“I don’t think all of the Sister Cities leaders get the fact that the way they have been operating will have to change,” said the Vice Mayor Carol Gross. Not that she plans to tarry on the present dispute. “A mechanism has been put in place to address the issue and move forward,” she said, sounding ready.
The City Council-propelled storm that has slammed into the foundation of Sister Cities relates mainly to a charged lack of operational transparency, especially where insurance liability and finances are concerned.
Council’s Inquiries
The Council has cited an alleged absence of financial accountability, an inability by City Hall to develop a meaningful voice within the group since it is a city committee, and the recent discovery of an apparently previously unknown bank account.
Leaders of the venerable, 45-year-old peace-and-goodwill exchange group spent anguishing time defending themselves before the Council on Friday night in Council Chambers during the last official round of budget study sessions.
Question of Candor
While it appears that Sister Cities will continue to be fully funded after a slight delay, the rest of the committee’s family picture is considerably muddier.
Rebuked sharply from the dais for some controversial practices, Sister Cities emerged slightly scarred for a supposed lack of candor. But the organization appears to be on its way to an ultimate victory.
Half Now, Rest Later
The city staff — spearheaded by City Manager Jerry Fulwood — suggested that 50 percent of the group’s annual allocation of $14,000 be made available to Sister Cities for scheduled events this summer.
Supposedly, the “not to exceed” $7,000 is conditional, with the balance hinging on the findings of an investigative report due in two months.
Except for Mr. Rose, though, no one in the room seemed to doubt that the probe results will be strongly positive, and the normal funding rhythm will be resumed.
New Information Scant
Before announcing his recommendations to the City Council, Mr. Fulwood prefaced his remarks with a declaration that attracted little official interest.
A year ago, the City Council asked Mr. Fulwood to take a closer look at the inner tickings and finances of the Sister Cities Committee.
Emptyhanded
The City Manager conceded, though, he was returning largely empty.
Focusing on the matter only briefly, Mr. Fulwood said he had failed to secure answers to key questions of operation from Sister Cities.
Stymied though he was, Mr. Fulwood was staunchly upbeat.
He suggested that a Council sub-committee comprised of Ms. Gross and Councilman Gary Silbiger be formed to pick up the pieces of his probing.
Confident of Turnaround
Even though he had learned little in the past year, Mr. Fulwood expressed confidence that Mr. Silbiger and Ms. Gross will be able to break through in meetings this summer with Sister Cities leaders.
The mission of the subcommittee during July and August: Meet as frequently as necessary to ferret out presently unknown information.
The City Council and Sister Cities are scheduled to re-meet again in Council Chambers on Monday, Aug. 27, for a final report. This is the day after the 57th Fiesta La Ballona ends.
Likely Outcome
After Ms. Gross and Mr. Silbiger disclose their findings and issue a recommendation, full funding of Sister Cities is expected to be authorized by the Council.
The single Council member who left Friday night’s meeting frustrated was Mr. Rose. Only he objected to Mr. Fulwood’s grand plan, “for strictly business purposes,” said the Councilman.
‘Block Funding’
In sharp contrast to the much more serene responses of his colleagues, Mr. Rose was steamed that he had been “stonewalled” in his attempts in recent months to solicit critical facts from Sister Cities.
No funding should be released, Mr. Rose argued, until certain questions had been answered.
He lost that round, because he was perched on the north end of a south-bound limb alone. “I was outvoted but not outnumbered,” Mr. Rose said.
Procedural Problem
In the wake of accusations by Mr. Rose, Mr. Silbiger, who stepped down from the mayor’s chair two months ago, invited the past president of Sister Cities to respond to the charges, of she wished.
This caused a procedural problem, and a voice cried out, “Who is running the meeting?”
Mayor Corlin stepped in and, at length, repeated Mr. Silbiger’s invitation. After the past president responded, Mr. Rose said she did not supply the information he was seeking.
Speaking Out
Eleven members/supporters of Sister Cities — including new President Marie Leyva, immediate past president Sonia Karroum and veterans Paul Jacobs, Dr. Janet Holt and Pierre Joujon-Roche — stood to testify to the organization’s spiritual, cultural and financial value to the city.
They expressed not only a willingness but an eagerness to cooperate with the probing minds of City Hall that want to know how the inner circle works.
Mr. Jacobs said the gifts Sister Cities brings to Culver City are practically impossible to quantify.
Dr. Hoult said that a single student in the exchange program “can influence hundreds of people.”
Now More Than Ever
Sister Cities’ twin messages of “peace and friendship is needed today more than ever,” said Mr. Joujon-Roche.
Applauding the quickly approved plan for his organization to huddle with a City Council subcommittee, Sister Cities Treasurer Matthew Brown said he was sure convening in an informal setting would encourage productive meetings.
COUNCIL NOTES —The two other committees that have come in for criticism, Fiesta La Ballona and Martin Luther King Day, were not red-flagged, either. King Day, which normally receives $500, will be allotted $2,000 this year. Temporarily, the City Council directed that the Fiesta committee’s bank account, containing about $74,000, be frozen. Fiesta, meanwhile, will be loaned the same amount until the Council gains a further accounting of its finances…
