Public comment featured janitors who missed yesterday’s General Services Department hearing. They showed up today waving toilet brushes and making clear that L.A. government would be an even dirtier place if their numbers are diminished by layoffs.

Olvera Street merchants stung by planned rent increases of 100 percent voiced displeasure with the city’s management. El Pueblo commissioner David Louie took a lot of heat from Budget and Finance Chairman Bernard Park who wanted to know why the commission did not heed the city council’s recommendation to delay rent hikes. Louie held his ground saying a “$170 million tenant subsidy is inappropriate” referring to the commissioners’ position that rents have been too low for too long.

Cultural Affairs was up next and the hot topic was the mayor’s “earmarking” of grant money. Public comments opposed the plan to take a big chunk of funds doled out to artists and designating them for channel 36, El Grito, Pan African Film Festival, and the Latino Film Festival.

Aging and Disability got off relatively unscathed as they took their turns in the spotlight.

The Information Technology Agency got questions about the cable bill taxes Angelenos pay and the fact that 40 percent of that money is designated for city’s TV stations, yet it doesn’t seem to be enough or is too much or may be the right amount, but the numbers don’t add up. Any way, Councilman Bill Rosendahl provided a history lesson about cable TV and ITA was told to report back.

Community Development and Neighborhood Empowerment rounded out the day’s deliberations. Committee members questioned CDD general manager Richard Benbow about effects of a merger with DONE. Benbow explained how things would work and asked for more money to cover NC education and training programs that had been left out of the budget. None of the committee members proposed to cut individual NC funding. So far, so good.

Neighborhood Council budget advocates Stephen Box, Ginger Damon, and Doug Epperhart were present at Friday’s meeting.

Let’s talk billions.  We will start owing almost one-half a billion dollars.  We will start with depleted Reserve Fund which will leave us vulnerable to any fire, flood, earthquake, riot or other emergency.  We will start with 32,800 employees, 5,000 less that our largest crew, and we expect to lay off anywhere from 700 to 4,000 more.  We will ask some of them to work fewer hours, to take unpaid furloughs, and to receive smaller pay checks.  Decreased staff means decrease services too our City.

In the past, the General Fund paid most of the City’s bills, paid our employees and operating expenses.  This year, we hope to collect $ 4.3 billion into our General Fund and $ 2.4 billion in Special Funds for a total of $ 6.7 billion.  Because our General Fund is shrinking, the Mayor and Council seem fixed on shifting everyone paid by the General Fund to programs paid by the Special Funds.  The problem is that Special Funds are just that; special grants, donations and loans from State, Federal and private sources which support specific (special) activities and for a specific (limited) period of time.  Where will the employees whose salaries come from Special Funds go when those Funds end?  The State, Federal and private money has decreased, too.  Will new money follow the old programs?  Will that decrease our staff and, therefore, our City services even more?

April 27^th, the first day of the B&F meetings, the members questioned $ 80M of the income as unreliable and, even, as “fantasy.”   They said that the predicted General Fund income may be seriously over estimated and asked for more detail.

April 28^th, receiving unflagging support from the Mayor and enough B&F Members, the LAPD ($ 1.97 billion), LAFD ($ 773 million) and Controller’s ($ 28 million) budgets were not changed, much.  The City Attorney took a heavy hit, though.

April 29^th, B&F looked at Building & Safety ($ 103 million) and heard the howls of Animal Services ($ 33 million) supporters who were afraid we would have to put more and more animals to sleep.  We heard the Finance Department ($ 40 million) explain how they have increased collections of citizen unpaid obligations from $ 32 million to $ 65 million (a year) in just 9 years but it is hard to know what to believe when we hear that they will do better next year, with a smaller staff.  LACERS and the Fire & Police Pension Plan were proud that they would process 2,400 ERIP employees and more laid off (fired) employees but they couldn’t itemize their costs, yet.  The Department of Public Works (DPW) said that there was $ 525 million in the Community Beautification Grant program and they hoped that the 90 NCs would use $ 5,000 to $ 10,000 of their $ 45,000 in this program. Maybe 5 NCs have Beautification Grants, so far.

Has Public Works asked your NC to submit a grant?  Public Works has two accountants watching this money.  How many accountants will the NCs need?  The DPW’s Bureau of Street Services ($ 144 million) won’t be fixing as many potholes, streets or sidewalks next year.  New policies (City Ordinances) are necessary to return the responsibility of our sidewalks to the property owners.  The DPW’s Bureau of Sanitation Solid Waste Fee was increased in September 2008 to pay for the full cost of picking up trash from all single-family homes.  It uses that $ 313 million to pay for “…principal and interest, leases, acquisitions and equipment costs.”  …and you thought it went to buy us another 1,000 police officers?  The Department of Transportation ($103 million) is thinking of combining its street striping with Street Services street repairs and other “mergers.”  Planning hopes to finish 7 Community Plans, as promised, but admitted that they are way behind in their planning.  It appears that Rec. & Parks and the Libraries will be poorer, next year.

The bottom line which drew dozens of NC Stakeholders to E&N on April 27^th and to B&F on April 29^th, DONE, although on the written agenda, was not discussed on either day.  Instead, it will be discussed, tomorrow, April 30th, as a sub-set of the Community Development Department.  The difference between the DONE funds and the NC funds was not described. The difference between the DONE functions and the NC functions was not mentioned.  There may be a 91^st NC, next week, if BONC approves Northridge South NC on May 4rth.  Can the City afford to pay another $ 45,000 a year?

Keep watching … it’s just beginning to take shape.

Daniel Wiseman

Councilman Bernard Parks, chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, spoke at a meeting of the Los Angeles Coalition of Neighborhood Councils this past Saturday, March 6th.

