Tell City Council: Fund Culver City
Culver City is a community.
A community where no one should struggle to make rent every month.
A community where parks should be accessible, shady, and well-maintained.
A community where everyone, especially seniors and kids, should have access to a pool to cool down and exercise.
In Culver City, community priorities shouldn’t be the first things to get cut in tough times. We shouldn’t balance the budget on the backs of those with the least power to do anything about it, like the teens and young adults who keep us safe at the pool.
On Monday June 9, the Culver City Council will vote on the city budget, and we’re asking them to make sure the community’s voice gets heard.
Whether you care about lifeguard pay, park improvements, or affordable housing, our voices are stronger together. Please tell the City Council:
Fund lifeguards and the pool. The Plunge lifeguards have been rehired, but the city is already announcing pool closures. We need more lifeguards. That means higher pay. The city was ready to lay down more than $600k for outsourcing. Why can’t that money go to hire more lifeguards and pay our existing lifeguards more?
Fund parks. We wrote about this in detail a few weeks ago. Parks asked for two new management analysts and didn’t get either one. The Parks department lacks the capacity to oversee projects that fix facilities and make improvements like replacing playground equipment, adding shade, and making parks more accessible. A new senior management analyst would go a long way to add capacity for completing new parks projects. The same person would also have the responsibility to apply for grant funding and pursue creative partnerships to fund these projects without the need for new taxes.
Fund affordable housing. Hundreds of Culver City residents emailed and showed up to City Council earlier this year to make sure the Jubilo Village affordable housing development had the funding to get built. Now affordable housing opponents are trying to cut affordable housing from the budget, claiming it’s about fiscal responsibility. But affordable housing isn’t causing our fiscal crisis. It would be irresponsible to cut affordable housing from our budget when rent is at an all-time high.
Fund budget reform. We see what happens when spending choices are made without taking into account community priorities. Lifeguards get laid off. Affordable housing goes unfunded. This must change. The plan to reform the budget process is funded in the current budget. We can’t let it get cut before the budget gets passed.