Grass-root democratic institutions in LA have always been weak and only began to grow in recent decades as unions, developers, contractors and other special interests came together to usurp power by building a political machine that controlled the elections and owned the politicians.
Now, even the thin pretense of democracy has been destroyed.
We no longer have a mayor, not even a weak mayor, since Antonio Villaraigosa has chosen to surrender his authority and accept the role of ceremonial leader, ambassador and free-loader, attending concerts, sporting events and ribbon-cuttings as his only official duties.
He has ceded all authority to Generalissimo Beutner — a financier anointed by the small cadre that passes as LA’s civic elite — and his team of venture capitalists and the bright young children of the well-connected.
They are operating as a law unto themselves, ignoring the ceremonial mayor’s own army of supplicants and yes-men, brow-beating the professionals who run city departments into submission to their will or chasing them out entirely if they choose to flee to save their integrity.
The public’s last defense, the self-styled lords and ladies who serve on the City Council, supposedly as the local communities’ representatives, spend their days quibbling about obscure parliamentary procedures and the right number of days for the peasants to sprinkle their lawns — two, four, six — as if it really mattered when the pipes are so old and corroded, so neglected like everything else in the city, they are leaking whether the water pressure is high or low.
They didn’t even challenge the glowing numbers the DWP presented for how water conservation restrictions and rate hikes are working, even though they are gross exaggerations of the actual numbers in the utility’s own monthly reports.
Maybe they were saving what little courage they have for a joint audits/energy committee meeting later Tuesday when the generalissimo was supposed to face the music for his department lying about its finances and withholding $73 million from the general fund in a blatant attempt at extortion — in the words of Controller Wendy Greuel.
Beutner stiffed them, a no-show. “It just hasn’t happened,” said Councilman Greig Smith, advocate of the six-day sprinkling schedule, in his 35 years of living off the pubic dole.
The easily flummoxed Paul Koretz blustered about issuing a subpoena to force Beutner to come before the Council. “I’ve been watching the city for over 40 years
and I don’t remember anything like this,” said Koretz, a recent arrival in the city from West Hollywood. “We asked them to be here before and they
refused. They have 10,000 employees. They could have someone here.”
Others told Rick Orlov, in an exclusive report in the Daily News, DWP’s blackmail attempt has damaged the city’s reputation in the world of high finance where Beutner made his billion-dollar fortune.
The generalissimo and his 10,000 DWP staffers weren’t talking, sending only a deputy City Attorney who told the
Council members that Beutner is preparing a response to Greuel’s audit.
He made his view clear enough last month when the audit was released.
“While we don’t wish to engage in an extended debate over the auditor’s
findings, it appears there may be several errors of fact in the report,”
Beutner said in a statement.”Since my
appointment just weeks ago as
General Manager of
the Department of Water and Power, I have made it clear we are moving
forward, not looking
back.”
For those who might dare to look back, despite Beutner’s prohibition against learning from the past, the origins of how unelected and unaccountable people came to seize power in LA might be instructive.
It starts with the damage to his popularity that Antonio suffered when he found the pleasures of the flesh with young TV newswomen were more important than fidelity to his marriage..
Then, there were his public indictments in the media as an 11 percent mayor who preferred to party rather than work and as a FAILURE. Now, it’s “Ticket-Gate” and all the luxury meals and fine wines he’s taken as “gifts” from people seeking favors.
What’s a poor boy to do except say, “To hell with it, I’m still the ceremonial mayor and living like a multimillionaire with servants and bodyguards and I have the time of my life.”
So having lost interest in the job he was elected to do, having seen his ambitions to be governor and even president shattered, he jumped at the opportunity to surrender all authority and shirk his responsibilities..
Even if this scenario of a coup d’etat is only partially true, it ought to be a wake-up call to the citizenry.
Read the Declaration of Independence written by our nation’s founding fathers 234 years ago about the abuses of power by royalty, onerous taxation and injustices that had become intolerable.
Let’s see if the Council, rather than putting another tax on the November ballot, will put this simple question before voters: Do you have confidence in City Hall and your elected leaders?
The truth be told, confidence left the building a long, long time ago.
The devastation remains. 1.3 Angelinos in 10 still cannot find work. Home values have declined and, for those who had already known poverty, life has become that much harder. Yet despite these economics realities, City Council Members approved rate hikes in both water and electricty, increased fines and fees, approve tenant rate hikes and currently in the process of eliminating more jobs in October.
At the same time CM’s have given businesses tax breaks. Garcetti said,[ http://www.ci.la.ca.us/council/cd13/c13nps1b.htm See speaches] In bad economic times, we did not wait for the market to come back–we tapped Section 108 funds and gave Cirque du Soeil a 30-Million dollar loan to perform over the next ten years at the Kodak Theatre and gave the W Hotel 6-million is subsidaries.
I have no confidence that the City has the ability to collect any revenue as they have repeated year after year after year left money on the table; which is really a hidden tax on residents.
No one can run a City of this size without proper internal “financial” controls to safeguard City Assets.
To whom is the de facto Mayor accountable? He and the young rich kids around him are acting as a dictatorship. Where is the City Council and City Attorney?
Too bad Beutner has turned out to be nothing more then a SAP for Antonio. He lost any credibility he had before working for the city. And what type of man man would work for only $1 buck? C’mon the writing is on the wall. Beutner like many politicans has little man syndrome and appears to be tough but inside is just as insecure as the Mayor. He’s made things worse and with the young crowd of 20 something in the Mayor’s office not one has the brains to know how to figure it out. Ya all been taking notes how many staffers have left the Mayor? Robin Kramer, I bet is thanking her lucky stars she got out in time before the hammer comes down hard by Cooley, State, maybe even FEDS
“Let’s see if the Council, rather than putting another tax on the November ballot, will put this simple question before voters: Do you have confidence in City Hall and your elected leaders?”
