Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Re this morning's L.A. City Council meeting about nonprofits' $1/year leases.

The item below was part of this morning's Los Angeles City Council meeting; essentially, it was intended to end the $1 per year lease for nonprofit organizations (including Venice's Beyond Baroque). Highlighting below is by me.

ITEM NO. (9)
08-2762 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS and BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMITTEES’ REPORT relative to a proposed Non-Profit Lease Subsidy and Real Property Sale Policy. Recommendations for Council action: 1. ADOPT a Non-Profit Lease Subsidy and Real Property Sale Policy, including eligibility criteria/general terms and conditions, as specified in Attachment I of the Committee report, with a sunset clause of five years from the date of Council adoption unless extended by Council. 2. INSTRUCT the General Manager, Department of General Services (GSD), to prepare lease agreements for qualifying non-profit organizations for a minimum 5 year term, in accordance with the Non-Profit Lease Subsidy and Real Property Sale Policy, for consideration and recommendation by the Municipal Facilities Committee to the Council. 3. INSTRUCT the City Clerk to track the number and amount of subsidies for below market rate leases and real property sales by Council District and forward that information to the City Administrative Officer (CAO) for inclusion in financial status report. 4. INSTRUCT the CAO and the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA), with input from the City Attorney and other appropriate departments, to develop application procedures, consistent with those adopted for Special Events Fee Subsidies. 5. REQUEST the City Attorney to prepare any necessary ordinance or amending ordinance to implement the policy or procedures including: a. Possible addition of a sole source requirement into the policy regarding sales of City-owned property to non-profit organizations, in addition to the established City process to declare surplus property. b. Additional language to differentiate non-profit organizations that work directly on behalf of the City from the broader definition of non-profit organizations. 6. REQUEST the Board of Commissioners of Airports, Harbor, Water and Power, Recreation and Parks and Library to consider adopting a Non-Profit Lease Subsidy and Real Property Sale Policy similar to that specified in Attachment I of the report, to the extent that terms and conditions are applicable. Further, provide a written response within 30 days to the Budget and Finance Committee regarding the applicability of such a policy on department operations and continue to provide status reports every calendar quarter, until such a policy is adopted, as applicable (Note: The Department of Recreation and Parks already has an adopted "Board Policy on Partnerships"). WEDNESDAY 05-19-10 PAGE 11
7. INSTRUCT the CAO and the CLA to review this policy and report back to the Council regarding the fiscal impact on the City in conjunction with the City's annual budget deliberation. 8. INSTRUCT the CAO and the CLA to report on: a) The timeline needed by the GSD to negotiate new leases with non-profit organizations; b) more detailed estimates of potential revenue as a result of new lease agreements; and, c) the timeline required to implement the tracking and reporting process. 9. INSTRUCT the CAO and CLA to expand the subsidy referenced in Attachment I to include any eligible funds that the Council District has direct control over and not limit the subsidy to the Special Fund Fee Subsidy Reimbursement line item only. 10. INSTRUCT the CAO and CLA on Attachment II of the Committee report to change all waiver references from a waiver to a subsidy. 11. INSTRUCT the CAO and CLA on Attachment II to evaluate and report on the need to include under Real Property Sales the requirement for a non-profit organization to create or retain one full-time equivalent, permanent job for each $10,000 of market rate sale price waived (subsidized). Fiscal Impact Statement: The CAO and CLA report that adoption of this policy is anticipated to increase General Fund and Special Fund receipts, primarily from limiting lease subsidies to 50 percent of market rate which is estimated to generate rental receipts of approximately up to $1.5 million annually. Community Impact Statement: None submitted.

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