Together, we can fund what matters in Culver City!
Last weekend, our second annual Fund This! Town Hall brought close to a hundred Culver City neighbors together to talk about how to best use our General Fund budget and other public funds. Our Culver is proud to have hosted the event and we’re committed to helping even more people get engaged in their local government.
By speaking up for what matters to us, we can make Culver City the best place to live, work, and play. At Fund This! we learned about local opportunities for better affordable housing, transportation, parks, and schools. And with a month left until the City Council approves our next budget, thanks to Fund This! we know what’s possible and we know how to make it a reality.
Featured guest Vice Mayor Freddy Puza delivered opening remarks.
In the coming weeks we’ll share more details on the priorities we covered on Saturday including:
Affordable Housing: We can ensure the Jubilo Village affordable housing project moves forward to completion and also pave the way for similar projects with a Culver City Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
Transportation: Culver City is building part of our first North-South bike line on Overland Blvd to connect Fox Hills to the rest of our city and region. Every additional mile we build reduces car traffic, connects neighborhoods, and improves our air.
Parks: Culver City’s new Parks Master plan envisions changes big and small to our parks. Step one is increasing our Parks staff to seek the grants and other funding needed to begin delivering what Culver City wants from our parks.
Schools: Schools have been critically underfunded for years. With the end of pandemic funding, budgets are even more limited. Santa Monica and other neighboring cities financially support their schools because quality schools are a huge benefit for our communities. It's time we ask whether Culver City should do the same.
Funding projects that add value to Culver City will cost money, and fortunately the City does spend on all the areas of interest to us. But more is needed, and our current budget outlook is not positive. Revenues are falling across the LA region and to close the gaps, it seems likely that LA County or Metro also will propose sales tax increases.
At Fund This! we discussed how it’s likely that a sales tax will be applied to Culver City one way or another by our regional partners. The best way to ensure those dollars stay in Culver City is to vote yes on the local sales tax increase in the upcoming August special election. Over the next few weeks, we’ll talk more about how and why that’s the best option for us and our priorities.
We’ve never seen so much interest in how we fund these important services, and we believe it’s because our community invests in one another. We want Culver City to be a place where it’s easy to get around and see friends, parks and summer camps are open and accessible, housing is affordable, and most of all, everyone feels that their voices are heard and valued by our City leaders. Stay engaged with us and we can do this – together.
Our panel included (left-to-right) affordable housing builder Tara Barauskas, parks superfan Dorien Davies, Fox Hills community advocate Travis Morgan, and CCUSD School Board Member Stephanie Loredo.