La Jolla community boards list their funds & expenses

You might be familiar with our semi-regular “Alphabet Soup” list of 14 community groups — who they are, what they do and when they meet — but now it’s time to throw some numbers into the mix. Here’s a look at how much each of La Jolla’s community groups have in their bank accounts, how the funds get collected and what they’re used for.

Note: Not all of La Jolla’s groups have a treasury. The following do not: La Jolla Planned District Ordinance board, La Jolla Development Permit Review committee, La Jolla Shores Permit Review Committee, La Jolla Shores Planned District Advisory Board and La Jolla Traffic & Transportation.

La Jolla Community Planning Association

The group has $220.50 as of Jan. 12, which is collected from the donation box that circulates at each meeting and CD sales of meeting recordings at $5 each. Treasurer Janie Emerson said typical expenses include: AT&T phone number and voicemail box, printing the agendas and forms for each meeting, room rental overtime to Rec Center, the P.O. Box annual rental, and tax and other filing feess.

La Jolla Shores Association

La Jolla Shores Association collects membership dues of approximately $80 to pay for directors and officers insurance, and, having paid that for the year, the board has nothing in its account (except for the minimum sum required to keep the account open).

La Jolla Town Council

La Jolla Town Council president Ann Kerr Bache said she would “rather not report (a) dollar amount,” but there is less than $1,000 in the coffer. The money is collected by membership dues, which are $50 for individuals, $100 for businesses. “We’ve been building memberships slowly and we have raised enough to cover costs for a virtual office/mailbox in 2017,” she said.

La Jolla Parks & Beaches

La Jolla Parks & Beaches has separate accounts for its variety of sub-committees and projects. Income is collected through donations and grants, and spent on projects within the sub-committee’s purview. In total, the board has more than $227,000 in the bank.

As of Dec. 31, 2017, the total is $227,755 and broken down accordingly: WindanSea sub-committee: $190,992; Children’s Pool Walkway: $13,115; Scripps Park Pavilion: $13,699; Whale View Point Shoreline Enhancement: $5,934; general: $4,012.

Bird Rock Community Council

According to Bird Rock Community Council secretary Barbara Dunbar, the Bird Rock Community Development Corporation has two accounts: One is for the Bird Rock Community Council (BRCC) regular business, and the other for the Bird Rock Maintenance Assessment District (MAD).

“The Bird Rock MAD account is a net zero ($0) account. It is used to pay Bird Rock MAD expenses and to receive reimbursement for those documented expenses from the City of San Diego, which receives and maintains an account containing the Bird Rock MAD property tax assessment funds collected by San Diego County,” she said. “The BRCC regular account contained $57,781.30 as of Jan. 1 and a portion of that total is restricted funds (funds donated for specific projects) and is for an operating reserve.”

Money is collected through membership donations and a City of San Diego Micro Business Improvement District grant.

BRCC funds are spent on the Bird Rock Newsletter, administrative expenses, insurance, community projects, community events, and contributions back to the community, such as to the Bird Rock Foundation for the benefit of the Bird Rock Elementary School.

La Jolla Village Merchants Association

La Jolla Village Merchants Association, with money coming in from Business Improvement District (BID) Funds and the City’s Small Business Enhancement Program (SBEP), has “$46,676 as of the end of December in cash (assets),” said executive director Sheila Fortune. Expenses go toward beautification of The Village, personnel expenses, office and administrative fees, outreach and promotion, special events and more.

La Jolla Shores Business Association

Raising “just enough to do what we need to do” the La Jolla Shores Business Association currently has $7,000 in the bank through grants and membership dues ($150). With these funds, the board assists with Fall Fest, offsets costs associated with the Big Belly solar trash compactors, and produces maps of local businesses to leave at hotels, reports Business Association chair Angie Preisendorfer.

La Jolla Rec Center

After a major shake-up in how Rec Councils citywide collect and distribute funds atthe end of 2017, the La Jolla Park & Recreation, Inc. board recently transferred $125,213 into its saving account, and $3,000 into a checking account. The board voted to purchase a shade structure in December, which required almost $11,000 from its savings account. So though the board did not respond to La Jolla Light’s inquiry, we can guess they have approximately $114,000 in savings and $3,000 in checking. These funds are collected from grants and donations, and will be used for La Jolla Rec Center and playground improvements.