As the person in City Hall with the most power to deal with the almost $700 million deficit we face over the next eighteen months,  you would think he’d embrace an aggressive strategy to deal with the core of the problem – compensation and benefits.

Instead, he said there is no way to renegotiate for higher pension contributions by the city’s union employees.  He suggested it was legally impossible.

I asked him about last year’s Federal Court decision involving union contributions. A synopsis of the case explained the Court’s ruling:

The court distinguished an employee’s vested contractual right to earn a certain level of pension benefit upon the acceptance of public employment from a term of employment subject to modification in the bargaining process.  In this regard, it recognized an employee’s compensation to be a condition of employment which can be modified without violating any vested rights.  The court concluded that the City’s subsidy of the employee contributions was simply a component of compensation.  The same was true of a reduction in compensation for the non-subsidized employees.

In other words, employee contributions are not treated as a protected vested right. You can read the entire opinion here.

Parks said his position was based on internal legal advice. My guess is he didn’t press very hard for an unbiased, independent opinion.

Bernie must not be talking to his peers.  Even his colleague Bill Rosendahl wants employees to kick in more.

All of the Gubernatorial candidates, including Jerry Brown, are talking about pension reform – and you can’t talk reform without considering pension costs and who is going to pay for them.

An  article in the Daily News covers this issue very well.

When asked by KRLA’s Kevin James why bankruptcy was not being used as leverage to get the unions to the table, Parks responded by saying the strategy would be viewed as a harmless ploy because the city has no intention of filing.

Parks took James’ question way too literally, perhaps so he could tap dance around the answer.  James was not suggesting bankruptcy as an overt threat, but wants the city to keep the option open, as it should.

The City does not have to wave the bankruptcy option around like a sword, but it does need to study the process and ramifications in the event all else fails. The unions need to see that the City Council would resort to bankruptcy, if necessary.

There have been occasions where Parks has spoken somewhat boldly, even stating that bankruptcy is a possibility if a solution cannot be found.  So why did he take a meek position that suggested renegotiation of contributions was impossible, that somehow we would be able to resolve the deficit without winning concessions?  Well, probably because Julie Butcher, a regional director with the SEIU, was sitting in the front row.  Bernie would not want to upset her.

I am not saying negotiations of employee contributions will be a walk in the park (or Parks).  It will probably amount to a bare knuckle fight, but the longer we put the process off, the less time we will have to close the budget gap.  Remember, it is not just the current deficit either.  According to the Daily News article, the city’s contribution to pension plans is expected to double from $635 million to $1.3 billion in four years.  That means even if we did resolve the current $700 million shortfall, we would be facing another $700 million right on its heels.

How are we going to cover that?

Deputy Mayor Larry Frank presented at a Board of Neighborhood Commissioners meeting Tuesday, the organizational structure for the Mayor’s proposed plan to merging the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment into the Community Development Department.

The merger eliminates DONE as a separate and distinct department and replace it with an Office of Neighborhood Council Support making it merely a minor appendage to the much larger CDD.

It’s not just that the new, tiny 16 employee office is small, compared to CDD at 300 employees,  it’s troublesome because it will not be an independent voice for neighborhood councils, but will answer to the Assistant General Manager of CDD. That’s right the new Director of Neighborhood Council Support (née DONE) and BONC as well for that matter will be UNDER the AGM at the CDD.

To add insult to (real) injury the CDD General Manager publicly at last week’s (Feb. 16th) City council Education & Neighborhoods meeting expressed no desire to have DONE part of his department, something that Larry Frank and the Mayor would have know before the plan was made public.  So we have reluctant shotgun marriage forced by the Mayor.

Structure is everything in an organization.  Will DONE have to be satisfied with whatever resources and hand me downs it can get from the CDD?

Although I can see some synergy between DONE and CDD on outreach for some important community programs, more likely though DONE will get marching orders to assist CDD in areas and directions that neighborhood councils do not want to go. Money and resources that should be used to improve L.A.’s neighborhoods could be largely consumed by CDD’s mission.

Some say it is possible for DONE to continue to exist as an independent department the way the voters decided and still cut as many positions and dollars as the mayor’s consolidation plan anticipates.  Even if turns out to be legal, having a commission and a department that were created by the City Charter reporting directly to an assistant general manager in a department that is created by ordinance is simply a bad idea.

Neighborhood Councils were set up to be an independent community voice, not carry water for the City Council or Mayor and not certainly for the Community Development Department.

This revelation is much more serious and far reaching than losing rollover funds or having delayed NC elections, far more serious than reduced NC funding. The  Mayor’s plan in contrast, stabs a stake into the very heart of the NC system.  If this subservient role is enshrined in the City Charter and by ordinance neighborhood councils may not have access to resources they need and could be subject to unfriendly directives and maneuvered in directions not of their choosing – by both the CDD and the City Council. The sentiment of some in the City to minimize the pesky NCs will have been realized.

The Board of Neighborhood Commissioners made no recommendation to the City Council, wanting to study the proposal in more detail.

The Education and Neighborhoods Committee will take up the issue at their next meeting on March 9th.

MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA
CONTINUES COMMITMENT  TO BALANCING BUDGET
WITH CONSOLIDATION OF TWO CITY DEPARTMENTS

The consolidation of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and the Community Development Department will eliminate 27 positions and approximately save $2 million annually

LOS ANGELES – Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today continued his commitment to balancing the City’s budget and announced the consolidation of the Community Development Department and Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. If approved by the City Council, the newly consolidated department-Department of Community Development/Department of Neighborhood Empowerment-will eliminate 27 positions, approximately save $2 million annually, and reduce the total number of City departments and general managers.

