Dear Culver City Community,
As we prepare for tonight’s City Council meeting and the presentation of our upcoming Fiscal Year Budget, I want to speak with you directly about a vital step forward for our city: the establishment of the Culver City Public Finance Authority (Joint Powers Authority, or JPA).
At its core, this effort is about investing in Culver City’s future. It is a responsible, community-centered strategy designed to protect our long-term financial health while immediately addressing the needs you share with us every day.
Achieving Financial Sustainability
City Manager Odis Jones has committed to presenting a balanced budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. If accomplished, this will be our first balanced budget that has been presented in three years, a significant milestone toward achieving this Council’s number one priority: financial sustainability.
Over the last four months of community conversations, the City Manager has emphasized a budget focused on maintaining services, strengthening reserves, and making strategic investments that improve quality of life across our City. The JPA is a key part of this strategy, providing a tool to fund public priorities without compromising our financial stability.
Putting Neighborhoods and People First
On April 27, the Council approved targeted investments that are centered on people and neighborhoods. These funds are dedicated to:
· Upgrading parks and recreational spaces,
· Repairing our streets and sidewalks,
· Expanding affordable housing and strengthening childcare access,
· Modernizing vital community facilities,
· Investing in the essential infrastructure that allow families, seniors/older adults, youth, and small businesses to thrive.
A Proven Tool with a New Focus
It is important to understand that Culver City has successfully utilized similar financing tools before. More than two decades ago, the City established a JPA comprising Culver City and the Redevelopment Agency, with the City Council serving as the governing body for both. Together, they issued more than $250 million in bonds for capital improvements. Those dollars were largely spent on economic development activities and infrastructure
projects intended to stimulate commercial investment and redevelopment. The City deemed its effort a success.
The current JPA is significantly smaller in scale, under $40 million in proposed bonds, and represents a fundamentally different emphasis.
Rather than prioritizing large-scale commercial redevelopment, this approach is centered on community investment: improving public infrastructure, enhancing neighborhood amenities, supporting affordable housing and childcare access, and helping recruit, retain, and grow the small businesses that define the character of Culver City.
This is a carefully structured financial tool, not a blank check. It allows us to make long-term investments that directly benefit our neighborhoods while strictly preserving our fiscal responsibility.
Join the Conversation
I firmly support this approach because it directly reflects your priorities. It provides a clear pathway to solve today’s critical needs while building a resilient foundation for tomorrow. It also allows the City to move forward thoughtfully and strategically at a time when communities across California are facing increasing financial pressures and infrastructure challenges. Most importantly, this conversation should be transparent, inclusive, and community driven. I encourage you to attend tonight’s City Council meeting at 7 p.m. and join our Community Conversations this Wednesday and Saturday. These discussions are an opportunity to better understand the direction of the city, ask questions, share perspectives, and help shape the future of Culver City together.
Culver City thrives when we invest not just in projects, but in people. I believe this approach honors that tradition and positions our city for a strong, sustainable future.
Culver City Mayor Freddy Puza
