Hermosa Beach : $9.44 a Minute for Meetings

City Council meetings cost Hermosa Beach $566.59 an hour--or $9.44 a minute--according to a city report prepared at the request of Mayor Pro Tem John Cioffi.

Of that amount, $467.09 goes for salaries that would be saved for each hour the meetings were cut back. The semimonthly meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. and often last until midnight or later.

The cost of a four-hour meeting, including agenda preparation, is about $7,600, the report says. When he requested the report, Cioffi said the council often takes too much time discussing small expenditures and spends more money arguing the issue than it would to make the purchase.