“The consolidation effort will not only create cost savings, but will serve to take the bureaucracy out of community empowerment,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “This consolidation is an opportunity to create the volunteer opportunities that engage communities and foster participation in our neighborhoods.”

The Mayor ordered the consolidation of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and the Community Development Department as a means to maintain the necessary support for the City’s 90 Neighborhood Councils while minimizing general fund cost. The consolidation has allowed the City to rethink certain functions, automate others, and provide the Neighborhood Councils with a more efficient entity that works to better address the needs of the communities they serve.

Complementing the CDD’s long tradition of community service and organization of volunteers, the newly consolidated CDD/DONE will issue Requests for Proposals to support training programs, funding program oversight and other functions essential to fostering community involvement in our City’s Neighborhood Councils. Furthering efficiency, the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners will be supported by CDD resources.

As part of the consolidation, the Mayor has nominated current Community Development Department General Manager, Richard Benbow, to head the new Department of Community Development and Neighborhood Empowerment. As a consequence, current General Manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, BongHwan Kim, will step down. (Departure Letter attached.)

On February 4, 2010, the Mayor instructed City Department Heads to immediately begin the process of eliminating 1,000 filled General Fund positions and to the extent possible, transfer personnel from these positions to Special Fund vacancies. This expedited effort has resulted in close to 200 transfers thus far.

In response to the City’s credit rating being downgraded, the Council moved to approve the elimination of an additional 3,000 positions. As Chief Executive Officer, the Mayor is instructing all department heads to begin the process of targeting these additional positions for elimination. The identification of positions will be under the guidance and direction of the Mayor’s office and in coordination with the City Administrative Officer (CAO). The Mayor’s proposed Fiscal Year 2010-11 budget will serve as the comprehensive report detailing the position eliminations requested by the City Council.

CDD/DONE-BH Kim Resignation Letter

CDD/DONE-Consolidation

CDD/DONE-New Org Chart

The title of this post might be perfectly fine advice for a mild headache, but how would you like it if you were carried to an emergency room with serious injuries and the doctor prescribed just that?

That is what has been happening in the City Controller’s Office since at least November 2006 when the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment was cited for a complete lack of financial controls.

Laura Chick simply provided DONE with an equivalent recommendation of “take two aspirins…”  To make matters worse, she never conducted any meaningful follow-up, instead relying on assertions by DONE that certain key audit recommendations were implemented.  Did she really take the word of a Department with no history of financial control?  It appears that she did.

Wendy Greuel conducted a follow-up audit at the request of DONE GM Kim. I credit him for requesting one, but he already knew that nothing had changed since Laura Chick first issued her report.  Whether Wendy would have initiated one on her own is debatable. There appeared to have been no movement by her office to perform any post-report review.

DONE General Manager BH Kim told the LA Times in Oct 2009 the $4.5-million neighborhood council funding program “was never really well thought out enough to prevent these kinds of criminal activities.” – referring to the credit card fraud committed by a handful of NCs.

Allegations of purchasing card fraud went back to 2007 according to the article and DONE offered no assistance: ”They kept trying to put it back on us (Olympic Park NC) to somehow review the expenses — we were not capable of having a meeting.”

In essence, DONE  remained out of control the entire time from when Laura’s report was issued through today.

Section 262 (b) of the City Charter states: Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Controller shall delegate to the various offices and departments the duties of inspection of goods and services and approval of demands, in accordance with methods for inspection and approval established by the Controller, but the Controller may suspend the authority delegated pursuant to this subsection upon a finding of abuse of that authority or on a determination that the office or department lacks adequate controls to exercise that authority properly. In the event of suspension of the authority delegated pursuant to this subsection, the Controller shall assist the office or department to achieve adequate controls and standards prior to reinstatement of that authority to the office or department.

So, I ask, what does it take for the City Controller to suspend authority and assume responsibility for a department incapable of responsibly processing monetary transactions?  Furthermore, how could the City Controller continue to pay invoices for DONE when she knew there were serious problems in the department?

Why am I even dredging up this old news?

Well,  it appears that DONE is being dismantled for all practical purposes. It’s not just about the budget crisis – DONE’s budget is small potatoes compared to the city’s as a whole.  It was more about the negative publicity generated by the actions of a few criminals, weak management within the department and, most important in my view, the failure of the City Controller’s Office to perform its fiduciary responsibilities.

This train wreck would have been avoided if the Controller had not been asleep at the wheel for three years.

What was the greatest experiment in municipal democracy is being trashed because the people responsible for intervening did not do their jobs.   That’s City Hall for you.

At the LANCC BudgetLA meeting Feb. 13th BHK said that the non-profit could do the job in a more efficient way and more cheaply.

A few days later, Feb 16th, at the L.A. City Council Education and Neighborhoods Committee meeting he appeared to make a u-turn and said the funding program should be kept within the city.

I asked BHK for clarification this is what BHK wrote to me
“We have to pursue multiple paths at the same time i.e. fix the current system as much as possible while going through an outsourcing process which can take 4-6 months. The least worst option would be to farm out separately to a larger department.
Bhk”

At the E&N meeting the City Administrative Office did say it could take until the next budget year to realize any savings if funding responsibility was transferred to another entity.

BongHwan Kim: U-Turn or Steady Course, U-Decide

At Saturday’s LANCC Budget LA meeting, moderator Stephen Box reminded us that when the oxygen masks on an airplane in distress are lowered we first put them on ourselves and then assist others. NCs need to take care of themselves because like the airline passenger we won’t be of help if we are incapacitated by defunding.

