ValleyVote Update for 6-22-01 |
We are sending you this E-mail as you have requested to be notified concerning ValleyVote
Here are a few stories about LA that claims the Valley can not afford to be its own City because of the Well run LA. Read for your self and draw your own conclusions. Note we have added a lot of new E-mail addresses to our list In anyone wants off just send us "remove" as a subject.
It's common to see panhandlers working the streets of downtown Los Angeles. Usually they're on Skid Row, dressed in rags, begging for spare change. But the panhandlers from Staples Center are a different breed altogether. They wear expensive suits, and they're asking for a lot more -- about $75 million.
These high-priced beggars -- financiers, attorneys and consultants on the payroll of billionaires Rupert Murdoch and Philip Anschutz -- come to the L.A. City Council pleading hardship. They insist that their unimaginably rich bosses can't afford to add a four-star hotel, a convention center and entertainment venues to the Staples complex without a whopping public subsidy.
All they need to create an artificial West Coast version of New York's Times Square is a $60 million to $75 million break in the city's room tax and maybe some hidden costs to taxpayers nobody really wants to talk about now. If the mayor and City Council sign on, the billionaires will get to skip out on a hefty tax that's paid by all the hoteliers in the city who don't have such deep pockets.
And, of course, the loss of revenue for city coffers is a cost that would be felt by all Angelenos, either in diminished services or high tax rates. The winners in the Staples-expansion proposal are the same folks who come out on top in every City Hall back-room deal:
The developers and the downtown power brokers get their subsidy. The unions get a sweetheart contract, which they've already negotiated with management. And the politicians, no doubt, will be rewarded for their cooperation with generous campaign contributions.
Average Angelenos -- who can only afford to go to Staples Center when it's charging $10 a person to watch Lakers' away games on television -- would get nothing but the bill. The swanky new entertainment, dining and shopping venues that their tax dollars would support would be as financially beyond the reach of most fans as Lakers games are today.
Staples developers had hoped that the City Council and mayor could take advantage of their lame-duck status and public enthusiasm about the Lakers' championship to hammer the deal through before new officials take office in July. But proving even the worn-out pols at City Hall can be shamed, that now seems unlikely.
So it will probably be up to the new council and mayor to make an early choice between the public and the special interests. Don't get us wrong: a bigger and better Staples complex would be a welcome development, but those who stand to profit from it -- and not the taxpayers -- should foot the bill.
Taxpayers have been subsidizing the delusional fantasies of downtown developers and land speculators to the tune of billions of dollars for years. It's come at the expense of the neighborhoods where City Hall never has the money or the commitment to fulfill its promises.
Where's the sixth Valley police station, the long-overdue Van Nuys Civic Center, redevelopment of North Hollywood and the Northeast Valley? Where are a thousand other unfulfilled promises to the Valley and neighborhoods all over the city? Let's see City Hall fulfill these promises before there's any more giveaways to billionaires.
Re "No subsidy, no hotel" (June 17):
When you wrote that Joel Wachs was leaving town early, I wondered just how long it would be until Ron Deaton got around to shoving another giveaway of public funds down our throats. Our city can't afford to fix streets or keep its libraries open. Giving millions of dollars of taxpayers money to finance projects owned by billionaires is beyond wrong; it is corrupt.
Is there anyone in this town with the courage to fight this fight? Is it too late to get Joel to come back?
J. Cohen Culver City
Re "No subsidy, no hotel," (June 17):
Just what the Valley needs: a 27-acre project with trendy hip nightclubs and restaurants, shops and hot music venues anchored by a new 45-story, 1,200-room hotel and 7,000-seat arena. All [downtown] near the Staples Center. Once again the cash cows of the Valley are being asked to subsidize billionaires and their pet projects most of us will not visit in our lifetimes.
Defending the project with the tired ruse that we all benefit from sales
and taxes which, in turn, will repair our Valley infrastructure can only
result in the nose growing on whoever makes that implausible statement. There
was a time when City Hall was the largest building downtown. Have our Valley
infrastructure and city services improved since?
