[Editor’s Note: The former editor of the Daily News writes the Ron Kaye L.A. blog.]
Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson forfeited all credibility last week when he failed in his blatant attempt to squeeze $216 million out of taxpayers to please his labor union bosses and the assorted greed merchants who have gotten so rich off of City Hall’s dirty deals.
Now it’s time for Herb to pay the bill for rushing Prop. A to the ballot without proper public hearings or analysis, and then coercing business interests that do business with the city into funding the campaign. The unions needed no coercion since they are all set to get their deferred raises in a year along with new lucrative contracts.
He should resign as Council President immediately. Or the weasels around the horseshoe should fire him. Of course, that won’t happen. They are all just as responsible for the state of this troubled city as he is.
[img]1436|left|Councilman Bernard Parks||no_popup[/img]The least we could expect from Wesson, if he has any honor left, is that he appoint Councilman Bernard Parks, the only elected official who knows anything about the budget and who is fiscally responsible, to head a Citizens Commission of his own choosing to offer solutions to the unending budget deficits and cuts in public services.
Of course, that won’t happen. But it doesn’t have to. Parks took the stage at the steps of City Hall last Monday to make a last-minute appeal to voters to reject Prop. A’s sales tax increase precisely because it didn’t fix anything at all.
He also put forward a “Catch 22” of talking points – 22 specific measures that have been talked to death at City Hall for years without action, steps that could begin to turn L.A. around financially and, more importantly, politically, by sparking a genuine public and open discussion of how we move forward together.
We don’t need Wesson or any of those people so let’s start the discussion now and challenge Garcetti and Greuel to offer their own specific plans on how to fix the budget:
Councilmember Parks’s Catch 22 Budget Fixes:
1.) Allow New Administration to Make Decision About New Taxes
2.) Study the “DROP” Program for Cost Neutrality as Mandated by Implementing Ordinance
3.) Implement the Negotiated “No Code Seven” Policy Within the LAPD (Adds 250 patrol units to annual deployment)
4.) Eliminate the Three-and-Four-Day Work Week (12- and 10-Hour Shifts) Which Will Increase Deployment by 20 Percent to 30 Percent
5.) Re-evaluate LAFD’s “Constant Staffing” Requirements and Criteria With the Emphasis on Reduction of Overtime Allocations
6.) Support the Ratepayer Advocate's Future Costing Recommendations for the Recently-Approved “Feed in Tariff ” Ordinance
7a.) Identify Cost Containment and Mitigation of Medical Costs Within the DWP
7b.) Create Strategies to Reduce LADWP's Salary and Pension Costs and Reduce All Entry-Level LADWP Salaries by 20 Percent
8.) Freeze Hiring Citywide, Stop Filling Non-Critical Vacancies
9.) Cut the Size of the City's Workforce to a Sustainable Level, Reduce Service Impacts by Investing in Outsourcing to Local Businesses and Contractors
10). Reduce Fulltime City Worker Positions, Where Appropriate, to Part-Time Positions
11.) Establish New Budget Priorities, Deployment Strategies and Department Organizational Structures
12.) Maximize Civilian-ization
13.) Prepare the Legal Basis for a City Position to Defer, Mitigate or Eliminate the Currently-Proposed Employee Raises, Prepare Strategies for Negotiating New Successor Contracts for 2013 & 2014
14.) Increase Employee Contributions to Pension, Current Medical and Retiree Medical Plans
15.) Seek Needed Changes to Reform the State's Workers’ Comp Administration, Seek Changes in Local Rules Addressing Overtime Pay
16.) Reject the Currently-Approved Recommendations Regarding the “Exclusive Commercial and Multi-Family Solid Waste Franchise Hauling System”, Implement CAO's Recommendations for a Non-Exclusive System
17.) Leave the City's Gross Receipts Tax ALONE!
18.) Expand Public-Private Partnerships, Contract Out Convention Center, Zoo, Technology and Paramedic Administration and Services
19.) Evaluate and Implement Appropriate Recommendations of the Commission on Revenue Efficiency (CORE) and Gain Full Adherence to Executive Directive No. 5 and the Citywide Guidelines to Maximize Revenue Collections
20.) Reduce the Use of “One-Time Revenue” Expenditures on Multi-Year/Ongoing Debt, Return the Use of Special Funds(e.g. Special Parking Revenue Funds [SPRF]& ITA Public Access and Infrastructure Funds to their Intended Purposes
21.) Revise City Policy to Expand Area of Usage for QUIMBY Funds
22). Explore Feasibility of Creating Expanded Maintenance Districts(Sidewalks, Curbs, Curb Cuts & Trees) Modeled After the Current City Lighting Districts
View the results of the vote on Prop. A from election day here.
Mr. Kaye may be contacted at www.ronkayela.com