It was suggested in passing at City Hall? That to save the City money those NCs that didn’t show up to the BudgetLA meetings should lose all their funding.

A proposal to reduce DONE staffing by including NC volunteers something previously endorsed at the Feb. 6th LANCC meeting got some serious discussion. One queried can we get enough NC members to staff the 30 or so volunteer positions and another Paul Hatfield, was concerned about continuity in the DONE with NC volunteer turn over.

Doug Epperhart presented the plan in place of Shawn Simons, away in New York. He said the final numbers or conditions are not cast in concrete.

The Education and Neighborhoods Committee will take up the issue of DONE and NC structure and funding this Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. in the City Council chambers.

BongHwan Kim, General Manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, welcomes the changes put forth. He reminds us that the neighborhood councils are considered mini-city councils by the City , at least for the purposes of oversight. That requires NCs to have various department resources and support. That makes DONE an enforcer of numerous regulations and keeps it involved in many areas, diluting focus and requiring expertise in those areas. That is inefficient.

Community Partners, a non-profit was proposed to handle financial oversight of NC funding, taking a large workload off of DONE’s shoulders. BongHwan Kim felt that a non-profit could likely do it better and cheaper, largely because the non-profit wouldn’t be burdened by the City pension system.

When the NC pulse was taken to support outsourcing there was some hesitation with a split vote. The motion was amended to explore the possibility of outsourcing rather than recommending it presently.

At the LANCC BudgetLA meeting Feb. 6th a 7% charge for all transactions by Community partners was thought to be their fee. At Saturdays meeting Lupe Solorio of Community Partners said the fee could be 12%.

The hybrid plan presented Saturday consists of reorganizing DONE into four departments:

1. Administration – Responsible for the efficient running of the DONE office
2. Public Relations – To create a citywide NC campaign to encourage stakeholder participation in the system
3. Governmental Relations – Create relationships with City departments and foster communication with City Hall
4. Training – Programs to create strong boards and seamless transitions.

The total paid City personnel required is just 17 which includes a General Manager and Assistant GM. This is less than the proposed cut by the CAO to 19. The slack left by the reduced staff would be formally picked up by 35 NC unpaid positions staffed by NC volunteers, permanently assigned to DONE.

The reported savings to the City is at least $4 Million, again more than required by the CAO’s plan.

In exchange the NCs want minimal cuts leaving funding largely intact, re-instituted a one year rollover of unspent funds year, maintain the current system of bank cards for small disbursements and to allow NC involvement in determining expenditure categories.

Everyone is asked to arrive at Tuesday’s City Council meeting early to meet City Council staff and to attend the Education and Neighborhoods Committee meeting starting in the same chamber at 3 p.m.

Michael Cohen is a long time community activist and Reseda NC Council Liaison. He can be reached a mncohen@earthlink.net

LANCC Budget LA:

This past Saturday, 88 people gathered in Hollywood for a BudgetLA meeting that featured a presentation on a grass roots proposal to reorganize DONE and to create a “hybrid” system that would focus on core priorities which include governmental relations, public relations, and training. The plan is a starting point, one that presents the City Council and the Mayor with an opportunity to partner with the neighborhood councils in restructuring a neighborhood council machine that is cost-effective and user-friendly.

Today’s Education & Neighborhoods Committee is the first stop for the neighborhood council activists, one that will include a presentation of the DONE re-organization plan and a formal response to the five agendized CAO recommendations. The DONE re-org plan comes with the endorsement of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition on Saturday the 6th and BudgetLA on Saturday the 13th. The E & N Special Meeting response was endorsed by BudgetLA on the 13th.

Neighborhood Council activists have been meeting every weekend since the beginning of the year to tackle the budget crisis and to ensure that neighborhood councils have a role in the journey. Hundreds of participants representing 75 of the 90 certified neighborhood councils have attended meetings featuring speakers such as Alex Rubalcava on pension reform, John Mumma from the Police Protection League, Julie Butcher of the SEIU, and Wendy Greuel, the LA City Controller. Through it all, the BudgetLA commitment has been to inform the public, to engage the public, and to empower the public.

This past Saturday’s BudgetLA meeting featured special guests BongHwan Kim, General Manager of DONE, Jerry Kvasnicka, Independent Election Administrator, and Lupe Solorio from Community Partners. BH expressed his confidence in the re-org plan and his optimism that we could work together on core priorities that are cost effective and efficient. Jerry Kvasnicka gave his assurance that neighborhood council elections could be conducted at a greatly reduced expense and with an increase in neighborhood council participation. Lupe Solorio offered financial oversight and out-sourcing options that include administration, training and accounting services. In all three cases, the specifics of the re-org, the elections, and the financial oversight remain to be worked out but the message was that we have choices, if we work together to make them happen.

Ultimately, the neighborhood councils have a plan and it all starts with the Mayor and the City Council embracing neighborhood councils as part of the solution.

The journey starts Tuesday:

Education & Environment Committee

February 16, 2010
3:00 pm
City Hall – Council Chambers
200 Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
To listen by phone: 213-621-2489
To contact the E & N Committee:

Councilmember Paul Krekorian

Paul.Krekorian@lacity.org
213-473-7002
http://Twitter.com/PaulKrekorian
http://Facebook.com/Krekorian
http://CD2Policy.wordpress.com <- leave your comments online!

