JUST THE FACTS-There are so many serious and pressing problems facing the City of Los Angeles and few if any real solutions are being proposed or implemented by our elected and appointed leaders at City Hall.
I will start with the current city budget. Former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had a $7.7 billion total budget in the 2013-2014 fiscal year. Mayor Eric Garcetti approved an $8.6 billion budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. With increases in the current budget, you would imagine there would be a reduction in crime, reduction of the Los Angeles homeless population, improved sidewalks and streets, and fewer broken water lines rupturing in our neighborhoods.
But the answer is no. There have been no improvements in any of these identified categories.
With this in mind, let me illustrate what our city leaders have been doing with their time and talents at our expense. This is the official published 2015 Council Recess Schedule: (By the way, recess means that our elected officials are not expected to be at City Hall or their district office…or even in town.)
●2014 Winter Recess Continuation, Tuesday January 2, 2015.
●National League of Cities Annual Congressional City Conference, Friday March 6, 2015 thru March 13, 2015.
●Good Friday, April 3, 2015
●Passover, Tuesday April 17, 2015
●Summer Recess, Tuesday July 7, 2015 thru Friday July 24, 2015
●Rosh Hashanah, Tuesday September 15, 2015
●Yom Kippur, Wednesday September 23, 2015
●Council Recess, Friday September 25, 2015
●League of California Cities Annual Conference and Expo, September 29, 2015 thru October 2, 2015
●National League of Cities Annual Congress of Cities and Exposition, November 3, 2015 thru November 6, 2015. Event held from November 4, 2015 through November 7, 2015 in Nashville TN.
●Winter Recess, December 18, 2015 through December 30, 2015.
With all this time off and an annual salary of $184,610, we would anticipate a much better run city. Just so you will know and can compare compensation, Mayor Garcetti receives an annual salary of $235,679, a FREE house and LAPD security everywhere he travels in and out of the city.
I know that we need strong and effective leadership to improve our quality of life. So, do you think that we are receiving that for the money we are paying in taxes and fees and related expenses? If you think we are in a good position, keep on paying and hoping and asking for intervention.
When you really think about it, civil service employees who are experienced and know how to run the massive bureaucracy of Los Angeles do most of the work. If you want a smoother operation, why not consider a part-time city council and mayor? Just for a start.
It works in many communities and might just work in LA. Think how much more money the current city budget would have to spend on all those broken sidewalks and pot-holed streets, for solving the homeless crisis, and all the other matters negatively impacting LA. Something to think about…
(Dennis P. Zine is a 33-year member of the Los Angeles Police Department and former Vice-Chairman of the Elected Los Angeles City Charter Reform Commission, 12-year member of the Los Angeles City Council and current LAPD Reserve Officer. He writes Just the Facts for CityWatch. You can contact him at [email protected])
–cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 62
Pub: Jul 31, 2015
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