The man who wanted to ignore the past and only move forward was forced Tuesday to confront the DWP’s record of deceit, specious arguments and false assumptions.
Austin Beutner — first deputy mayor in charge of all key city departments and interim DWP general manager — chose to side with the DWP management and defend their indefensible record.
At issue before the City Council was Controller Wendy Greuel’s audit of the rate increase fiasco three months ago and the DWP’s withholding of the promised $73 million transfer to the city general — a blatant extortion attempt that revealed just how incompetent the leadership of our city is from DWP to the Council and, most of all, the mayor.
“It’s hard to find any fiduciary who would incur
$200 million dollars in cost to make a $73 million transfer,” Beutner
said, referring to DWP’s assertion that rejecting the mayor’s proposed 28 percent power rate hike would lead to a credit downgrade and cost DWP more to borrow.
“It’s kind of that simple.”
The quote is from Rick Orlov’s report in the Daily News. Amazingly, David Zahniser in the LA Times didn’t feel the need to quote the man in charge at all, instead relying on the discredited word of former two-time DWP General Manager David Freeman, a man notorious for his arrogance and mismanagement.
Freeman, according to the Times, called Greuel’s audit “borderline ludicrous,” and insisted, “I stand by
everything I said.”
Beutner, who snubbed the Council’s scheduled hearing two weeks ago because of what he said was a family health emergency, didn’t enhance his standing by dropping his long-delayed response to Greuel’s audit as the Council meeting began.
It’s an 18-page document that relies as the DWP always does on meaningless long-range plans that are almost never carried out, fictitious projections of costs and revenues and a circular logic that revolves around that everything is approved by DWP Commission members who had to admit to the Council they don’t understand or ask tough questions about what is before them.
What they never explained except in their own self-flattering gibberish is how the 8 percent transfer of power revenue — double the percentage what it was seven years ago — had gone from being declared a surplus to being a financial disaster for the DWP a few months later unless it got massive rate increases.
The DWP wanted a roughly $200 million rate increase to cover and threatened to withhold the last $73 installment to the general fund. It settled for a $30 million increase that doesn’t take effect until this fall and then delivered the transfer and went ahead with its borrowing at the same low interest rate it normally..
It makes no sense and that let most of the Council pile on led by Jan Perry who comes closest to being a hero in this whole sad story.
“They don’t want to answer our questions?” Perry said. “OK. I got it. “It won’t do anything to get us off their backs.”
One of the questions that wasn’t answered was who was the genius who contrived this attempted blackmail of the Council and the public.
The fallguy for this scandal is Jeff Peltola, who was demoted from chief financial officer for signing documents as ordered by his bosses, the same bosses who now defended themselves with the same documents. Of course, Peltola wasn’t brought before the Council as part of the DWP and would have to be granted immunity from firing to be able to tell the truth.
Deputy Mayor Matt Szabo was there and refused to tell the Council who was in the back room at the DWP when the Commission recessed its meeting in April to strategize on a compromise rate hike after the Council rejected the utility’s plan.
It’s no mystery. It was Szabo, Chief of Staff Jeff Carr and Deputy Mayor Jay Carson with Commission President Lee Alpert and the mayor on the telephone telling them give the finger to the Council.
The DWP performance did little to assuage the hurt feelings of Council members who have looked as foolish as the DWP team throughout the whole episode.
Even as he was expressing the sentiment of many Council members by suggesting they just forgive and forget the whole sorry episode, Greig Smith admitted as much:
“This council, that board, this department all looked like fools through
this process.”
What happened to the FREEDOM of the PRESS?
These major Los Angeles news papers only report on the superficial substance relative to subjects which will have a lasting affect on all Angelenos. Angelenos needs LA Weekly to conduct a thorough investigation into Los Angeles DWP long history of waste, abuse, and deceit including past and present politicians.
Lee Alpert was pathetic. Does he really think we are idiots or fools, that we would believe he did not take orders from the Villar consiglieri, Szabo, Carson, Carr, who according to the LA Slimes had cornered him in his office prior to the vote with the Mayor on the spkr phone and all staff watching in full amusement? Lee, time to resign.
