Inglewood News AND LENNOX CITIZEN The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - September 3, 2015 Virgin Atlantic Upgrades Lounge Area Virgin Atlantic has hired Slade Architecture to upgrade its lounge. The new design is ultramodern and integrates the look of LA and the beach. Patrons at this bar called Eat Drink Man Woman can look out toward the Hollywood hills. Photograph by Tom Sibley. Mayor Authorized To Execute Agreement With State Board of Equalization By Cristian Vasquez The council approved a report by the city’s Finance Department recommending that the mayor have the authority to carry out an agreement with the State Board of Equalization to implement the Local Prepaid Mobile Telephony Act. Also adopted was a resolution that will allow for the examination of prepaid mobile services surcharges and local charge records by the City of Inglewood and its consultants. The city manager has also been authorized to sign certification on the city’s behalf with regards to prepaid mobile telephone services. As of Jan. 16, 2016, Assembly Bill 1717 will take effect in an effort to solve the state’s collection problem and require state retailers, as well as online retailers, to collect the city’s utility user’s tax [UUT]. The collection of UUT will be required to take place during the time that the retailer collects the sales tax on any item solved. “Under this new law, all local jurisdictions have to contract with the State Board of Equalization [BOE] in order to receive UUT imposed on consumers of prepaid wireless phone services,” indicates the department report signed by Assistant City Manager/ CFO David L. Esparza. “It should be noted that AB 1717 has a sunset provision of 2020, but it is expected that the Legislature will permanently renew AB 1717 if the actual costs of collection proves to be reasonable and the level of collections are as anticipated.” The report presented to the council also states that the wireless service providers, via the monthly invoice charges sent to customers, collect a city’s UUT. However, individuals who rely on prepaid wireless services are able to bypass the UUT due to the lack of a collection method. The lack of any type of contract with prepaid wireless services means there is no invoice through which the city can collect UUT, since the product is sold by retailers and not the service providers. “It is estimated that 70 percent of all prepaid wireless services are sold by retailers,” states the report. “Since these transactions bypass our local UUT collection channels, the City as experienced a significant loss of revenues as customers expand their use of prepaid wireless telephone services.” For the city to be able to collect the lost UUT revenues, it was mandatory that the Mayor “execute an agreement required by the State BOE” at the latest, Sept. 1, 2015. The agreement allows the state to collect the UUT, but if the City of Inglewood decided to not contract with BOE, it will not receive any of the UUT revenue. “While the actual impact of this new source is unknown, the City’s UUT revenue consultant [Muni Services] estimates it will range from 15-20 percent of the current UUT telecommunication revenues,” states the report. “This estimate is a statewide average, and individual cities will vary depending on their demographics and the number of large retail stores [located in the city] selling prepaid wireless services.” City staff estimates that the increase in revenue from UUT will be from $464,000 to $619,000 per year. Yet, the city will be required to reimburse the BOE in order to cover implementation costs and it is projected that the city’s share will range from 5-6 percent [$23,200-$30,950]. Collection costs for the BOE will decline after the first year, as will the city’s share in the expenditure. Total revenues with the implementation and collection of UUT on prepaid wireless services are projected to range between $220,000 and $294,000 for the 2015/2016 fiscal year and will impact the general fund operating budget. City Prepares For Hispanic Heritage Festival On Saturday, Sept. 19 the City of Inglewood will once again celebrate National Hispanic Month with its own Hispanic Heritage Festival. The free annual event will take place at Crozier Middle School, located at 120 W. Regent St. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will host live entertainment such as Aztec and Ballet Folklorico dancers, interactive games for the entire family, face painting, a classic car show, as well as various vendor booths, Mexican food and medical screenings. For more information, persons interested can contact the Parks, Recreation and Library Services Department at (310) 412-8750. • As of Jan. 16, 2016, Assembly Bill 1717 will take effect in an effort to solve the state’s collection problem and require state retailers, as well as online retailers, to collect the city’s utility user’s tax [UUT]. Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................7 Classifieds............................2 Community Briefs...............3 Film Review..........................2 Finance..................................3 Food.......................................8 Legals................................ 6-7 Looking Up...........................6 Pets........................................5 Police Reports.....................2 Seniors..................................4 Sports....................................4 Weekend Forecast Friday Sunny 75˚/64˚ Saturday Sunny 79˚/64˚ Sunday Partly Cloudy 77˚/64˚
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