Tag: Finance

SANTA MONICA—On October 26, the city of Santa Monica announced that Oscar Santiago was chosen as the Director of the Finance Department. His appointment follows the retirement of Gigi Decavalles-Hughes.

As finance director, Santiago will lead a team of 67 staff in 6 divisions, including Budget, Financial Operations, Procurement, Revenue and Risk Management. He will oversee the development of an annual citywide budget of $745 million, ensuring the continuation of public services to residents, visitors and businesses through the protection of financial resources.

“Oscar brings a wealth of institutional knowledge and skill to the finance director role,” said City Manager David White. “His unique perspective and insights will be a tremendous benefit to Santa Monica as we continue to push full steam ahead in our economic recovery.”

Santiago was born in Santa Monica, and worked for the region for over 32 years in various departments. He recently served as the budget manager overseeing the operations, policy development and implementation of the budget and procurement divisions.

He served as a senior administrative analyst for the former Community & Cultural Services Department, a principal budget analyst in the Finance Department and principal administrative analyst and administrative services officer for the Information Services Department, leading administrative and fiscal functions for those departments.

“I grew up in Santa Monica, and was a direct recipient of city services, so I know first-hand the kind of impact the services we provide has on an individual’s quality of life,” Santiago said. “The stewardship of public funds is a critical component to the wellbeing of our community, a responsibility that I take seriously. I look forward to continuing to serve the community and the city organization in this new role.”

Santiago holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and a master’s in public administration from California State University, Northridge. He will begin on December 27, with an annual salary of $223,836.

By Trevor

WEST HOLLYWOOD—Members of the West Hollywood community are invited to learn about the city’s budget priorities for Fiscal Year 2023-24 at an upcoming in-person public meeting with the West Hollywood City Council Finance & Budget Subcommittee.

The city reported in a news release that the Finance & Budget Subcommittee meeting will take place in-person on Thursday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m. at West Hollywood City Hall in the Community Conference Room (First Floor), located at 8300 Santa Monica Boulevard. The meeting is free and open to the public and public comment is welcome. The meeting agenda and staff report can be found at www.weho.org/councilagendas under the “Finance & Budget Subcommittee Meetings” section. Follow the instructions on the first page of the meeting agenda for public comment.

The Finance & Budget Subcommittee, comprising of West Hollywood’s Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore, provides input on the city budget before its adoption by the full West Hollywood City Council. The Subcommittee will discuss funding priorities for the second-year update (Fiscal Year 2023-24) of the two-year budget. The subcommittee may provide direction on matters relating to capital improvements, homelessness, public safety, and other budget topics that span multiple years.

West Hollywood’s current year annual operating Budget and Capital Work Plan is available online in an interactive format at by clicking the “Approved FY2022-2024 Budget and Updated Capital Work Plan” link at: www.weho.org/budget. The online budget provides accessible information about budgeted city revenues and expenditures in a user-friendly format.

For more details about the Finance & Budget Subcommittee meeting, contact Christine Safriet, West Hollywood Assistant to the City Manager, at (323) 848-6467 or at csafriet@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing call TTY (323) 848-6496.