City of Inglewood to Cap Annual Rent Increases at 3%

This week’s regular Inglewood City Council agenda includes revising the current salary ordinance, approving new legal agreements, receiving funds related to a Traffic Demand Management system and capping rent increases at 3%.

In March of this year, the city approved a salary ordinance for 2018-19 that identified the duties of City Treasurer Wanda Brown in section 13. At the time her salary was $7,949.76. On this week’s agenda, the salary ordinance for 2019-20 includes the return of a position, assistant to the Mayor, the omission of pages 7-13 of the salary ordinance.

Under section 13, the ordinance details a raise for Brown from $7,949.76 to $8,355.27. She has no additional duties, from the ordinance approved in March, so it is unclear why she is getting a raise and City Clerk Yvonne Horton is not. Despite living less than three miles from Inglewood City Hall, Brown is late for every city council meeting.

The law firm of Kane, Ballmer Berkman, which is run by Mayor James Butts’ god daughters uncle, Royce Jones, will have an agreement approved for up to $300,000 for work related to successor agency activities. 2UrbanGirls requested documents related to a lease agreement, as Jones has an office on the 9th floor of City Hall, but the city has been unable to produce such an agreement. Every outside vendor, Sen. Steve Bradford, Asm. Autumn Burke and Duncan Solutions, all pay the city rent for occupying space in City Hall. For whatever reason, Jones is exempt.

Jones’ sister Sheila, is a manager in the city’s IT department.

The law offices of Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara will receive $50,000, from the General Fund Reserves, to represent the city in lawsuits where the co-defendant is the County of Los Angeles.

The city will accept funds in the amount of $8,932,000 from Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), for Intelligent Transportation System Improvements, due to a lawsuit filed by the city, against LAWA, related to the legal adequacy of an environmental impact report related to reconfiguration of the runways.

The money will fund improvements to Century Blvd, La Cienega and Prairie, most likely related to the swell of traffic from both the airport and NFL project. Further explains why CARB is doing a careful and thorough review of the environmental impacts of adding the Clippers arena.

Hopefully the money doesn’t end up being reallocated for legal fees.

Finally, Mayor Butts will introduce the long awaited ordinance which amends Chapter 8 of the Inglewood Municipal Code (IMC) Regulating Rent Increases and Just Cause Evictions which will cap rent increases to 3% annually and if rent is 80% under HUD Fair Market Rent, the increase caps at 5%.

Single family homes, condominiums, and any building with four or less units remain exempt.