#LA: On Wednesday, Council added revisions to Mayor Eric Garcetti’s proposed budget. Full Council is expected to vote on the revised budget next week (date TBD). You can read a quick story on Wednesday’s meeting here. Police and fire continue to take up most of the $8.1 billion budget. The Los Angeles Fire Departments budget is set to be increased by $22 million. The City Attorney’s Office is also set to receive funding for staffing to better tackle medical marijuana dispensaries in violation of Proposition D and other nuisance issues. This budget does not factor in employee raises which may nor may not be honored. When I was Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee (for eight years), I took budget hearings seriously; during my tenure I was able to save the city from imminent bankruptcy. I was notorious for holding lengthy meetings because I knew it was important to read every line and truly understand what an item meant and truly implicated. This week’s meeting was over in record time. It’s as if the directions were: don’t ask questions, here’s your silver platter, and eat up. It seems like we may have to wait until 2020 or beyond for real budget reform. When I submitted my Catch 22 Plan to City Administrative Officer (CAO) Miguel Santana last year, I sought to build the reserve fund, reduce the Citys debt burden, concentrate on the use of special funds for their intended purpose, fund critical infrastructure needs, identify revenue collection opportunities, address future contract negotiations, and reduce employee compensation and health care costs. My main qualms that I’ve previously expressed to put the city in a better financial situation are: city employees need to contribute more to their pensions and healthcare, certain services that the city is not equipped to handle properly (like sidewalk repair and running a zoo)should be privatized, and DWP positions need to be equal in compensation to other city jobs and not exorbitantly inflated. Below are my points of my Catch 22 Plan: 1.) Study the DROP Program for Cost Neutrality as Mandated by Implementing Ordinance 2.) Implement the Negotiated No Code Seven Policy Within the LAPD (Adds 250 patrol units to annual deployment) 3.) Eliminate the Three-and-Four-Day Work Week (12 and 10-Hour Shifts) Which Will Increase Deployment by 20 to 30% 4.) Re-evaluate LAFDs Constant Staffing Requirements and Criteria With the Emphasis on Reduction of Overtime Allocations 5.) Support the Rate Payer Advocates Future Costing Recommendations for the Recently-Approved Feed in Tariff Ordinance 6.) Identify Cost Containment and Mitigation of Medical Costs Within the DWP 7.) Create Strategies to Reduce LADWPs Salary and Pension Costs and Reduce All Entry-Level LADWP Salaries by 20% 8.) Freeze Hiring Citywide, Stop Filling Non-Critical Vacancies 9.) Cut the Size of the Citys Workforce to a Sustainable Level, Reduce Service Impacts by Investing in Outsourcing to Local Businesses and Contractors 10). Reduce Full-Time City Worker Positions, Where Appropriate, to Part-Time Positions 11.) Establish New Budget Priorities, Deployment Strategies and Department Organizational Structures 12.) Maximize Civilianization 13.) Prepare the Legal Basis for a City Position to Defer, Mitigate or Eliminate the Currently-Proposed Employee Raises, Prepare Strategies for Negotiating New Successor Contracts for 2013 & 2014 14.) Increase Employee Contributions to Pension, Current Medical and Retiree Medical Plans 15.) Seek Needed Changes to Reform the States Workers Comp Administration, Seek Changes in Local Rules Addressing Overtime Pay 16.) Reject the Currently-Approved Recommendations Regarding the Exclusive Commercial and Multi-Family Solid Waste Franchise Hauling System, Implement CAOs Recommendations for a Non-Exclusive System 17.) Leave the Citys Gross Receipts Tax alone 18.) Expand Public-Private Partnerships, Contract Out Convention Center, Zoo, Technology and Paramedic Administration and Services 19.) Evaluate and Implement Appropriate Recommendations of the Commission on Revenue Efficiency (CORE) and Gain Full Adherence to Executive Directive No. 5 and the Citywide Guidelines to Maximize Revenue Collections 20.) Reduce the Use of One-Time Revenue Expenditures on Multi-Year/Ongoing Debt, Return the Use of Special Funds(e.g. Special Parking Revenue Funds [SPRF & ITA Public Access and Infrastructure Funds to their Intended Purposes 21.) Revise City Policy to Expand Area of Usage for QUIMBY Funds 22). Explore Feasibility of Creating Expanded Maintenance Districts(Sidewalks, Curbs, Curb Cuts & Trees) Modeled After the Current City Lighting Districts ***None of the above recommendations have been implemented except number 14. Hopefully, as the Citys finances continue to grow the current structural deficit, these recommendations will be considered.*** WWW.BERNARDPARKS.COM
Posted on: Wed, 28 May 2014 21:00:01 +0000
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