Roger B. Huntman
Woodland Hills
Re "No subsidy, no hotel," (June 17):
Something smells fishy about the deal billionaires Philip Anschutz and Rupert Murdoch are giving Los Angeles. The deal that will benefit our city hinges on getting a $75 million tax subsidy. (Translate that into taxpayers' money.)
Now, are Anschutz and Murdoch billionaires or what? If the deal for the
city of L.A. is soooo good (as they claim it to be), how much would it take
for two billionaires to put up $37 million each? For them billionaires, $37
million, it's just pocket money.
Dante F. Rochetti
West Hills
Thank God we have a new mayor. I've lived in the Valley since 1975. Every time you call City Hall, no one seems to be interested in your call. Mayor Richard Riordan snubbed his nose at the Valley on every issue. What happened on our sidewalk repairs and pothole repairs? Nothing. Some streets are a mess.
All the big businesses have moved out of Los Angeles. Our transportation system is the worst. I hope James Hahn can be as good as his father and put our city back on its feet. Also, thank God we're getting rid of some of the deadbeats on the City Council.
Eli Moonitz Encino
Does your city work for you? At 5:30 a.m. on June 7, I found a dead deer in the street at Wentworth Street and Foothill Boulevard in Sunland. I called the police dispatcher at 787-1122 and was put on hold with a message for the hearing impaired, then a message in Spanish, then "All our operators are busy."
Busy? At 5:30 a.m.? I gave up until at 8 a.m. I called the number in the book for dead animals in the West Valley. The number was no longer in use. I then called 1-800-773-2489. After punching in several numbers , the message said they were sorry, all lines are full. Do you wonder sometimes why we give up on city services? I don't.
John Bunte Sunland
Redevelopment: City controller widens the investigation of the CRA to look into property management and how loans are approved.
By PATRICK MCGREEVY, Times Staff Writer
City auditors announced Wednesday they have expanded their review of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, citing "severe" problems identified in a partial audit. City Controller Rick Tuttle said those problems prompted him to order a second audit to look at other financial operations of the CRA, including property management and loans.
"We decided further work was needed," Tuttle said. "I'm directing an additional audit to identify and examine key, high-risk areas in the business practices of the CRA. "An audit by the controller last November found that the redevelopment agency bought seven properties for $1.57 million more than the appraised value and often failed to use competitive bidding in hiring consultants.
The Times has reported that the agency paid $1.45 million for a Hollywood parking lot on Argyle Street that a city appraiser said was worth $795,000. The purchase was made as part of a plan to build a parking garage to serve Capitol Records and keep the firm from leaving Hollywood. In all seven property transactions, auditors said appraisal amounts were not disclosed to the CRA board and the City Council, which approved the purchases.
The new audit, to be conducted by a private
accounting firm, will look at how agency loans are approved, how the agency
makes the public aware of the availability of loans, and how they are overseen
by the agency, Tuttle said.
"The whole situation over there cries out for
additional work," he said.
Agency officials welcomed the additional audit as
a way to determine whether the agency can improve efficiency.
"We are cooperating and working with the
controller to establish a review of our business practices," agency
spokesman Thomas Knox said.
Tuttle had turned over the findings of the
previous audit to the district attorney's office, which is continuing its own
inquiry into possible criminal wrongdoing.
CRA director Jerry Scharlin declined to comment. Reaction to the controller's audit was cautious at City Hall. Councilman Nick Pacheco, a former county prosecutor who heads the council committee overseeing the CRA, said that given the past findings, additional audits are a good idea. "A review of the prior administration's handling of the agency can only be healthy," he said.
In the Valley, the CRA, with its dubious track record, is viewed with all the warmth and respect of the Iraqi Republican Guard. Negotiations on the proposed 6,835-acre project became so heated in the district at one point that a fistfight broke out during a citizens advisory committee.
Bob Rector Is Opinion Page Editor for The Times San Fernando Valley and Ventura County Editions
By Rick Orlov Staff Writer
Heightening concern over Los Angeles' long-term financial health, City Controller Rick Tuttle warned Monday that lawsuits, settlements and employee injury claims have sent the city's liability soaring passed $1 billion -- a quarter of the annual budget.
