A year ago today, at his inauguration to a second term, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa promised many things, from relieving traffic congestion to making the schools great and turning LA into the greenest city in America.
Most of all, he promised to create jobs and to be held accountable for delivering on his promises by meeting “deadlines,” not making “headlines.
.”You have this in writing: We’re going to track every promise and put
the results online for you to judge.”
irresponsibility or that his budget for the year was a work of fiction
full of gaping holes — a problem now openly acknowledged by City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana.
.
“We have a budget that is balanced on the first day of the fiscal year,
in contrast to the last fiscal year, when we approved a plan that had a
giant hole in it,” he said Wednesday.
That was the last day of the 2009-10 fiscal year, a year marked by weekly budget revisions, slashing of basic services, sweetheart contracts with unions that gave raises to DWP workers and promises of no layoffs or furloughs to most other city workers in exchange for deferring raises — not reducing them.
So how did things work out?
Layoffs are under way today, the first day of the new fiscal year, furloughs are coming and 15,000 workers are getting double raises.
As for tracking every promise, you can read all them at the mayor’s website but you won’t find a trace of whether any of them were met in whole or part in the past 12 months. So much for accountability.
In fairness, the City Council shares full responsibility for this disaster. The Council went along for the ride and still is.
Their only goal is to protect city jobs, not protect public services or fix the city.
They handsomely paid off 2,400 senior workers paid from the general fund that provides basic services, moved more than 400 to the DWP, harbor, airport and special funded positions that by definition are special, not basic services to the public.
Today, they are firing 232 workers out of the more than 50,000 on city payrolls, bringing the total layoffs to 300, Up to 500 more layoffs are authorized in the budget — for a total potential downsizing of the workforce of about 7 percent.
The impact is almost entirely on basic services: Closing libraries two days a week, reducing parks programs, all but ending effective planning and enforcement of building codes, weakening Neighborhood Councils.
What is protected is services to developers, police but not fire services, gang programs, wages and pensions of city workers.
And they are selling revenue-producing assets like parking lots while raising water and power rates yet again, increasing parking and other fines, raising fees everywhere they can.
This is no way to run a city.
It hasn’t worked and it won’t work this year because the revenue projections are based on an economic recovery that isn’t going to happen for years.
Next year will be even worse when the cost of pensions and salaries keep rising and the costs of “buying” jobs and tax breaks to business prove to be greater than the revenue they generate.
There is only one answer, the same answer that was there last year and the year before and the year before that.
City unions including the DWP’s IBEW must take a step back and make concessions to reduce the cost of payroll and benefits, basic services must be restored and the public must pay their fair share.
But that can’t happen because City Hall has lost all credibility with the public and the unions.
It is going to take new leaders with new ideas and a commitment to serve the public, not special interests, to put this Humpty-Dumpty city government back together again.
Join the movement to reform City Hall. Visit lacleansweep.com and come to the LA Clean Sweep launch party (CleanSweepLaunchFlyer.pdf) on July 17.
Balanced budget? Hardly.
The City financial magicians have pulled all sorts of rabbits out of the hat, such as the sale of the poarking facilities and the increased smoothing period for the pensions that “saved” $400 million. And they have deferred infrastructure spending and the payment of police overtime.
Great recall, Ron! I had zero recollection of how he was going to track his progress.
And as you point out, he does anything but track his “progress.” If you go to his page on how many jobs he has created, there is no mention of jobs. Instead, it depicts how much money — how much of OUR money — he has doled out to various entities. Huh?
What he should do is simply show a graph of the number of people employed and unemployed in the City, which is many minions could put together in half an hour with numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But I guess they’ve got more pressing things to do, like draft some wording for certificates Villaraigosa will hand out at upcoming concerts.
Wendy’s audit today says the city’s not getting hundreds of millions in overdue taxes and fines it’s owed, including parking tickets. How does anyone manage to get away with that if they’re legally licensed and insured? How many tickets go to those driving illegally or uninsured? Any politicians like Trutanich’s partner-in-crime Gil Cedillo who claim it’s “racist” to deny these people the “right” to drive must be voted out of office right away for public safety violations. These are also the people who disappear after hit- and-runs, especially fatalities. Just check who’s on the LAPD’s “Most Wanted” lists.
Meanwhile, honest drivers are hit with almost $500 fines for red-light camera violations PLUS soaring insurance rates. Even as the city loses money on these cameras, had to backtrack on its Arizona business ban and above all, even though these lights may cause drivers to panic on yellow lights and cause more harm than good.
