2009 BASIC’s State of the City Address
Buy And Sell In Commerce (BASIC) Luncheon featuring…
The 2009 State of the City Address
Annual Luncheon is Hosted and Presented by the Chamber and Features the City Mayor
Pictured above from left to right: CIC Chamber Executive Director Eddie Tafoya, Al Gilmour of Johannessen Trading Co., former Business Watch Deputy Gary Missakian of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Commerce Mayor Joe Aguilar, and L.A. County Sheriff’s East L.A. Station Captain Henry Romero.
State of the City Highlights City Services to Community
Despite the effects of the recession and State budget crisis on the city, Commerce is providing premium public safety services and investing in crucial infrastructure projects to ensure the City’s continued prosperity, said Commerce Mayor Joe Aguilar in his State of the City Address at Steven’s Steak and Seafood House on August 18.
Aguilar, who spoke on behalf of the entire City Council, used the address to also talk about the City budget for the coming fiscal year and how the recession is affecting City programs and services.
“The cuts we made included reductions in part-time hours, reductions in overtime and travel, and a senior management wage concession of 3.5 percent.”
In order to balance the City’s budget he said the City Council had to cancel the 16th of September celebration, the Las Vegas excursion, the City Birthday dinner, three concerts in the park and move the Miss Commerce pageant to Steven’s Steak and Seafood House to reduce expenses.
As part of the City’s effort to help small businesses and entrepreneurs the mayor said, “We are now working with the Minority Business Development Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration to conduct Access to Capital workshops for existing business owners in the City. Our goal is to give business owners a clear idea of just what they are up against during these economic challenges, while providing a roadmap and some real tools to help get them where they want to go.”
As part of the City’s plans for the new fiscal year, the mayor said the City Council had adopted ten financial policies to improve how the City manages revenue and expenditures.
“The policies guarantee a balanced budget, conform to proven accounting regulations, and require that the City establish a budget oversight committee,” said the Mayor.
To give chamber members a better picture of the general condition of the local economy he cited a number of statistics from the city’s Business License Division.
Above: City of Commerce Mayor Joe Aguilar addresses business leaders at the luncheon.
“Since August 2008, the City issued 177 new business licenses. The largest new employers are Costco with 233 employees, Bridge Publications with 176 employees, Fed Ex with 69 employees and Viatech Publishing Solutions with 45 employees. During the same period of time we lost 171 businesses. The largest were Anderson Lithograph with 279 employees, Giant Merchandising with 216 employees, Warnaco Swimwear with 175 employees and Tadin Herb & Tea with 79 employees,” he said. “Based on our records, we estimate we now have about 1,724 businesses in the City and that the total number of people working in the City is 37,355. In August 2008 it was 38,963. Obviously, the recession is having an impact on the City but we believe we are taking the necessary steps to get through the next year.”
Aguilar also discussed the city’s fire service contract with the Los Angeles County Fire Department which comes in at a cost of just over $8 million. Aguilar stated that although Commerce spends more on fire services than most cities this size the investment provides an outstanding level of service to protect the city’s residential areas as well as Commerce’s extensive and valuable industrialized areas.
Aguilar stressed that one of the most important steps the City Council had taken to ensure that business will continue to thrive in Commerce was to invest in crucial infrastructure projects. He said that between 2007 and 2009 the City has completed $3.25 million worth of street improvements throughout the city including the recent resurfacing of Washington Boulevard. He also said that the City has secured funding for the Washington Boulevard Widening and Reconstruction Project, which will extend from Garfield Avenue at the City’s Eastern border and past the 710 Freeway on the Western border. The project will be brought back to the City Council for consideration after the environmental review process and community input.
Aguilar also took time to acknowledge and thank the Industrial Council and members of the chamber for their generous contributions to the Commerce Scholarship Program, National Night Out, the Home Improvement Fair and many other city programs throughout the year. “We are constantly amazed by the generosity of our Industrial residents,” said Aguilar.
“Among the many generous donors to our programs this year were the Commerce Casino, the Southern California Gas Company, Southern California Edison, E-Central Credit Union, 99 Cents Only Stores, Target, Commerce Hyundai, Martin’s Bike Shop, Home Depot, Immediate Medical Center, Starbucks, Ruby’s Diner, the Harvey Capital Corporation, the California Water Service Company, the Citadel Outlets and Gehr Industries to name just a few.”
In the last year Commerce businesses donated $16,000 in cash and services to the Community Services Department to help produce Red Ribbon Week, the Summer Safety Fair and National Night Out. The Library received donations for its Commerce to College Fair, the Summer Reading Program and $80,000 in cash contributions - including $49,000 from the Commerce Casino - for the Commerce Scholarship Program.
To meet the needs of the City’s youth, not only through the Library and Parks and Recreation, Aguilar said the City Council had decided to continue to fund the YES program to provide young people with summer employment opportunities through the City’s Human Resources Department.
“The program gives our young people a little spending money along with some practical experience over the course of the summer,” he said. According to Aguilar, the city also plans to start construction on the renovation and expansion of the Commerce Central Library later this year. The architects are planning to use state-of-the-art energy and resource conservation methods throughout the project, and, when finished, the public will benefit from more light and lower operating costs.
In closing Aguilar stated that the city is weathering the storm and assessing the future as the city nears its 50th Anniversary. “We are proud of our history and we are looking forward. We are committed to another 50 years of success for both our city residents and our industrial residents.”
He encouraged the attendees to take advantage of the many services that are available to them as members of the Commerce community and urged them to participate in the City upcoming 50th anniversary celebration.
The lunch ended with a presentation by Commerce Industrial Council Executive Director Eddie Tafoya and Al Gilmour from Johannessen Trading Co. thanking L.A. County Sheriff Deputy Gary Missakian for his dedicated service and numerous accomplishments as the contact for the Business Watch Program.
To learn more about the successful Business Watch Program, please contact the Chamber at (323) 728-7222.
Pictured above: CIC Chamber Executive Director Eddie Tafoya presents former Business Watch Deputy Gary Missakian of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department with a commendation plaque from the Chamber as Al Gilmour of Johannessen Trading Co. (left rear) and L.A. County Sheriff’s East L.A. Station Captain Henry Romero look on (right rear) look on proudly.