Councilmember Janice Hahn

Janice.Hahn@lacity.org
213-473-7015

Councilmember Dennis Zine

Dennis.Zine@lacity.org
213-473-7003

CityWatch

Now, more than ever, neighborhood councils have the opportunity to step up and participate in the restructuring of a Great City or they can settle back and assume the role of spectator. As the Mayor and City Council grapple with the city’s budget crisis and the CAO’s proposed budget cuts, neighborhood council leaders from around the city will meet again this Saturday, at the Hollywood Presbyterian Church on Gower, to refine a plan to reorganize the Department of Empowerment and to work with Councilman Paul Krekorian and the Education and Neighborhoods Committee on establishing the NC system as an essential component in the structure of Los Angeles.

The journey began last Saturday when Shawn Simons, President of the Empowerment Congress North Area, proposed an audacious and bold plan for a hybrid and money-saving version of DONE. This proposal will save money in excess of the cuts proposed by CAO Miguel Santana in his technocratic and uninspired approach to addressing LA’s priorities and core responsibilities. It will also address opportunities to focus on the core priorities of DONE and to ensure greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Shawn’s Plan was presented to the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition last Saturday and was approved with a resounding near-unanimous vote.

This past Tuesday, the CAO’s recommendations for DONE and the neighborhood council funding came before the City Council but the die was cast. Neighborhood council members had been at work since Saturday, advancing the proposed plan and appealing for a reprieve.

When community members showed up in City Council chambers to speak, newly minted Councilman Paul Krekorian, Chair of the E & N Committee, had a motion ready, seconded by six other Councilmembers, pulling the recommendations into committee and providing neighborhood councils a place at the table.

The E & N Committee meets this coming Tuesday at 3:00 pm and that deadline demands that neighborhood councils get the work done this weekend.

Now, more than ever, it is imperative that neighborhood council members get it together and come up with a plan for the future. This includes the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, this includes the Neighborhood Council System, this includes the relationship the community has with the Mayor and the City Council, and it all depends on the work that gets done this Saturday, February 13 when BudgetLA gathers in Hollywood and the people of Los Angeles rise to the challenge and deliver a call to action and a plan for success. BudgetLA starts at 10:00 am.

If you believe in a leaner, more efficient, more responsive Department of Empowerment, join us at BudgetLA on Saturday @ 10:00 am.

If you want to see a strong and effective relationship between the neighborhood councils and City Hall, bring others from your community and seize this opportunity.

If you are ready to contribute to making Los Angeles a Great City, there’s a place for you at the table and the now is the time to step up and to make it happen.

Neighborhood councils exist to advise the Mayor and City Council on the city’s budget, to monitor the delivery of city services, and to engage the public in the civic process. Now is the time to act on that mandate but if neighborhood councils hesitate, the very essence of the structure of Los Angeles will change and the community will be left to wonder “What happened?”

Now is the time for the people of Los Angeles to step up and to create the Los Angeles that we’ve all imagined, and discussed, and debated, and longed for. Now is the time to act.

On Saturday, February 13 at 10:00 am, BudgetLA will be meeting at the Hollywood Presbyterian Church for a robust session that takes on DONE reorganization, the neighborhood council system, neighborhood council funding and rollovers, a strategy for working with Councilman Krekorian, Hahn, and Zine, all in pursuit of a seat at the table and a strong working relationship with City Hall.

BudgetLA

Saturday, Feb 13, 2010
10:00 am

Hollywood Presbyterian Church
Upper Terrace Hall
1760 Gower Ave, N of Hollywood Blvd.
(Enter on Yucca, Park on Yucca)
Hollywood, 90028

click for AGENDA

The juvenile targets, the Public Workforce[PW] & the Public Tax Payer[PTP], in their infantile stage, are beginning to wake up from an extended long of a long beauty sleep.

We’re behind & half hazard equipped – some low % of us are ants like running in all directions while carrying loads of baggage filled with obsulete self agenda – trying to catch up with tremendous hit & miss efforts.

Engineered “Budget Crisis” is part of a Planned Engineered Design [PED]

May be … the long shot solution could be to restructure & eliminate our back breaking highest cost components of this PED – the middle people of Mayor, Council, their extensive of more than 2000 entourages, 200 commission boards, minimum of 600 committees, almost 1500 consultants & advisors of all sorts & etc & etc.

As part of this PED – We pay and work to maintain these components.

May be … the just pleasent sounding Public-Private Partnership [P3], can no longer take the coat of paint of Sneaky Privatization. It NOW appears to be Obsulete!

May be … We need a NEW BUSINESS MODEL – Just Go Direct [JGD]!

New Business Model for Public-Private Partnership
The Public Work Force & Public Taxpayers to work directly with the true planners and designers of our system, the world of mega corporations, developers & investors.

Maybe …

Azar Nejad
Transportation Engineer
(213)972-8496
Public Service is a Full Time Job!
Furloughs ONLY HURT!
Our City Communities & Our Families!
Please HELP ENDING Our Furloughs!

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made an appearance before the City Council Tuesday to encourage swift decision making on layoffs, department cuts, and other budget balancing measures.

The audience, comprised mostly of city workers, city council representatives, and community activists, jeered and booed the mayor upon his arrival and at his assertion that layoffs are inescapable.

Rejecting the reasoning of several council members who said the budget crisis could be resolved without layoffs the mayor said, “We can’t continue to say no to everything. We can’t say no to layoffs, no to furloughs, no to department eliminations…The fact is we can’t sustain this business model.”

The mayor’s sense of urgency and emphasis on cutting 1,000 jobs may stem from his realization that should the city go bankrupt he could be held personally responsible.

For nearly two hours the mayor heard and answered questions from members of the council. The interaction was peppered with discussion about the unanimity of the mayor and the council, a response to recent media reports stating that their was growing rift between the two.

Villaraigosa promoted the privatization of the city’s parking garages and meters. He also called for private ownership of the Los Angeles Zoo and convention center, arguing that the city can no longer be all thing to all people.