The LOST Angeles City Council is Awaiting A Quorum Again when Council meetings are always held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10:00 a.m. July 21, 2010 Council members Janice Hahn, Paul Krekorian, Jose Huizar, and Jan Perry were late. Thanks to Council member Eric Garcetti who informed council members that per council rules council members need to be in their seat at 10:00 a.m.
During city business Council member Herb Wesson called upon Council member Tom LaBonge, who was late, prior to an agenda item, but LaBonge was no where to be found in chambers. Council member Eric Garcetti advised to remove LaBonge from the voting board. Angelenos should wonder how many other agenda items LaBonge voted for before he was noted as missing in chambers. In stead, council members spend city business on commending each other on how well each other is doing.
LA Council members http://www.lacity.org/YourGovernment/CityCouncil/index.htm
If you removed LaBonge’s “vote” every time he was mentally missing, the man would have a voting record of 0%!
STEPHEN BOX FOR CD 4
“This council, that board, this department all looked like fools through this process.”
And nothing is going to change anytime soon.
To: By Anonymous on July 21, 2010 12:49 PM
In case you are not aware, there are often meetings that occur prior to the City Council meeting. This was a particularly important one yesterday:
Energy and Environment – 9:00 AM
There were 7 agenda items.
Council members on the Committee are:
Jan Perry, Tony Cardenas, Richard Alarcon, Paul Koretz, and Paul Krekorian.
So the question is – how many of them were tied up there?
If the council members are going to “forgive and forget the whole sorry episode,” per Greig Do-Nothing-but-Run-at-the-Mouth Smith, then why bother putting on this dog and pony horror show?
One thing’s for sure, the rate payers and the voters aren’t going to forget as we shudder every minute our A/C is running so we don’t go insane from the heat.
Or maybe that’s their plan; make us so fearful of turning on the air-conditioning that we do go insane in the heat and forget what the council’s incompetence and the DWP slimy tactics have wrought.
WTF?. Ron please don’t be fooled by the idiot Jan Perry. She wants to be Mayor hahahaha!!!! and is simply grandstanding. Remember she voted for DWP rate hikes pretending she was against them and gave IBEW A RAISE$$$$$. Remember Parks sliming his sorry ass into chambers AFTER the vote was just taken. Remember they ALL VOTED TO GIVE DWP General Managers retro active pay over $5 MILLION. SO PERRY IS NO HERO. Someone start to shoot a reality tv series on these clowns. People out in the real “world” would never ever believe the morons we have called politicians. Since the city is financially strapped and we don’t have not one damn leader to go after millions owed, the reality show will at least pay a couple of bills. It could be a reality, comedy show.
LADWP is not an out of control Godzilla – It is more like the Wizard of Oz with the Mayor’s office pulling the strings.
And Garcetti did a 180, first with his April 2010 “Special 1″ that guaranteed the rate increase. And now with his special press release that he is supporting an independent rate payer’s advocate.
But all of us should write an email/letter thanking Mr. Garcetti for his position on the ratepayer’s advocate. It is important for positive feedback so that he continues doing the right thing for the people of Los Angeles.
To: Mr. Chris Rowe on July 21, 2010 2:50 PM
The Energy and Environment Committee was scheduled for Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. and NOT on Wednesday, July 21, 2010, when these Council members Janice Hahn, Paul Krekorian, Jose Huizar, and Jan Perry were late. If these committee meetings are interfering with city business, perhaps you would like to advocate for committee meetings to be held on Mondays and Thursdays when there are no council meetings or after council meeting are over, anytime after 3:00 p.m.
In case you are not aware the former Ad Hoc Committee on Gang Violence and Youth Development was mostly chaired by a lone Council member Tony Cardenas.
Los Angeles City Council Committee Assignments http://cityclerk.lacity.org/cps/pdf/clkasgn.pdf
Chief Financial Officer. Freeman said he didn’t see a Surplus after reviewing Financial Documents.
Freeman then informed the Board of Commissioners he didn’t see a surplus. Freeman wore his Cowboy Hat and curiously I ran into him and tht dirty HAT. We chatted some. I didn’t know what was going on but I landed in CH on a good day..