What other instances are the most egregious – let’s go after them, meanwhile, we’ve laid off library and childcare workers and closed libraries 2 days/ week to save less than $5 million. (Some reduced hours may be fine, though, the argument that lots of poor people have nowhere else to do homework or use a computer, or go in Sundays, only goes so far).
Ron, we get that you hate this mayor and are on a campaign to egg Cooley and anyone else, on to lynch him. Almost daring their manhood. But your obsession is looking a bit too much like myopic vendetta which misses the big picture.
Ron sorry but NO, police services are not protected. Ask any patrol cop who will tell you they’ve lost a hell of a lot of money not getting OT but still doing the work. They don’t want the time off, they want to do their job. Every station is down officers coming up on the most crucial time of summer when we have prisioners being released and gang bangers acting up. Don’t forget because of the lame asses on city council LAPD has never caught up their ranks because those idiots lied about the trash fee hike and have the money going into the general fund. Veteran cops are retiring about 300 in a couple of months. Don’t forget cops have brought crime down at least 8 yrs not having enough cops out on the streets. Those who say “police services” have been protected will soon get a wake up call.
Yes it`s sad, because we are witnessing a melt down of the Villaraigosa Administration, with 3 years to go. Goldberg`s exit is just one of many to come. It`s called; “vote of no confidence”.
Gail Goldberg should have been fired long time back before she destroyed the department and the communities. It came too late and irreparable damage has already been done.
11:13am ITS NOT JUST RON GOING AFTER THE MAYOR ITS A LOT OF ANGELENOS sick of his bullshit and his arrogance. This fool needs to be put behind bars and I hope Walter is one who helps do it. We have a bunch of clowns on city council who aren’t even paying attention to the millions of dollars due the city and letting business who owe back taxes slide. We have losers on city council who gave away a $7 million property to Broad for $1 and where the hell was everyone on that? The City of Los Angeles doesn’t have one damn leader in the entire bunch of morons who took an oath to represent the people. The men in office are mice and whimps and the women are even worst and sound uneducated. This city is in major trouble.
“Sad Day for LA – It Will Only Get Worse”
LA police investigate 3rd pot dispensary shooting
July 1, 2010
LOS ANGELES Police are investigating a third Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensary shooting.
An employee at a San Fernando Valley dispensary was shot in the face and critically wounded during a robbery Saturday night. The gunmen escaped with $11,000.
Three days earlier, two people were shot to death and another was wounded at pot dispensaries in Hollywood and Echo Park.
Police Capt. Kevin McClure says there doesn’t appear to be any connection between those shootings and the Saturday case. But he says it is “a disturbing pattern.”
http://www.boston.com
Yeah, a disturbing pattern of the pot shops keeping thousands of dollars CASH and the gangsters and criminals knowing that. Thanks Huizar, Reyes, Garcetti for sitting on your asses for 3 years doing nothing to stop these marijuana shops and now people are being killed and robbed.
“Ron, we get that you hate this mayor and are on a campaign to egg Cooley and anyone else, on to lynch him. Almost daring their manhood. But your obsession is looking a bit too much like myopic vendetta which misses the big picture”.
11:13 a.m. you are a fine to make such a comment when for a year you have sullied every blog and newspaper with your vendetta against Trutanich. You must really think every reader is a fool and can’t recognize you.
Ron, as far as special funding, I’ll paraphrase Inigo Montoya: I don’t think that word means what you think it means.
Special funded does not refer to Antonio’s tickets or to the “Gangbanger” “City Worker” “Illegal Immigrant” Appreciation Day Parade. They’re just funds from a particular source dedicated for a specific purpose. Stimulus money for street improvements and sewer funds for wastewater management are things categorized under “special-funded”. They may be one time grants or ongoing revenue sources. Most would be considered basic services.
To Anonymous @ 11:18 a.m.
Compared to the rest of General funded departments, LAPD sworn is indeed protected. Your comment about “patrol cops…want[ing] to do their job” doesn’t even acknowledge the LAPD non-sworn personnel who *have* been seriously affected by furloughs and by dwindling staff due to the lengthy hiring freeze.
Sorry, lack of cash OT does not equate to the loss in BASIC PAY due to furloughs.
Oh right, the same cops that work 3 day weeks, live outside of Los Angeles, and get crazy pensions, like Bernard Parks.
They are part of the public employee problems. In a big way.
It’s a little late….but has anyone thought of getting a court order to have Villar drug-tested (preferably every morning)?
