Reiterating an earlier statement regarding the toxic topic of sanctuary cities, Mayor Jim Clarke said that the headline agenda item on Monday evening’s City Council agenda is not going to be a marathon of haggling over Culver City’s pop status.

“I have no interest in spending hours upon hours just to reaffirm something we already are doing so we can call Culver City a sanctuary city,” Mr. Clarke said.

“We have more important things to deal with.

“We have very serious financial problems we will be dealing with. Not of our doing, though, but as a result of decisions of the Retirement Board.”

Pensions are back in the spotlight.

Mayor Clarke said that “I will need to not only renew or extend Measure Y, but also to take other actions that include negotiations with our employees.”

That task will be “extremely difficult,” said the mayor. “It will involve some cost-sharing – they are not going to get anything additional and they will be asked to pay more.”

Five years ago Measure Y, a half-cent sales tax, was overwhelmingly approved by voters, 77 percent to 23.

There “could be” layoffs in the Police Dept. and the Fire Dept., the mayor warned.

The last time there was such a crisis, “we were able to close the deficit with a sales tax increase and also by taking people who were in Redevelopment and reemploying them in vacant positions,” Mr. Clarke said.

“It is the opinion of the city manager (John Nachbar) that these impacts can be felt as soon as two years from now,” by which time Mr. Clarke will have been termed out.