Also at stake is the city’s credit rating which is under closer surveillance by finance firms and credit rating agencies all over the country. In November of last year Fitch downgraded the city’s credit rating due to oversized debt. The downgrade then raised interest rates making it more difficult and more expensive for the city to borrow money.

Read more about the mayor’s address to the council, here.

Any fan of the movie Office Space is familiar with the classic line spoken by the boss: “Did you see the memo about this?”

I think the Mayor, Bernard Parks and Eric Garcetti did.  It was written by CAO Miguel Santana and it was not about TPS report cover sheets.

You can see it as well right here.

http://phinvv.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/09-0600-s159_rpt_cao_2-9-10.pdf

In a nutshell, it’s about raiding the reserve fund to plug the deficit:

Even with the adoption of the measures outlined here, which includes the depletion of the Reserve Fund, significant work remains to be done to address the remaining deficit of $281.8 million in 2010-11.

The $281.8M is after an extensive series of cuts, including the proposed layoffs of 1,000 civilian employees employees, as well as laying off probationary police officers.  Without those cuts, the projected deficit for next year will be $484 million.

What does $281.8 million translate to?  Santana provides the answer:

This deficit equates to the full-year salaries plus pension contribution costs of 3,665 civilian employees. Delays in implementing any savings measures will only cause this deficit to grow.

That’s about $77,000 per employee, which gives you some idea of the compensation package offered by the city and why we need concessions from the unions to fix the deficit.

WalterMooreSays.com

Here’s a recap and update on Villaraigosa’s plan to use his phony “budget crisis” and fake layoffs to dupe you into letting him sell your streets and parking structures:

On June 4, 2009 — over eight months ago — I told you, based on my review of a City real estate contract with a company called “Loop Capital,” that, “Your Streets Are Officially ‘For Sale.’” Then I predicted exactly what is happening now:

1. Anyhow, here’s how it’ll play out:  deficit won’t go away; cuts won’t work; Villaraigosa reluctantly returns to City Council — with a buyer in tow, courtesy of Loop Capital — to save the day by selling the street[s].
2. Crisis averted, the budget will balance, and everyone will be happy until — surprise — street parking starts costing $15 and $20 per hour, just like the other private parking places in town.

On November 30, 2009, while you and I were eating turkey leftovers, the special interests and career politicians amended the real estate listing agreement to sell our streets.  Villaraigosa promised to pay a lucrative sales commission to:  JP Morgan Chase; Ramirez & Co.; and Loop Capital, LLC.  The contract refers to them as “The Three Advisors.”  You and I can refer to them as the three something else’s.

On January 29, 2010, I warned you that Villaraigosa was using the phony budget crisis to implement the parking scam.  I’ve written several essays since then, including one showing that “Villaraigosa and City Council Have ALREADY DECIDED to Sell Your Streets.”

Now David Zahniser and Phil Willon of the Los Angeles Times are on the trail, too.  Take a look at what they’ve discovered:

1. “I’m sure there will be a lot of interest in this,” said Thomas Lanctot, a principal with William Blair & Co., which advised Chicago on its decision to award a 99-year lease for all of its parking garages in 2006. “There’s an enormous amount of private capital out there that is looking for public infrastructure investment.”
2. *           *           *
3. Weeks before [February 1], parking garage companies and their lobbyists began making the rounds of City Hall.  [City Administrative Officer] Santana met last month with LAZ Parking, the Hartford, Conn., company that, as part of a group led by Morgan Stanley, won a 75-year, $1.15-billion lease to manage 45,000 parking meters in Chicago.
4. That deal provided a one-time windfall for Chicago but also led to parking meter rate hikes and a political backlash, with some upset residents bashing meters with tire irons. The city’s inspector general later criticized the meter deal, saying the city leased them in a “hasty” transaction for $974 million less than they were worth.

Did I call this right, or what?  Villaraigosa and the City Council are “playing” the press and the taxpayers:

1. •Revenues are down a paltry 2.63%, and are at the third-highest level in history, but these career politicians spin this minor blip into a “budget crisis.”
2. •Villaraigosa announces that he’s supposedly “laying off” 1,000 employees, but all he’s doing is transferring them.
3. •Villaraigosa tells you to chose between police and firefighters, on the one hand, or public parking and golf courses on the other, but meanwhile his irresponsible spending spree never stops.  Indeed, his 2009-2010 budget always called for City Hall to spend $400 million more than the City took in last year, as I pointed out in May 2009.
4. •The City Council says it has postponed budget discussions for 30 days, but it has already decided started spending nearly a million to sell your streets.  Meanwhile, it turns out they have tucked away $30 million of our money in slush funds for which they do not account.

Let’s hope that the L.A. Times will keep going with this story and, in particular, will start explaining to its readers that:  i) the City’s revenues are down a mere 2.63%; ii) the layoffs are not layoffs at all, but mere transfers; iii) this street sale scam has been in the works since at least June 4, 2009, when yours truly broke the story; iv) Illinois taxpayers have filed a lawsuit contesting the “sweetheart deal” in Chicago, and the Illinois Attorney General is investigating the transaction, which, according to a local TV station, “ushered in dramatic parking rate hikes across the city.”

Stay tuned, and tell everyone you know to start paying attention.  We already got ripped off on the DWP rate hikes and the phony phone tax.  Let’s not let it happen again with our streets and parking structures.

View Contact Summary Sheet.

All of this is in anticipation of Tuesday’s City Council session when the CAO’s recommendation for the NC funding will be considered. On the agenda is a proposal for the neighborhood council funding program that will the eliminate the “rollover” policy, transfer of all suspended “rollover” funds, eliminate of the bankcard system, revise the definition of allowable expenditure categories, and apply a 50% cut to annual neighborhood council funding.