Besides being the most corrupt mayor in the history of this city, he looks and acts like he has turned a casual drug habit into a full-blown coccaine addition!
He can’t be fired for living a life of debauchery at the Getty mansion with his “anchor” baby , but being a drug addict is a different story. Just a thought.
Correction anon @ 1:30: it was actually HuiZar and nuch that helped get the new ordinance in place for med marijuana and put some control once they both involved.
I still feel heartsick when viewing pictures of the mayor’s ex with him. Those campaign advertisements of her as a teacher were one of the selling points for me. It was as though he had the inside scoop, through her, of all that ails our schools. She appears to have such class and grace. She’s so beautiful.
Then I recall the mayor’s son appearing before the City Council, so proud and excited with his new station in life, after his father was first sworn in. He was beaming.
They were the first family of LA. That was then.
Was the mayor aware of how much he publicly shamed his ex and his children? Does he really feel remorse? Is he capable of feeling remorse.
I hope they know that some of us still care for them and what they represented so long ago. They, like us, were used.
10:53 pm Huizar got up off his ass with Nuch because so many people were complaining about the marijuana shops popping up in their neighborhoods. The LA Weekly did a great story on how they got through the loopholes and lays out Reyes, Garcetti and Huizar as the ones responsible.
6:02pm Ok Bernie Parks or groupie of…cops working 3 days a week on 3×12 is the same as them putting in all their hours of deployment. You obviously don’t know that LAPD officers work 3 different schedules depending on the area of need. Many of them work 5 days a week 8 hours days. Some works 3×12, some work 4 days a week 10 hr. Ask the family of Deputy Escalante who was gunned down right outside his house by gang bangers if now they wish they lived outside the city. Ask the residents in communities where gangsters terrorize their families would they rather have a library open more days or cops on their streets. Would they rather have their parks open more hours or cops around so when the gangsters try and take them over like they did in the 90′s especially parks like San Fernando?
Antonio says his role is to be the face of LA get’ng free tickets. No one has mentioned security 24/7 detail of Officers who cost $450,000 a yr. Plus they travel with him. All together I say the amount of money he owes is far greater then $50-$100,000. Failure of a Mayor continues his photo op tour at Expo. While LA sinks. He didn’t say a word about Audit finds LA not collecting 1/2 its debt. What the hell is the Budget & Finance Committee doing if not going after uncollected debt? What is the role of these clowns if not to figure out the budget of the city and doesn’t that include overseeing uncollected debt as well? Do we blame Wendy or Laura Chick because as Controllers aren’t they responsible for bills? Parks, Koretz, Huizar, Rosendahl, and Smith are on Budget Finance. There couldn’t be a more incompetent group then that.
@ 6:36–do you believe everything the la weekly writes? huizar worked with nuch to steer the new oridance. he worked with us in eagle rock once we asked him to work with us on this issue…as he does on many issues. thankfully nuch and huizar understood the state law unlike many who where spinning their wheels…
@7:13–Parks, Huizar, and Smith seem reasonable when you listen to the budget and finance committee. Listen.
1:06PM WTF?? Now the clowncil morons have their staffers doing their pr spin on here for them. Oh, I forgot they all want to be re elected.
Huizar, Reyes, Garcetti sat on their asses in PLUM committee for 3 yrs allowing marijuana shops to open with their hardship exemptions. Community members were outraged and went to meetings telling them to STOP. They didn’t and the city got over 1,000 shops. . And YES I do believe what the LA Weekly reports. Given the state of horrible reporting with local media, I will say the Weekly has a better track record of reporting FACTS not Fiction like the LA Slimes and at least puts stories out there not hiding them as other outlets do.
@7:22–i am not a staffer, just a resident that was involved in the med marijuana fiasco in the city of la and followed it closely. by the tone of your comments, you obviously didn’t follow the issue, simply venting….
“Sad Day for LA – It Will Only Get Worse”
LOS ANGELES ABC 7 NEWS
Suspects who killed girl on July 4 at large
Monday, July 05, 2010
PICO-UNION DISTRICT, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Shots ring out and a Fourth of July party turns deadly. A 14-year-old girl was killed, and police are searching for the killer.
Police think a battle between rival gang members led to the death of the teen. She was identified Monday as Daisy Garcia.
The shooting happened just after 10 p.m. along the 1300 block of Toberman Street in the Pico-Union district of Los Angeles.
She was shot to death while setting off fireworks across the street from her family’s apartment.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=7537925