Angelenos do not need a ballot measure to answer this question because Angelenos already know about the of LACK of leadership LOST Angeles council, who deceives the public on ballot measures. Remember Janice Hahn’s gang parcel tax and council’s DWP Measure B and exercise your lack of confidence in city government by voting NO on the Public Library parcel tax or STOP complaining.
Who Is City Hall Trying to Fool?
Would two-thirds of the voters approve this parcel tax if they knew that two-thirds of the tax ($20 million) was going out the back door to the City’s General Fund as part of the City’s ”full cost recovery” program?
Would two-thirds of the voters approve this parcel tax if they knew that there was the possibility that City might attempt to recoup another $30 million under its “full cost recovery” program?
Would two-thirds of the voters approve this parcel tax knowing that overhead was almost $50 million, representing 37% of the entire Library budget?
And would two-thirds of the voters approve this parcel tax knowing the Los Angeles Public Library does not have a long term financial and operational plan?
In addition to the issues involving the Library, there are significant policy issues.
Why would the City Council put the Library Parcel Tax on the County administered, already cluttered November ballot when it would cost the cash starved City $4.2 million? An alternative would be to put the proposed tax on the City run March or May ballot at very little extra cost.
Why did the Arts, Parks, Health & Aging Committee (LaBonge, Wesson, and Reyes) delete the proposed “sunset” provision recommended by the Library Commission?
This parcel tax would also be the first parcel tax to cover operating expenses of a city department, an unhealthy precedent that might not be very popular with likely voters who are already skeptical about the City and its fiscal mismanagement.
And if this parcel tax is approved, will there be additional parcel taxes for the Department of Recreational and Parks as was suggested in the City Council? And what about the Fire Department, the Police Department, and our deteriorating streets and underfunded pension plans? And what about the parcel tax to fund the $8 billion Stormwater/Urban Water Runoff Master Plan that was discussed shortly after the defeat of Measure B?
The burden of a parcel tax falls disproportionately on homeowners and condo owners since they pay the same $39 parcel tax as does the owner of an apartment complex or a large downtown office building. This is just another assault on homeowners, just like the Department of Water and Power’s Rate Restructuring Plan and the Shortage Year Water Rates.
The Library Parcel Tax is also just another not very well thought out gimmick to raise money for the City which does not even have the vague outlines of a long term financial plan to balance budget or solve the “structural deficit.” Nor have we even seen any plans that address real pension reform or our deteriorating streets and infrastructure.
And most importantly, the City Council needs to ask itself whether the voters trust the Mayor and City Hall given the continuing and projected financial woes of the City, the Mayor’s ECAF Fiasco, and the growing controversy involving the Mayor’s use of free tickets. And this is only compounded by the difficult economic times we are experiencing in Los Angeles and California.
Rather than engage in another rush to judgment without adequate information, the Library Commission and the City Council need to table the Library Parcel Tax before the highly respected Los Angeles Public Library becomes the focus of a nasty political controversy. Just look what happened to the Department of Water and Power!
Instead, the Library needs to develop a long range operational and financial plan that can be analyzed by the City Administrative Officer, the City Council, and independent third parties. This plan must detail the specific uses of the Library Parcel Tax, recognizing that the proceeds from the tax will not be available until December 2011.
Furthermore, the Library needs to define its relationship with the City to make sure there are no future raids of library funds or resources. The Library also needs to develop specific recommendations for the Citizen’s Advisory Oversight Committee.
Before asking the voters to approve any tax increases, the City Council needs to develop a comprehensive, long term financial plan that addresses the City’s solvency and its structural deficit as well as realistic pension reform, its deteriorating infrastructure, and the efficient delivery of its core services.
Citywatchla
http://citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3719
as I see it, we’re all screwed.
I have the utmost confidence in City Hall and our City leaders.
I am 100 percent confident that they will screw us at every turn; defer all important decisions, such as unfunded employee pensions until after the next mayoral election or they’re termed out; that they will always be looking for the next seat to run for so they can keep living on the public dole; and that they will always look out for themselves, their friends, and their big doners first and us last.
Now that the new fiscal year has begun, does anyone know what the budget deficit is?
I think that this is a conspiracy and has more to do with the Mayor than DWP staff, although some of them may be willing accomplices such as the DWP CFO who may be forced to resign from his current post.
At the heart of the conspiracy regarding the rate hike was the Council President’s “Special 1″ in April 2010.
This needs to be investigate by authorities who are removed politically from partisan Politics (tough one), but if you looked at the list of issues: Jan Perry’s conflict of interest on the Grand Ave Project, the City’s gift to developers such as CIM (for Cirque du Soleil, Mid Town Crossing, Magic Castle, and Hollywood-Western), and AEG.
And it would take a telephone book to list the issues with the Mayor.
It is a lot like Chicago-style corruption such as last witnessed with former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
“Koretz threatened to use his subpoena power to call Beutner”: http://www.dailynews.com/opinions/ci_15460720
Maybe the district Attorney can have a much larger investigation and use the Grand Jury to interview all players on this DWP rate hike fiasco.
Personally, I think that some in the City Council were indirect partners with the Mayor in this “Rate-Gate.”
In any case, the City Council failed to exert itself when Beutner was fist nominated by the Mayor and instead accept Beutner’s voluntary letter. They had an opportunity to “drill” Beutner for potential past issues and conflicts of interest.
Beutner is a takeover artist who is ready to break out the best part of City-owned (Ratepayer and Taxpayer-owned) assets and sell them off at a low value to wealthy business interests and then have the City lease them back – the ultimate double-whammy ripoff to the working class taxpayers.
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