After considerable deliberation, the LANNC participants acted with an overwhelming vote to advise the City Council:

1. LANCC wants the City Council to consider outsourcing the fiscal responsibilities of DONE to a non-profit, public service corporation (such as the California Community Foundation).

This is recommended because of DONE’s difficulties in creating and managing a satisfactory accounting system for the NCs.  These difficulties are well known to NC Treasurers all across the City. They were documented in the Controller’s recent audit of the NCs.

2. LANCC wants the City Council to know that LANCC is developing a proposal for an alternate organization for DONE with much greater involvement of the NCs in the areas of Public Relations, Government Liaisons and Training (Education).

We heard and began development on such a program, one designed to save the City an additional $ 3.4 million for a total of $4.7 million in budget cuts.

3. In consideration of the above, LANCC will ask the City Council to send the C.F. #09-0600- S159 Items (9 – 10(e)), (9 – 18), (9 – 19), (9 – 20), (9 – 21) to the E&N Committee for further review and deliberation; deliberations which involve the NC Stakeholders in the process of devising, refining and presenting a more specific proposal.

Butcher is a long time SEIU labor leader and a familiar face to those at City Hall as well as those in the neighborhood council system. She is credited with being an outspoken proponent of grassroots solutions to the systemic problems that plague our city system and this promises to be the public discussion that the public needs if we are to partner in the future of Los Angeles.

Further to the LA neighborhood council responsibility to advise on the deliver of city services, General Managers Bill Robertson of Street Services and Jon Kirk Mukri of Recreation and Parks will present their perspective on the mandate to reduce staff, operate more efficiently, and to reduce operating costs.

BudgetLA supports the activities of several neighborhood council groups, all working together to pursue solutions to LA’s Budget Crisis. Participants include the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition, the Saving Los Angeles project, the Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils, the Mayor’s Budget Advisory Committee and representatives from neighborhood councils throughout the city.

For more information visit http://BudgetLA.org where you will find a Calendar of upcoming events, the Speakers Bureau, an archive of BudgetLA videos and links to individual neighborhood councils. Join BudgetLA on Facebook and follow BudgetLA on Twitter (@BudgetLA) To get involved, join BudgetLA on Saturday, February 13 at 10:00 am for “Look for the Union Label”  at Hollywood City Hall, 6501 Fountain Ave., Hollywood 90028.

There’s a community calendar that includes the Budget related events as well as the regional and citywide community meetings such as LA Neighborhood Council Coalition, the Saving LA Project, PlanCheck, the Citywide Alliance, the Valley Alliance, the Harbor Alliance, the Westside Alliance, the SouthLA Alliance, and the NorthEastCentral Alliance.

There is a growing archive of documents related to the Budget Crisis, a collection of NC Resolutions and Community Impact Statements, copies of Press Releases, as well as Videos and Photos from the many events and meetings that have taken place.

Most importantly, there are three contact lists, one for the neighborhood councils, one for the elected officials, and one for the media. These are offered as a resource but we need your help to build the lists and to confirm the accuracy of the NC listings.

Please take a visit, wander around, and email us at BudgetLosAngeles@gmail.com with your submissions, your suggestions, your comments, and your contributions. BudgetLA belongs to you and we need your help.

Visit http://BudgetLA.org to connect, join BudgetLA on Facebook and follow BudgetLA on Twitter (@BudgetLA) To get involved, join BudgetLA on Saturday, February 13 at 10:00 am for “Look for the Union Label”  at Hollywood City Hall, 6501 Fountain Ave., Hollywood 90028.

I wanted to provide you with an update about what has happened this week:

• The Mayor issued an executive order yesterday pushing forward with the layoffs, which City Council had delayed for 30 days.  As a result, our department will be reduced to 17 positions over the next quarter to service the 90 NC’s.
• On Tuesday, February 9, 2010, at 10 a.m., the City Council will be reviewing the 3 year Plan for Fiscal Sustainability, which recommends that the Department and/or the NC Funding Program be transferred to another City department.  It also recommended the elimination of the NC rollover funds and a 50% cut in next year’s allocation.

My recommendations to Council will be:

• Keep Neighborhood Empowerment as an independent City agency and do not consolidate us with a larger City department – the independence of the Department is key to raising the leadership profile of the NC system within government.
• Keep the Funding Program with the Department – we are currently restructuring the Funding Program to make more timely payments while working with the City Controller’s office to automate the system and improve ease of use.
• Maintain the NC rollover funds with minimal cuts – the City allocated these funds to use for neighborhood improvements.  Suddenly sweeping all of these funds would leave community projects unfinished and could open up the City to liability issues due to outstanding contractual agreements.
• Return the NC elections to the Department with appropriate funding and staff – the Department can operate elections with less funds, more flexibility, and increased grassroots participation.

On February 9th, you will have an opportunity to provide your input to Council and help define the future of the Neighborhood Council system.  Please bring concrete examples of the funding impact your NC has had in the community and how important the Department and NCs working in partnership are to the future vitality of the NC

I’m not going to bother regurgitating the headline news. I believe all of you know of the Mayor’s announcement to immediately lay off 1,000 employees. The bulk of these layoffs would come from the Engineers and Architects Association (EAA). The EAA is not part of the Coalition of City Unions and not subject to contract terms that prevent any layoffs of Coalition members prior to July 1.

“I do not relish making these decisions, but we can no longer pretend these problems do not exist,” the Mayor said in an e-mail blast.

