo, oqoimages@gmail.com. Hawthorne City Council – FY’15 Second Quarter Shows “Black” Bottom Line By Nancy Peters The Hawthorne City Council met on Tuesday, January 27 and initially received a report on the second quarter of the current fiscal year and adherence to the budget. For the first time in several years, the financial update delivered by the Director of Finance to the City Council does not indicate a deficit on the bottom line, usually known as being “in the red;” the bottom line is “in the black,” or showing that revenues exceeded expenditures. It was explained that revenues in licenses and permits increased more than one million dollars over the second quarter in fiscal year 2014. Increases were realized in sales tax, Utility User’s Tax, and after an internal audit of all maintenance contracts. Many contracts for equipment no longer in inventory were ended and no payments made in those cases, resulted in savings as well. Accounts Payable are being carefully scrutinized and only are paid after a complete investigation by the Finance Director. The expenditures are at the 49.25 percent of the total budget as of December 31, 2014 and within the next six months the receipt of the bulk of revenues from the county and state, as well as other agencies, will increase revenues even more. The memorandum of understanding for the new contract with the Hawthorne Municipal Employees Association (HMEA) was approved effective July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2016. There were several titles that were moved from Classified to Non-Classified, such as Cable Television Coordinator, CDBG HOME Coordinator, Senior Human Resources Analyst, Senior Planner, and several other categories. A public hearing was held for the Urgency Interim ordinance to establish a moratorium on massage establishments in the city. Following this, a new ordinance was approved, effective immediately after any vote by the City Council, to extend the initial 45-day interim moratorium to an additional 10 months and 15 days, during which no establishments known to provide massages will be given permits or business licenses. The ordinance was approved by unanimous vote of the City Council. The expenditures by each elected official and use of the allocated stipend of $3,000 was reported for the first two quarters for fiscal year 2014-15, indicating that there is a balance in each account. Mayor Pro-Tem Olivia Valentine has designated specific amounts to most listed events and charities, all previously approved to be included as a recipient of any stipend amount. Mayor Chris Brown also has contributed to a few of the events, and each member of the City Council has used a small portion of their stipend up to December 31, 2014. A discussion of the waiver of fees for the Kiwanis Annual Carnival recused Brown, Valentine, and the City Manager from the Council Chambers and the dais for conflict of interest. In lieu of the mayor, Council member Angie Reyes-English presided over the discussion and vote. A vote of 3-0 approved the request for the Hawthorne Kiwanis Club to have all city fees waived for their annual carnival in 2015. The feasibility of the business incubator study was discussed with Council member Nilo Michelin expressing his opinion that no money should be spent on a study of this type, but that an Economic Development Director should be sought and hired. Reyes- English stated that without businesses that are willing to partner with the city in this kind of endeavor and contribute the dollars needed, nothing should be done. Staff time is money and there should not be staff time spent to evaluate this study. A vote was called and the request was vetoed, with only Brown and Valentine casting affirmative votes. However, the City Council agreed by consensus that an Economic Development Director should be hired in the near future. Several public hearings will be held in the evenings to accommodate working residents so that there is public input in the next phase of the Hawthorne Downtown Specific Plan. These public hearings will be announced on the city website. The State of the City address will be sponsored by the Hawthorne Chamber of Commerce on Friday, March 13 at 11:30 a.m. at the Hawthorne Memorial Center. Fifty dollar tickets are available through the Chamber office. Reyes-English tasked the City Manager to provide a way for residents to attend the State of the City without paying for the luncheon and to have seats made available for anyone who wants to attend. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Hawthorne City Council is on Tuesday, February 10, 2015. • Inside This Issue Briefs.....................................2 Classifieds............................3 Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................7 Finance..................................2 Food.......................................8 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Legals............................4, 6-7 Police Reports.....................2 Politically Speaking............4 Sports....................................5 Tech Talk...............................3 Weekend Forecast Friday Mostly Cloudy 67˚/53˚ Saturday Sunny 68˚/52˚ Sunday Sunny 69˚/54˚ CORRECTION The article published in the Hawthorne Tribune on January 22, 2015, entitled “Hawthorne City Council—Financial Audit Is Unmodified “Clean” incorrectly stated that the Hawthorne City Council met on Tuesday, January 20. The Hawthorne City Council met on Tuesday, January 13, 2015. The last paragraph of the article also stated that the next meeting would be on February 13, 2015, but the next meeting was on January 27, 2015. We apologize for these errors. •
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