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In a de facto acknowledgment it acted illegally, the South Pasadena City Council tonight is set to rescind the finance ad hoc committee it set up during the Feb.21, 2024 fiscal review session, and consider replacing it with an advisory finance committee.
The action comes in response to a series of messages from former Finance Commission member Ed Elsner, arguing the Council’s establishment of the ad hoc violated the Brown Act and demanding the city “cure and correct” the matter.
City of South Pasadena Attorney Roxanne Diaz told the South Pasadenan News that acting to “cure” the action “does not mean that the city agrees there was a violation.” But in a staff report she said that to avoid potential litigation, the Council should act on Elsner’s request.
Council members called for the ‘finance ad hoc committee’ after receiving a presentation the city commissioned by NHA Advisors. Their report found that the city’s General Fund expenditures will outpace revenues during each of next five years, resulting in deficits ranging between $1.8 million and $3.9 million, ultimately depleting reserves to below the city’s 30 percent reserve target. This also aligns with what the finance commission has been presenting and advising over the last several months.
The presentation set off alarm bells. There were references to a prospective insolvency in the event of a recession, discussion of a hiring freeze or “pause,” and what Mayor Evelyn Zneimer called a “fiscal emergency.” No staff cuts were discussed, merely a hiring freeze until details about department expenditures were sorted out.
The idea for a finance ad hoc committee was broached by Council Member Janet Braun, who said “it took me a weekend to get over the shock of these reports.”
She complained that “despite the enormous projected deficit and the disastrous five-year projections, we have not been presented anything, any report, any discussion or any analysis about a plan to move forward and stop the downward spiral in which we now find ourselves.”
City Finance Director John Downs was asked by Council Member Jon Primuth if he stood by his assertion last June 2023 that the city’s budget did not adopt a “structural deficit.” Downs said his statement was correct at the time but acknowledged “at this point now, where expenditures are exceeding revenues, you have a deficit condition.”
It should be noted that, according to the finance commission, the City Council voted to approve a budget with what amounts to a structural deficit last June of 2023, despite the data provided by the finance committee.
The Council opted for the finance ad hoc committee in part, to expedite the effort to review the matter in time to inform work now ramping up on the new city budget, which is due to be adopted by the end of June 2024 and to ensure complete and accurate data in regards to the various accounts and departments.
Braun and Mayor Zneimer were slated to serve on the ad hoc committee, along with Finance Commission members Sheila Rossi and Peter Giulioni Jr.
Also tonight, the Council scheduled a closed meeting during which it has agendized performance evaluations of both the city manager and the city attorney.
Decisions about the ad hoc finance committee are on the table for tonight’s council meeting: March 20, 2024.
The public is encouraged to attend in person, or online. Public comment can be made via zoom.
The live stream can be viewed online CLICK HERE
More on this topic as it unfolds.
From the South Pasadena Government website: Public Comment Guidelines:
The City Council welcomes public input, however, to ensure City business can be conducted in a timely manner General Public Comment will be limited to 30 minutes at the beginning of the agenda. If there are speakers remaining in the queue, they will be heard at the end of the meeting
Members of the public can comment on a non-agenda subject under the jurisdiction of the City Council or on an agenda item, you may participate by one of the following options:
Option 1:
Public Comment speakers have three minutes to address the Council, however, the Mayor and City Council can adjust time allotted as needed. Participants will be able to “raise their hand” using the Zoom icon during the meeting, and they will have their microphone un-muted during comment portions of the agenda to speak.
Option 2:
Email public comment(s) to ccpubliccomment@southpasadenaca.gov.
Public Comments received in writing will not be read aloud at the meeting, but will be part of the meeting record. Written public comments will be uploaded online for public viewing under Additional Documents. There is no word limit on emailed Public Comment(s). Please make sure to indicate:
- Name (optional)
- Agenda item you are submitting public comment on.
- Submit by no later than 12:00 p.m., on the day of the Council meeting.
