ORDINANCE NO. ____

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CULVER CITY ESTABLISHING A BITCOIN STRATEGIC RESERVE PARTNERSHIP (BSRP) AND A RULES-BASED FRAMEWORK TO PHASE OUT PROPERTY TAX DEPENDENCE

Findings.

A. The City seeks long-run fiscal resilience, innovation leadership, and intergenerational equity.

B. For FY 2025-26, projected property-tax revenue is approximately $17 million, a significant share of the General Fund. 

C. Under current California investment statutes (Gov. Code §53601 and related guidance), local agencies are limited to enumerated instruments; cryptocurrency is not among permitted investments. 

D. To remain compliant while accelerating innovation, the City will partner with an independent philanthropic foundation that can lawfully hold bitcoin and grant dollars to the City (“BSR Foundation”), with transparent guardrails inspired by endowment best practices. (Examples include Alaska’s POMV discipline and municipal pilots like Roswell’s donation-seeded reserve.) 

Section 1. Establishment.

The Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Partnership (BSRP) is hereby created to (i) receive and manage philanthropic support through an independent BSR Foundation, and (ii) convert foundation grants into predictable, rules-based funding for City services with the goal of phasing out property-tax reliance over time, subject to safeguards.

Section 2. Compliance & Structure.

(a) The City shall not invest public monies in bitcoin unless and until expressly authorized by California law. 

(b) The City may accept grants from the BSR Foundation (a separate 501(c)(3) or equivalent) whose charter permits bitcoin holdings and mandates qualified custody, multi-sig, insurance, independent audits, and public reporting. (Roswell’s public model is a reference for donation-seeded reserves and guardrails.) 

(c) All City receipts from the BSR Foundation shall be USD grants, deposited and budgeted per existing City and state law.

Section 3. Guardrails for Grant Use.

(a) Discipline rule (POMV): Annual grant draws used for operations shall not exceed 5% of the Foundation’s five-year trailing average net asset value (NAV). 

(b) High-water & downturn rule: If Foundation NAV is >20% below its peak, the City will suspend growth of BSR-funded programs and cap operational use to 3% of the five-year average until recovery.

(c) Transparency: The Foundation will publish quarterly NAV, inflows, custody attestations, and an annual audit.

Section 4. Property-Tax Sunset Triggers (Performance-Based).

Upon independent verification that five-year-average annual grants reliably cover the thresholds below, the Council shall enact matching property-tax rate reductions in the next budget cycle:

• 25% coverage of the $17M baseline → 10% rate reduction

• 50% coverage → 50% rate reduction

• 100% coverage → full elimination, with a “rainy-day buffer” equal to 3 years of the former baseline set aside before final zero-out. (At a 5% POMV, replacing ~$17M implies a target endowment on the order of $340M.) 

Section 5. Acceptable Funding Sources to the Foundation.

Donations; corporate matches; impact-investment pledges; and third-party project proceeds (e.g., methane-to-mining partnerships executed outside City treasury) may seed the Foundation. (Landfill-powered mining pilots are operating in Utah at ~280kW scale.) 

Section 6. Implementation.

The City Manager and City Attorney are directed, within 60 days, to return with (i) a standard MOU template for accepting BSR Foundation grants, (ii) public reporting standards, and (iii) any charter/budget policy updates necessary for integration.

Section 7. Severability; Effective Date.

If any provision is invalid, the remainder remains in force. This Ordinance takes effect 30 days after adoption.

12-Month Launch Plan (Culver City)

Months 0–2 — “Greenlight + Governance”

• Council study session; adopt the ordinance above.
• Form a Mayor’s BSR Founders Council (5–7 respected local/philanthropic leaders).
• City Attorney drafts MOU language for accepting USD grants from an independent BSR Foundation.
• Publish a one-page public explainer with the FY25-26 $17M property-tax baseline and the long-run target (≈$340M endowment @ 5% POMV).  

Months 2–4 — “Seed & Signal”

• Stand up the BSR Foundation (board, bylaws, custody policy, multi-sig, insurance, audit firm).
• Launch a “Sats Club” donor program (tiers, naming recognition).
• Announce no-tax dollars will be used for bitcoin; only USD grants from the Foundation will fund City services (compliance clarity).  

Months 3–6 — “Pipelines On”

• Philanthropy roadshow (studios, tech founders, civic leaders).
• Windfall policy (outside the City treasury): encourage donors to pledge a portion of real-estate liquidity events; reference Culver City’s progressive Measure RE RPTT context as a narrative hook for community reinvestment (still philanthropic, not City funds).  
• Issue an RFI/RFP for landfill-gas-to-mining partnerships led by private operators donating a % of proceeds to the Foundation; require environmental, noise and community safeguards. (Real-world precedent: Marathon/Nodal Power landfill pilot)  

Months 6–9 — “Transparency + First Grants”

• Launch a public dashboard (quarterly NAV, inflows, custody attestations).
• First USD operating grant to the City under the POMV cap (e.g., ≤5% of 5-yr average NAV).  
• Optional branding pilot: Fort Worth showed that small, symbolic crypto pilots can punch above their weight in attracting innovation—use this to recruit employers while keeping City funds conservative.  

Months 9–12 — “Scale + Guardrails”

• Independent audit of the Foundation; publish results.
• Adopt drawdown policy for downturns (3% cap when NAV is >20% below high-water); memorialize in MOU.
• If five-year-average grants cover ≥25% of the baseline, adopt the first 10% property-tax reduction for the next budget. (Maintain a 3-year rainy-day buffer before the final sunset.)

Why this wins (bold + prudent)

• Compliant now, optionality later. We keep City cash 100% within state-approved instruments while mobilizing private capital to build the bitcoin endowment via a separate foundation.  
• Rules, not vibes. POMV and high-water marks impose endowment discipline—the Alaska model funds more than half the state’s GF today.  
• Multiple fuel lines. Philanthropy, corporate matches, and methane-to-mining give the BSR diversified inflows with real-world precedents.  
• Visibility & momentum. Transparent dashboards + early USD grants create public trust and brand Culver City as innovation-friendly (see Fort Worth’s halo effect).  

Notes & sources you can hand to counsel

• Culver City FY25-26 property-tax projection ≈ $17M; also shows RPTT/TOT and other top taxes.  
• CA Gov Code §53601 + 2025 Local Agency Investment Guidelines (crypto not a permitted instrument; anything not listed is prohibited).  
• Alaska POMV (5% draw on multi-year average) — reference model for spending discipline.  
• Roswell, NM: first U.S. city to formally stand up a bitcoin strategic reserve via donations; guardrail framing.  
• Fort Worth, TX mining pilot (symbolic revenue; strong signaling).  
• Landfill-gas BTC mining precedent (Marathon/Nodal Power ~280kW).  
• Culver City Measure RE (progressive RPTT) — useful donor narrative, not City crypto exposure.  

want me to tailor the ordinance text with your preferred foundation name, dashboard URL, and a first-year grant target (e.g., $1–3M) so you can drop it straight into an agenda packet? 🎯