CITY ROUNDUP:Officials’ stipends increased

Arts and Planning Commissioners and members of the Design Review Board will get a “cost of living” raise starting in October, but the City Council will have to wait a while for the increase in its stipend.

The council gave preliminary approval Tuesday to the increases, which require two readings of an ordinance.

City Manager Ken Frank proposed the increases, with a start date of July 1, 2008, for the commissioners and board members and Dec. 1, 2008 for the council.

“I don’t have the budget to fund it immediately and I used next year’s inflationary factor for the increases,” Frank said.

However, the council overrode his recommendation, as well as his recommendation for an increase from $110 a month to $120 a month for planning commissioners, and upped the increase to $175, deeming it appropriate to pay the commissioners 75% of the stipend for Design Review Board members.

Board members had their stipends raised from $210 a month to $230 a month. Arts Commissioners’ compensation will go up from $70 to $80 a month.

The council’s stipend will increase from $510 to $560 a month.

Stipends for the commissioner and board members were last increased July 1, 2005.

The council’s last increase has been in effect since December 2006.

Smoking ban enforcement starts Aug. 1

Enforcement of the city’s recent ban on smoking in outdoor restaurant areas will begin Aug. 1, City Manager Ken Frank announced July 13.

Last week, two of the city’s Citizens on Patrol delivered announcements of the outdoor smoking ban to restaurants in town, Frank said.

“The response from the restaurant operators was very positive,” he added.

In addition, Frank said the Marine Safety Department has prepared a flyer to notify visitors of the city’s stringent policies regarding protecting the tide pools and beaches.

“We hope [the flyers] will be posted on hotel walkways to let hotel guests know that they cannot remove sea life,” Frank said.

Frank also noted in his Weekly Update that Friends of the Dog Park has paid for the installation of a fence on the uphill side of the park so the dogs do not wander into the open space.

Also, he announced the city has constructed a fence separating the large dogs from the small dogs “so the poor little guys won’t get beaten up during their play day.”

Homeowners/renters assistance available

Eligible seniors, 62 or older, and disabled homeowners can get nearly $500 and renters can get nearly $350 from the Franchise Tax Board’s Homeowners and Renters Assistance Program.

For those needing help filing, assistance is available at Laguna Beach Seniors, 384 Legion St., Laguna Beach.

Appointments are available on the first and third Wednesdays, 9:15 a.m. to noon, until Oct. 17.

For more information or an appointment, call (949) 497-2441 or visit the FTB’s Website at www.ftb.ca.gov or call (800) 868-4171.