Mr Freeman lives in Marina Del Rey. I wish I could go to see the land of Jesus like he did so close to when the you know what hit the fan.
The question IS Mr. Mayor, Why? What did you do and say Then Mayor cut off Furniture Fund. The escape artist Freeman found Jesus.
You see, when you get that old you got Jesus, praise the lord. He didn’t want to get punished for High Political Mayor BS so he left dodge.
I don’t blame him on that. I was at City Hall for this meeting and guess who was sitting in the back quietly.. listening to the facts, only the facts. [[the Former GM was sitting in the Back. His Last name starts with P. (greek name)?
CFO, Chief Financial Officer. Only after Gruells report does he get called to the table. God Bless him and his family.
God, all he did was turn over documents that he was dirmandated by chain of command; higher authority; which goes back to Freemans act. Act like I don’t know. Act like I’m a Hillbilly with this big ol’d cowboy hat Oilman Hillbilly God Bless that Man.
The side show is over. Will the true Mayor please stand up.
Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.
There was desert land someone wanted to buy. He got his wish but the GM said, No, thats too much money. That GM resigned after saying, the 20% target is a MYTH. The Mayors Friend who brought the land was disappointed dwp didn’t buy which turned out just fine.
“We the people” must fine a happy medium between the complete authority to select GM’s and Commissioners. It seems like this is the weak link in government. Please change this. Thank you.
http://energyforla.blogspot.com/ See our former GM Comment in Video
He informed LADWP Commissioner
Its important for everybody to support Council President Garcetti’s two major initiatives:
1. The elimination of Super Graphics in the Hollywood Sign Ordinance District at the upcoming CPC meeting on Thursday, July 22 in Van Nuys, at the PLUM Committee meeting, and in the City Council for:
2. Putting the DWP Rate Payer’s advocate on the March 2011 ballot.
Please support Eric in these two important initiatives to take back our City. I think we have all had enough “business as usual”
Ron you hit the nail on the head:
“It’s no mystery [who was in the back room at the DWP when the Commission recessed its meeting in April]. It was Szabo, Chief of Staff Jeff Carr and Deputy Mayor Jay Carson with Commission President Lee Alpert and the mayor on the telephone telling them give the finger to the Council.”
The DWP always took orders from the Mayor, even before the most recent charter reform.
The whole thing was a staged show and then the Council and others blame DWP when they should be blaming both the Mayor and the normally Unanimous/Automatic Voting City Council.
What I would like to see overall, and particularly, here on the DWP issue, is a sort of spreadsheet that laid out the telephone calls, the time of day and length of calls, as well as the persons hooked up on each end of the call, to get a better picture on much time these characters work on conniving and choreographing their actions.
Maybe it might give credit where credit is due, since Villaraigosa really has become less of a puppet-master and more the puppet now after putting Beutner as the empressario of the largest utility agency in the country, not to mention being department head for over a dozen other departments.
I don’t think Tony has the capacity to handle what really is needed for operations of DWP that would benefit THE PUBLIC as opposed to any individuals or special interests. Tony certainly has not any demonstrated interest in actually learning much to to fill that information gap between his ears, but then, that’s why he needs to have such a big staff who does a lot of the work that Tony won’t do. Now I’m starting to make it sound like the pitch to allow illegal aliens to remain in the U.S.
And can you believe that Tony actually said, “We clean your toilets,”- Imagine that when he does NO “work” at all in his white collar life other than finding cameras to stand in front of while he reads prepared material as if he understands it. Maybe right after those moments is when his real challenge happens. Afterwards you will see a lot of discomfort on Tony’s part as he stammers through his often clumsy off-the-cuff remarks and then he runs away (due to his “busy schedule”?) in lieu of taking questions from the press.
Tony’s best moments as a leader happened during that period when he kept a relatively low profile for several weeks after his affair with Mithala was revealed. Now it’s all lame duck, having a good time, glad to represent Los Angeles.
“Imagine that when he does NO “work” at all in his white collar life other than finding cameras to stand in front of while he reads prepared material as if he understands it”.
The Mayor’s life is not white collar. It is a wealthy man’s life. Except he is not wealthy. Therein lies the problem. How can he afford such a lifestyle.