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 - July 31, 2014 Community Advocates Protest Banco Popular Buyout Earlier this week, prominent local leaders held a press conference urging bank regulators to postpone the sale of 20 LA and Orange County-based Banco Popular branches to Banc of California. The branches serve a largely Latino, Asian and immigrant customer base in Southern California, and advocates are concerned about the impact on these customers. Banc of California intends to eliminate three checking account features at Banco Popular, including cash incentives for opening new accounts, interest rate bonuses on savings when customers maintain their checking accounts, and a debit card reward program. Community advocates criticized the proposed cuts, saying that these features help people to open and maintain checking accounts, which can be the first step in building a financial history. The California Reinvestment Coalition, an umbrella coalition of over 300 organizations throughout California, is urging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to postpone or deny Banc of California’s application until the Banc is more transparent with the community. Photo credit: Lia Molina. Inside This Issue Calendar...............................3 Classifieds............................3 Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................2 Finance..................................5 Food.......................................8 Legals................................ 6-7 Pets........................................4 Police Reports.....................3 Sports....................................5 Weekend Forecast Friday Partly Cloudy 81˚/68˚ Saturday Partly Cloudy 80˚/68˚ Sunday Mostly Sunny 81˚/67˚ South Bay City Enters Animal Control and Care Agreement with Los Angeles County By Cristian Vasquez Members of the Inglewood City Council unanimously approved a five-year agreement with the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Control and Care through which the City of Inglewood will receive animal care and control functions at the rate of $319,873 from the general fund. The agreement will be in effect until June 30, 2019; however, the City of Inglewood has been contracting with L.A. County for said services for 30 years. All localities are required to provide animal care and control services, either by fulfilling those responsibilities with their own facilities or by entering a contract with the County. In February of 2014 the city council agreed to an amendment with the county in which a Service Level Request was submitted; the SLR must be attached to the agreement between the county and the city and it indicates the scope of the services that the city is preferring for the county to perform. At the moment the city receives what are considered standard services from the county where duties such as answering calls for service 24-hours-a-day, dispatching and assigning field staff and kennel services for animals picked up within city limits. The monthly average rate for the county’s services is $25,183. Staff will use the new five-year agreement as a basis for the city’s animal control budget. City staff was informed by the County that Inglewood has a registered animal population of approximately 1,500, which the county indicates accounts for 1 percent of the city’s population. To obtain an accurate count of the animal population would require the city to be canvassed. With the city entire city canvassed it is expected for county services costs will be offset by the revenue that will be obtained from penalty fees for unregistered animals in addition to licensing fees and future license renewals. City Approves Contract for Professional Transient Occupancy Tax An agreement between the City of Inglewood and Mayer Hoffman McCann, P.C. has led to a contract being awarded to the lowest bidder for professional transient tax review services. The contract is in the amount of $94,000 and will be paid through the city’s general fund. Inglewood’s municipal code states that for “occupancy in any hotel” it is necessary for each guest or “transient” to be subject to pay a tax rate of 14 percent of the fee being charged by the operator in order to stay at the location. The city examines businesses that collect TOT taxes via an audit. For the city, the TOT tax generated $3.1 million last year that were budgeted into the 2013/2014 general fund. The city received three proposals in order to provide transient occupancy tax review services for the 47 hotels and motels that operate in Inglewood. The proposals were evaluated based on overall qualifications and technical background of the firm, experience and qualifications of project managers and key staff, experience with government agencies, verification of references and cost. Mayer Hoffman McCann will look at these businesses and their operations during the past 36 months. The firm will prepare reports that will document the findings with regards to the field review, which will determine any tax, interest or penalties due. In addition, MHM will assist the city in resolving any outstanding issues that may be discovered during field reviews. • “All localities are required to provide animal care and control services, either by fulfilling those responsibilities with their own facilities or by entering a contract with the County.”
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