"The danger is that as long as the city's overall liability continues to grow, the yearly bills that come due will continue to rise and need to be paid, even if the city's budget flattens out or takes a downturn," Tuttle said.
The report shows an overall 52 percent increase during the past six years for claims due to workers' compensation and all other lawsuits, including an estimated $125 million for the Rampart Division corruption case. "But we should not overstate Rampart's role in our current situation," Tuttle said in his report to Mayor Richard Riordan and the City Council. "Even if Rampart had not occurred, the city's total reported liabilities today would still be larger than ever before."
Tuttle suggested creating a task force to find ways to reduce the city's liabilities. Those costs include wages and payments due on long-term debt, in addition to the workers' comp and lawsuit settlement costs that have spiked in recent years.
Riordan spokesman Peter Hidalgo praised the Tuttle report as focusing attention on a weakness in the city budget. "We think this is an important management tool and that we now have the ability to more closely manage liability," Hidalgo said. "Working to control liability and risk management is something that will begin to get more special attention."
Even though the city has begun a new program to trim workers' compensation costs -- now running at about $100 million a year -- Tuttle cited recent statistics showing Los Angeles with the highest costs compared with other cities. [New definition of "economy of scale the bigger you are the higher the cost]
"Los Angeles has the highest number of claims incidents per 100 employees," Tuttle said. "Even worse, on the all-important category of actual losses, the city of Los Angeles has the highest rate loss of $4.60 per $100 in payroll. Until these numbers improve, the city is likely to continue to face high total liabilities in this area."
Councilwoman Laura Chick, who chairs the City Council's Government Efficiency Committee that has been looking at workers' compensation, said the report doesn't reflect recent changes that have reduced liabilities.
"I'm glad to see the controller focus on this issue, because it's something we could have been doing for five years," said Chick, a candidate for city controller in the April election. "This certainly sounds an echo of what I've been pleading for -- to have attention paid to a very serious problem."
Julie Butcher, general manager of Service Employees International Union Local 347, which represents most city workers, said the new program was developed by a labor-management task force, emphasizing safety procedures and getting people back to work.
"We think there will be a $500,000 savings this year alone," Butcher said. "We think we are beginning to make some headway by getting people back to work earlier, which reduces the overall costs and helps people recover."
Tuttle's study reflects new actuarial accounting methods put into effect this year as required by the City Charter. Those accounting methods produced increases in some categories and decreases in others.
Tuttle said the new accounting procedures are part of a City Charter change requiring his office to do an actuarial analysis of the city's liability. Also, he added, it has to be determined whether the study reflects what has been going on for years and was not known.
Finances: Hahn says mayor had no authority to boost pay for DWP and harbor officials, as well as the police chief.
By TINA DAUNT, Times Staff Writer
Adding to an error that Mayor Richard Riordan has already admitted, the Los Angeles city attorney's office has concluded that Riordan in recent weeks improperly gave raises not only to Chief Bernard C. Parks but also to two other top officials.
City Atty. James K. Hahn was preparing to issue a
ruling on the matter this week when Riordan's chief of staff, Deputy Mayor Kelly
Martin, found out about the probe and reversed Parks' raise--which had brought
his salary to $257,116.
Hahn said Thursday that he believes Riordan also
erred when he gave 5% merit pay raises to Department of Water and Power head
David Freeman and Harbor Department manager Larry Keller, who report directly to
civilian oversight commissions. Under the new City Charter, Hahn said, the
commissioners--and not the mayor--are responsible for approving pay hikes for
the general managers.
The questions being raised by Hahn are doubly
embarrassing for Riordan. He must rescind raises that were controversial in the
first place, and he is being accused of misinterpreting or ignoring the charter
that his staff helped write.
Hahn is expected to issue a letter today on his
findings to Riordan and the City Council. He said he also is probing whether
Riordan improperly delegated to Martin the task of handing the raises.
