WEBVTT

1
00:00:01.400 --> 00:00:05.522
In Torrance, power on the City Council comes down to one number: four.

2
00:00:05.522 --> 00:00:12.234
The city charter requires four yes votes out of seven for any ordinance, any resolution, and any payment of money.

3
00:00:12.234 --> 00:00:15.296
A three to two vote, with two members absent, fails.

4
00:00:15.296 --> 00:00:17.180
An urgency ordinance needs five.

5
00:00:17.180 --> 00:00:25.835
The mayor has no veto and no administrative power, so a mayor's influence comes from setting the tone, framing the debate, and building a majority.

6
00:00:25.835 --> 00:00:29.010
Torrance uses the council-manager form of government.

7
00:00:29.010 --> 00:00:30.447
The council sets policy.

8
00:00:30.447 --> 00:00:35.359
The city manager, hired by the council and serving at its pleasure, runs the city.

9
00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:44.284
The charter forbids the council or any member from directing the manager to hire or fire anyone, or pressuring the manager on contracts or purchases.

10
00:00:44.284 --> 00:00:50.513
The city attorney, also appointed by the council, represents the city as a whole, not any single member.

11
00:00:50.513 --> 00:00:55.305
One practical detail matters a great deal: the city manager controls the agenda.

12
00:00:55.305 --> 00:01:03.871
The council's rules let the manager submit the agenda and withdraw items, and they set out no formal way for a council member to place an item.

13
00:01:03.871 --> 00:01:07.644
In practice, members raise requests at the end of each meeting.

14
00:01:07.644 --> 00:01:10.819
A written referral rule would be a worthwhile reform.

15
00:01:10.819 --> 00:01:14.066
The budget is the council's biggest decision each year.

16
00:01:14.066 --> 00:01:19.791
In the 2025 to 2026 budget, the general fund brought in about three hundred five million dollars.

17
00:01:19.791 --> 00:01:27.170
Property tax and sales tax together made up forty-four percent of it, and public safety took fifty-eight percent of spending.

18
00:01:27.170 --> 00:01:38.621
The city's economic reserve is about seventy million dollars, more than a fifth of the general fund, a dramatic recovery from 2020, when unassigned reserves had fallen below one million dollars.

19
00:01:38.621 --> 00:01:44.878
A half-cent sales tax, Measure SST, approved in 2022, brings in about twenty-seven million dollars a year.

20
00:01:44.878 --> 00:01:47.003
Pensions are the long-term pressure.

21
00:01:47.003 --> 00:01:52.788
In 2020, Torrance borrowed about three hundred fifty million dollars to pay down its pension debt.

22
00:01:52.788 --> 00:02:01.701
Even so, the three CalPERS plans for police, fire, and other employees still carry roughly two hundred sixty-six million dollars in unfunded liability.

23
00:02:01.701 --> 00:02:14.333
Add a self-insurance shortfall of about fifty-two million dollars and more than two hundred million dollars in facility needs, and the picture is a city that has recovered but has little room for new ongoing costs.

24
00:02:14.333 --> 00:02:17.507
Labor contracts are where much of that money is decided.

25
00:02:17.507 --> 00:02:24.308
Under the state's public employee bargaining law, the city must bargain in good faith over wages and working conditions.

26
00:02:24.308 --> 00:02:31.279
If talks fail, a union may request factfinding, and afterward the council may impose its last offer after a public hearing.

27
00:02:31.279 --> 00:02:37.117
The council gives its negotiators instructions in closed session, but only after naming them in public.

28
00:02:37.117 --> 00:02:42.567
Torrance moved to district elections in 2018, with six districts and a mayor elected citywide.

29
00:02:42.567 --> 00:02:46.625
Elections are held in even years on the date of the statewide primary.

30
00:02:46.625 --> 00:02:54.335
The current council includes several new members, and the 2026 mayor's race was decided by about two points, so coalitions are fluid.

31
00:02:54.335 --> 00:03:07.147
The issues waiting for any new member include the refinery and its hydrofluoric acid, the Metro K Line route chosen against the city's wishes, airport noise, homelessness, housing law compliance, and the long-term budget.

32
00:03:07.147 --> 00:03:09.814
The best habit for a council member is simple.

33
00:03:09.814 --> 00:03:11.669
Count to four before every vote.

34
00:03:11.669 --> 00:03:16.539
For more, see the council member and mayor section of the Local Official's Handbook.