Malibu Mayor Lou La Monte declared the City of Malibu in “excellent” condition this week in his 2013 State of the City address, largely crediting city staff for its behind-the-scenes work in helping run Malibu.
Instead of a traditional speech, La Monte said he wanted to go a different route by presenting a 10-minute video spotlighting the City of Malibu’s individual departments, staffers and the city’s many projects and accomplishments. La Monte introduced the video at the Wednesday morning event put on by the Malibu Chamber of Commerce at City Hall. Councilmembers Skylar Peak, Laura Rosenthal and 3rd District Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky were among the approximately 75 attendees of the address, which cost $25 per seat.Â
“I didn’t want to do another one of those powerpoint presentations,” La Monte said while briefly introducing the video. “The strongest thing we have in Malibu is the people. And having a strong staff means the city is in good shape.”
Serving as the voice-over for the video, La Monte highlighted each city department, including planning, public works, parks and recreation and the emergency services departments.
La Monte praised the public works staff for obtaining $14 million in Measure R funds for improvements to Pacific Coast Highway. He also touted the city’s environmental sustainability program, which has transitioned to a paperless office system and next year will kick off a campaign focusing on water quality in Malibu.
The video additionally touched on the city’s commercial licensing agreement, which La Monte said would be an added source of revenue for the City of Malibu and would keep the city from having to implement tax increases.
La Monte said the video should be posted on the City of Malibu’s website when it launches its complete redesign next month.Â
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