Under the new charter enacted in July, it is the responsibility of the mayor--and not his staff--to review department managers and to sign off on the raises, Hahn said. Martin reviewed the general managers and granted raises averaging 4% to 5% to 18 of the city's 36 top managers, boosting the median salary to nearly $164,000. All executives received an additional cost of living increase of 2%.
A spokesman for Riordan said Thursday that the mayor's office is "looking forward to working with the city attorney to sort this out." "It's a complicated issue that is a result of transferring from one City Charter to the next," said Deputy Mayor Ben Austin. "If it is determined that the process was questionable in which other city managers were given raises, we will revisit it."
During the lengthy debates over charter revisions, Riordan's staff vigorously advocated for the mayor's ability to hand out raises to all department managers, including the eight that report directly to civilian commissions. Ultimately, Riordan lost that fight. "Section 508 of the charter is as clear as can be as to which general managers the mayor evaluates and sets salaries for," said USC law professor Erwin C. Chemerinsky, who helped the city revise the charter. "The mayor's representatives were part of the negotiations. They knew the restrictions. They just mistakenly assumed the power they didn't have."
Late Wednesday, Riordan's office announced it was rescinding the raise recently given to Parks after realizing it had no authority under the charter to boost the chief's pay. "After reviewing . . . the Charter, I realized that I had incorrectly advised the mayor with respect to its applicability to the Chief of Police," Deputy Mayor Kelly Martin wrote in a letter to City Controller Rick Tuttle late Wednesday.
Riordan approved two pay increases for Parks, making him the highest-paid official in the city. The mayor also issued a $16,000-a-year boost to Freeman--bringing his salary to $241,227. He increased the salary of the head of the Harbor Department from $206,466 to $233,063.
Hahn said he believes the mayor's charter violations can be easily fixed. The Police Commission and the Harbor Commission are expected to vote on the proposed raises in the coming weeks. "We were surprised that it happened this way, but certainly it can be rectified," Hahn said.
Even before the raises were handed out, Los Angeles city executives were among the most richly compensated public officials in the country, according to a recently released city study. Riordan and other city leaders have defended the large salaries, saying money is needed to lure top managers from private companies.
Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas said Thursday that he was dismayed to hear of Hahn's findings. "It's my view that the least we can expect is that the mayor's office would know what they are doing," Ridley-Thomas said. "They have to be careful about knowing if they are playing by the proper rules."
By Rick Orlov Staff Writer
Nine of the city's 30 agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department, have unsatisfactory accounting practices, according to a report released Thursday by City Controller Rick Tuttle.
Tuttle said departments need to have acceptable accounting practices to receive the greater fiscal freedoms allowed under the new City Charter. Under the charter, certified departments can pay bills of up to $100,000 without review by the Controller's Office.
"(Departments) need to understand the importance of their performance to the city's overall public image and fiscal responsibilities," Tuttle said in a letter to Mayor Richard Riordan and the City Council.
In rating the departments, Tuttle said he looked at several categories, such as how each handled the expenditures of funds, budgets and appropriations, payroll and receipts.
In addition to the LAPD, Tuttle said he found unsatisfactory practices in five of the bureaus within the Department of Public Works, including engineering, management services, sanitation, lighting and street services.
Other departments with failing grades includes Animal Services, Community Development, City Attorney's Office, Cultural Affairs, General Services, Convention Center and Transportation.
Tuttle said his office would continue to work with the departments to improve their practices.
"The current certification program is just a beginning," Tuttle said. "There must be constant improvement and correction to make this effort meaningful."
See our Website and all the Updates are archived on our site.
Please note some of the links to source sties may go missing as the are some times removed by the original source - sorry!
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., section 107, some material is provided without permission from the copyright owner, only for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of federal copyright laws. These materials may not be distributed further, except for "fair use," without permission of the copyright owner. **If you friends want to be added to our E-mail list please send an E-mail with ValleyVote as the subject. We share our e-mail list with no one. Charles Brink Webmaster. If you want to have your name removed from the list just reply with remove as subject |