SANTA MONCA—The Santa Monica City Council was forced to declare a fiscal emergency in a 7-0 vote on Tuesday, September 9, due to a budget crisis.
Part of the cause of this dire situation is that the city’s existed budget deficit has drastically increased after the Santa Monic city government was forced to pay a settlement of over $229 million to the victims of Eric Uller who was a former Santa Monica police dispatcher who molested many children when he worked an after-school program run by the Santa Monica police in the 1980s and 1990s and warnings about his actions were ignored. Additionally, the city’s economy is struggling due to the ongoing economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdown.
The budget that the government of the city of Santa Monica government has approved for 2025-2026 projects the city will spend $484.3 million but it will only take in $473.5 million in revenue.