Let’s dissect that statement: he does not “relish making these decisions.” Isn’t that the truth. His record clearly shows he does not relish making any tough decisions. “No longer pretend these problems do not exist” – at least he’s admitting he was pretending.

Looking ahead at the Council Agenda for next week, there is a curious mix of budget related items. The ones below are my personal favorites and are a further indication of how detached the Mayor and CAO are from sound financial practices.

Recommendations for Council action, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR:

1. DIRECT the City Administrative Officer (CAO), with the assistance of the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA) to draft a Resolution for Council consideration that the City commit to achieving a minimum five percent General Fund reserve and adopt a budget wherein one-time revenues do not exceed one-time expenditures by the 2011-12 Budget.

2. DIRECT the CAO to continue to produce a “Three Year Plan” rolling financial report benchmarking the City’s process in achieving fiscal sustainability and provide recommendations and policies to eliminate the City’s structural deficit.

3. DIRECT the CAO to develop within 180 days, recommended multi-year and outcome-based budgeting approaches for use in developing future City budgets.

4. DIRECT the CAO to update and disseminate existing City Financial Policies as have been adopted by Council and disseminate to all City departments within 60 days.

8. DIRECT the CAO to begin measuring actual versus adopted budget Financial Policy compliance reporting in the Supplemental Proposed Budget report to the Budget and Finance Committee on an ongoing basis.

These items represent basic minimum prodeures for any well run entity. Why are they now just being considered? I am not Monday Morning Quarterbacking. This is ordinary stuff you want to have in place even in good times.

Number 8 is indicates the most egregious sign of management incompetence – reporting actual versus budget variances is as basic as they come. The city is just waking up to it?

I won’t fully implicate the current CAO Miguel Santana for neglecting these; his predecessors must bear most of the blame.

So you see what we are up against – the inability to manage finances.

Here’s a scary thought. If we do come out of this, either through bankruptcy or internal resolution, how long will it take before we repeat past gross negligence?

That depends on us – we are responsible for the people we elect.

For too long, progress in closing San Diego’s structural budget deficit has been sidetracked by a disinformation campaign that contends, against all evidence, that the city would be better off if it filed for bankruptcy. That’s baloney.

These claims are simply a mirage that distracts us from serious debate over real solutions. But unfortunately for our city, the peddlers of this fiction cannot be ignored.

By repeating their claims, again and again, they’ve convinced some San Diegans that bankruptcy is a real option. But the truth is talk of bankruptcy impedes progress on real substantive pension reform, and it poisons the climate for thoughtful solutions to our structural deficit.

In my view, the bankruptcy con job is nearly as irresponsible as the schemes that dug us into a financial hole in the first place.

Thankfully, this sham has been debunked by City Attorney Jan Goldsmith. His detailed legal analysis of municipal bankruptcy found that it would only waste the city’s time and money, and – most import – it would offer no hope of a financial fix.

The city attorney exposed “the bankruptcy myth” in a speech to a taxpayer group this month. Here are some highlights:

Based on Orange County’s experience, bankruptcy would cost San Diego taxpayers between $100 million and $300 million in attorney fees.

After that money has been spent, a judge could easily dismiss our case, particularly if he or she feels the city has not done enough to solve its financial problems by raising taxes.

Bankruptcy cannot be used to void employee pension benefits once they are vested, which occurs the first day of employment. Our state Constitution protects those benefits.

No city or county has ever voided pension obligations through bankruptcy. It didn’t happen in Orange County. It’s not happening in Vallejo. Instead, bankruptcy would allow renegotiation of the labor contracts that took effect last year and include the 6 percent employee compensation reductions. They are helping to solve our financial problems, not contributing to them.

Any court ruling that voided vested pension benefits would almost certainly be appealed – costing the city more time and money – and then be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Labor leaders and their lawyers know the threat of bankruptcy is empty. It gives us no leverage with them in negotiations.

In the end, bankruptcy would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and net nothing in return. And the most compelling claim made on its behalf – that it would allow us to shed our pension obligations – is patently false.

Fortunately, while the bankruptcy hucksters were spinning their nonsense, my administration was developing and enacting pension reforms that are honest and substantial.

Our first goal was dealing with the huge pension debts left by previous city councils, which underfunded the pension system rather than making the tough decision to tighten spending. This cowardice created a crisis that damaged our reputation with Wall Street and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

After taking office, I acted quickly to restore our credibility by enacting a plan to pay down this liability, interest and principal, on an aggressive timeline. Those payments hurt. But future generations will be grateful that we did not repeat bad behavior and push our problems onto them.

Our second goal, then and now, is reducing future liabilities. We began by creating a two-tier retirement system that reduces taxpayer costs for new hires. The same kind of model is now being looked at by Los Angeles, San Francisco and state government. Ours took effect in
July. As new employees replace old ones, our savings will grow.

The courts won’t let us reduce vested benefits for current employees. But our new system lowers our obligations to newly hired employees by reducing costs and risks, eliminating excessive perks, raising retirement ages and no longer pegging benefits to an employee’s highest earnings.

We also reined in the DROP program, which encourages early retirements, so future participation is cost-free to the taxpayer. An independent analysis of DROP will be completed soon and alert us if further refinements are necessary.

Finally, we have scaled back our obligation for post-employment health care benefits by freezing the benefits escalator. We are working closely with our employees to identify appropriate funding sources and levels for this nonvested benefit, which will further reduce our unfunded liability.

We are now in the second phase of pension reform, seeking further enhancements of a four-year record of true cost savings. We are constantly pursuing responsible and legal reforms – undeterred by those who would delay progress by mythologizing bankruptcy.

Sanders is the mayor of San Diego.