Hawthorne Press Tribune
Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - October 26, 2017
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This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................5
Classifieds............................3
Film Review..........................3
Finance..................................2
Food.......................................5
Hawthorne Happenings....3
Legals................................ 6-7
Looking Up...........................7
Pets........................................8
Police.....................................4
Sports....................................4
Weekend
Forecast
Rep. Waters Presents New USPS
Alzheimer’s Awareness Stamp
Congresswoman Maxine Waters with famed neurosurgeon Dr. Keith Black and representatives from Alzheimer’s Greater Los Angeles, the Alzheimer’s Association, and ACTS Caregiver Support Group at the
“Brain Health Throughout Life” Community Forum held last week. Photo Provided by Office of Congresswoman Maxine Waters. •
Mayor Pro Tem Awad Addresses Measure
HH, City’s Dubious Financial Situation
By Derrick Deane
In their final meeting before Election Day,
the Hawthorne City Council members voiced
their unanimous support for Measure HH and
addressed the City of Hawthorne’s financial
state in the next few years.
Measure HH would raise the total sales tax
rate in Hawthorne from 9.5 to 10.25 percent.
The tax increase would generate $8.5 million
annually, which City officials have stated would
go towards continued funding for the police and
fire departments--as well as other services--and
also help balance budgets in the near future.
The State of California-mandated tax rate is
7.25 percent while the County of Los Angeles
levies a 2.25 percent sales tax. City officials
said that under the current structure, Hawthorne
sees very little in the form of tax revenue after
State and County shares have been allocated.
“A lot of the taxes you’re paying don’t go
straight to the City of Hawthorne,” Mayor
Pro Tem Hadir Awad said. “The County takes
a bit, the State takes their share…so a local
sales tax increase would balance any impact
more generally, but not solely impacting just
one group be it residents, business owners, et
cetera.” Awad added that sales tax increases are
one of the very limited options cities have for
increasing revenues. On a $100 sale of taxable
goods, the local sales tax would amount to an
additional 75 cents on top of current State and
County taxes.
Without finding new and alternative methods
of income, the City is likely to end up in
financial trouble again by 2021. “We have a
lot of employees that are doing a lot of work
with less staff,” Awad said of how the City
has managed to bounce back over the past two
years from financial collapse. “It is an ongoing
problem, though, and something that we have
to look into with a deeper focus--because if we
don’t take any corrective measures, it’s going
to lead to some irreversible issues.”
Awad said that when California abolished
redevelopment agencies, Hawthorne lost $20
million in investments. Additionally, cutbacks
in CBGB funds lead to a loss of $1.4 million
per year in revenue.
Despite measures that the City Council has
implemented, Awad said that revenue was still
inadequate. He noted that one of the most
frequent comments he gets is since Hawthorne
has so many manufacturing companies and big
corporations, that the City should be flooded
with cash. “Yes, we do have some big-name
corporations in the city, but they do not generate
revenue to the general fund at a substantial level,”
Awad explained. “Even with these companies
which include Tesla, SpaceX, and Costco, they
don’t even generate part of the revenue that El
Segundo is receiving from Chevron.”
On a graph that was shown during his presentation,
Awad pointed out that the amount
that Chevron contributes to El Segundo’s
general fund is almost double what the City of
Hawthorne generates per capita. “The reason I
point that out is because I want the residents to
understand that yes, we do have big companies
and yes, we’re getting more retail shops in--but
we have to look at other ways of enhancing
our revenue stream because they’re just not
generating enough for us to keep a balanced
budget,” he said.
The sales tax increase would also be audited
annually by the Citizens Oversight Committee,
which includes Awad.
The Mayor Pro Tem also gave a presentation
outlining the financial situation over the
next few years. It summarized that despite a
one-time funding spike from the sale of land
across the street from City Hall, the City would
eventually run out of funds by 2020-2021 if
no corrective measures were taken.
“After that one-time sale in 2018-2019, you
see us dip back down to what we normally have-
-which is an increase, but minimal to around
$63 million,” Awad said. “The issue that a lot
of people don’t understand is our expenditures
will continue to increase, and that’s something
that we have to focus on. These expenditures are
out of our control--insurance, L.A. County Fire
Department… there’s certain things that are not
in our ability to control that as costs go up, we
have to find ways to enhance our revenues.”
Awad added that there are no other assets
that the City is looking to sell nor is that a
method the Council is considering to enhance
income. He warned that at the current state if
no corrective action is taken, the City will face
a deficit of $8 million that will require a 30
percent cut in services. “The issue is that this
30 percent cut is going to be to departments
that have already taken a substantial cut when
we first tried to balance the budget a few years
ago when we were facing that $7.2 million
deficit,” Awad said.
Awad also pointed out that at the current
pace, the City will have to begin using
operational funds to stabilize the budget in
2018-2019—and those would be depleted by
2020. “It’s something that we have to take a
look at quickly because we’re almost nearing
2018, so there’s two more years of a healthy
operation fund--but by 2021-2022, it gets close
to around negative $5 million,” he said. “When
a city starts getting that close, you’re looking
at bankruptcy.”
If passed on November 7, the collection of
Measure HH tax would begin on April 1, 2018
and continue until the tax is repealed by the
City Council or by voters. Measure HH was
placed on the ballot with a unanimous vote by
the City Council on June 11, 2017. •
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