Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 68, No. 8 - February 21, 2019
Inside
This Issue
Calendar of Events.............3
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................4
Classifieds............................3
Entertainment......................2
Food.......................................3
Hawthorne Happenings....3
Lawndale..............................4
Legals.................................6,7
Pets........................................5
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Sunny
58˚/45˚
Saturday
Partly
Cloudy
59˚/47˚
Sunday
Partly
Cloudy
59˚/48˚
The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood
Searching for the Missing Donut
Case of the day: Who stole the bear claw? Detective Chatman has been assigned the case, and is already following up on leads. He’ll have this solved before lunch. Photo: Inglewood PD.
Council Gets Good Budget News
By Haleemon Anderson
The City of Inglewood looks to be in
good financial shape, as the City Council
received the first quarterly budget review to
glowing praise and even better numbers at
last week’s meeting. Acting Budget Manager
Keauonna Buckhanon presented a detailed
report on the financial status. “The City’s
fiscal year 2018-19 first quarter report provides
a snapshot and summary of the City’s
financial status, primarily focusing on the
general fund,” said Buckhanon, who went
on to describe increases in property taxes,
sales tax and business permits as the key
economic indicators. She reported property
tax revenues have experienced a 6.2 percent
net taxable value increase, attributable to
an inflationary adjustment due to Proposition
13. “Our increase in the taxable value
compared to last year is highly attributable
to the stadium,” said Buckhanon.
Mayor James T. Butts clarified the increase
in tax revenue is due to the county setting
property values based on the allowable increase
in property valuation. “The value of
the stadium parcel is much greater than it
was last year before the construction, and
the owner is paying greater property taxes,”
he said. He added that this revenue increase
does not have the same effect on residents.
Buckhanon noted that sales tax quarterly
trends increased by 37.5 percent, based on
the momentum of current construction and
that building permit activities and fees have
also increased by 93 percent over the prior
year. Butts pointed out that sales taxes are
up because the City insisted that contracts
for materials under $5 million would have
to be wholesaled in Inglewood. “Ordinarily
we wouldn’t capture these taxes because
we don’t make concrete and steel here,” he
said. “By insisting that they are wholesaled
to Inglewood, we capture those sales taxes
and they stay within the city.”
Buckhanon added, “Business license taxes
are continuing to spike. They’ve experienced
a 57 percent increase over the prior year,
generated from applications for new businesses
in town.”
Butts explained the numbers represent the
establishment of more small businesses. “The
reality is there are more small businesses that
have started in this year than in any other
year prior,” he said.
Another positive indicator: unemployment
rates. “Our unemployment for the city is
currently 5.4 percent -- that’s down 2 percent
from the same quarter last year,” said
Buckhanon.
The City’s overall general fund revenues
are up by 34.5 percent and sales taxes are
up $1.6 million. The City also projects a
surplus of $56,000 based on the original
general fund budget.
A category of “other revenues” has a projected
increase of almost $7 million, or 262
percent, attributed to an anticipated increase
to development fees that came in within the
first three months, according to Buckhanon.
Butts elaborated, “When we achieve developments
of this size, they have a drastic effect
on our general fund budget.” The detailed
report is based on the first three months of
the year, Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, and can
be found on the City’s website.
In other business, a public hearing opened
for issuing lease revenue bonds and creating
a financing authority to replace the former
redevelopment agency as a member of the
Inglewood Public Financing Authority. A
staff member explained that refunding the
2012 bonds could net a savings of $2 to $3
million dollars in interest.
In December 2018, the Council adopted a
resolution authorizing staff to begin the process
to issue2019 bonds and appoint counsel
to assist the City in completing the process.
Urban Futures Incorporated was appointed
municipal advisor to the City, Quint & Thimmig
LLP was designated as bond counsel and
disclosure counsel, and Backstrom McCarley
Berry & Co., LLC and Cabrera Capital were
designated as underwriters.
Butts advocated for the bond refunding,
saying, “The reason we’re receiving a better
interest rate, is rates have changed…but also,
we’ve had bond rating upgrades that makes
us eligible to refinance at a lower interest
rate. We are shifting the collateral for the
bonds from City Hall to the Senior Center.
That doesn’t change anything in the City’s
level of encumbrance. It only changes the
collateral.” There were no other comments.
After a staff report, the action was approved
unanimously.
In public comments, resident Odess Riley
asked for mental health awareness in
response to the recent death of 17-year old
Xavier Carter. The meeting was adjourned
in his honor.
The Inglewood City Council meets every
Tuesday, unless otherwise noted, at 2 p.m.
in the Council Chambers on the 9th floor,
Inglewood City Hall. •