The city of El Segundo was seriously hurt by the actions of the City Council Aug. 6 when the vote was 4 to 1 to accept a two-year budget that raised the tax per employee (over 10 per company) from $20 to $60 and to retain the 5-cent-per-square-foot floor tax. For example, this is an increase for Hughes Aircraft from $900,000 to $2 million annually.
There is no quarrel with everyone paying his own way or with the serious importance of operating a city on a sound economic foundation.
The harm done the city was the attitude of Mayor Charles (Chip) Armstrong in interviews preceding the Aug. 6 meeting and of the three members of the council, voting without any obvious consideration of the 33 people who spoke from the floor, representing industry, small business and interested citizens.
For many years when nationwide unemployment was on the increase, El Segundo was privileged to have an outstanding labor environment. This atmosphere has been severly damaged.
