B OF SS MESS-An investigative report by a local television station charged that some city employees from the Bureau of Street Services were slacking off when they were supposed to be repairing a street.
Predictably, some councilmembers expressed shock and concern about the charges.
A few months ago, shock and concern was the reaction to a Los Angeles Times investigation into the existence of an unlimited sick-pay policy at the Department of Water and Power.
The reality is that the stereotype of city public works crews “leaning on their shovels” is one of longest-standing images of city workers that exists.
I started working in City Hall in 1970, and this has been part of the public’s perception of city work crews for at least that long.
One of the problems with the turnover created by term limits is that the city’s elected officials are constantly facing problems that are new to them.
These problems may center around a few bad employees, but blame has to be shared by management.
There’s an easy solution. I’ve proposed it before, and I trust that this won’t be the last time.
Voters elect 15 city council members, a mayor, city attorney, and controller. Each one has the ability to sit down with department general managers and ask them to think long and hard about potential scandals and wasteful practices that could become the lead story on the local news and give the city and its good workers a bad name.
Deliberations over the city’s new budget just concluded. That would have been the perfect them for the experienced departmental managers to be called before the Budget and Finance Committee and the full City Council to list potential scandals that could occur within their agencies.
The mayor, who meets regularly with general managers, and citizen commissions that exist in the public service departments could have the same discussions. They could start next week.
Three things could happen, and two of them are good.
First, the general managers could not foresee potential problems. That would put elected officials in the same spot they’re in now … reacting to crises.
Two, potential problems could be identified and dealt with proactively.
Three, bad employees who think they’re getting away with something would know that someone is looking for them.
And finally, if city hall continues to take no preemptive action, neighborhood councils could take seriously their City Charter mandate to monitor city services, and hold their own face-to-face meetings with general managers.
It makes little sense that city government’s systemic problems have to always be uncovered by the media. It’s as if no one else cares.
And that makes me sad.
(Greg Nelson is a former general manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, was instrumental in the creation of the LA Neighborhood Council System, served as chief of staff for former LA City Councilman Joel Wachs … and occasionally writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at[email protected])
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 43
Pub: May 27, 2014