The Perks of Being a Santa Monica Resident

She might not go to sleep at night in Santa Monica, but a swimmer speaking at the City Council Tuesday night said she should enjoy some of the same perks as someone who actually lives here.

A handful of Southern California Aquatics members, known as SCAQ, protested a new fee structure that requires their swim club pay more to use the Santa Monica Swim Center.

That's because under the new fee schedule—approved unanimously by the City Council—groups such as SCAQ pay more when a majority of their members who use the pool are not Santa Monica residents. The old structure charged groups when at least 50 percent of their total membership, whether those members actually swam in the pool or not, lived in the city. (Click here for more on the rate structure, page 20.)

The club's objections didn't sway the City Council, and as it continued a discussion about ways to close a growing budget gap that could reach $15 million in five years, the council said charging non-residents for other city services, some of which they don't currently pay for, makes sense.

"I’m sure you’re finding out that we could generate a quite a bit of money," said councilman Tony Vazquez.

City Manager Rod Gould said charging non-residents to use library services was one possibility, a suggestion that several City Council members embraced. Vazquez suggested the dog park at Airport Park as another.

"The library is an excellent example," said Councilwoman Gleam Davis. "More and more non-Santa Monica people are using our facilities."

The fee hikes are likely to be among the deficit-slashing options Gould gives to the City Council in the coming weeks as it prepares to adopt a new budget for the next two fiscal years.

"We will come up with a number of decision packages in May that will get us to this goal [of a balanced budget]," Gould said.

Community and Cultural Services Director Karen Ginsberg said for the past few years, SCAQ had not met the membership threshold under the swim center's old rate structure.

Members said the change represents an 86 percent increase.

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