LA Leaders Frustrated Over Stalled Spending for Sidewalk Repairs

DAILY NEWS REPORT-Millions of taxpayer dollars that were supposed to be used to repair sidewalks haven’t been spent, frustrated city leaders said Tuesday. 

“I am deeply troubled that (the work) hasn’t been completed,” said City Councilman Paul Krekorian, who represents parts of the San Fernando Valley. 

The City Council agreed last year to spend at least $7 million on sidewalk repairs in front of city-owned properties such as parks and government buildings.    

Officials chose to focus on repairs near city-owned properties because they said they were unable to allocate the funds toward general public sidewalks due to a lawsuit filed over disability access.

But $7 million allocated for the work, as well as up to $20 million earmarked for other repairs, hasn’t been spent, Krekorian said. 

Only about $3 million, money left over from last budget year, has been spent, officials said. 

Budget official Miguel Santana said late Tuesday the delays in repairs are “related to the lawsuit,” but that he couldn’t comment further because of the litigation. The holdup is also related to City Hall’s staffing shortage, Santana said. City Attorney Mike Feuer didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

Krekorian, along with his City Council colleagues, passed a motion Tuesday directing city departments to spend the funds and hire 46 new positions in the Department of Public Works to help facilitate the repairs. The council also asked the Public Works department and other departments to report back every 30 days on the status of repairs. 

South LA City Councilman Bernard Parks also asked for a detailed list of what properties would be repaired, so “we could let the community know that help is coming in the district.”

 

(Dakota Smith covers City Hall for the Daily News.  She can be reached  at [email protected]. Posted originally by the Daily News.)

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CityWatch

Vol 13 Issue 11

Pub: Feb 6, 2015