Hollywood Unbound: The Public Square: October 29

A brief look at items of interest to Hollywood residents that are on upcoming agendas at City Council, City Council Committees, Neighborhood Councils, various City Boards and Commissions, and County Board of Supervisors. LA City Agendas can be found here and LA County Board agendas can be found here.

As always, the meeting times, locations, and agendas are subject to change, so be sure to check and confirm.

Monday, October 29:

Budget and Finance Council Committee (2:00 PM)
- Item 2 (Council File 12-0600-S166)
  - CAO's First Financial Status Report (.pdf) for Fiscal Year 2012-2013. Per the report, the City is, just four months into the fiscal year, already projecting a budget shortfall of $16.6 million. The shortfall is due to “expenditure shortfalls and unbudgeted expenses” primarily at LAFD, LAPD, City Attorney, and the General Services Department.
  - CAO has also prepared an addendum (.pdf) to the First Financial Status Report that lists 209 “temporary” positions (of which 186 are filled) that the Mayor has the authority to eliminate after December 31, 2012. The First Financial Status Report states that (emphasis mine) “In light of the City's current budget status and projected deficits identified in the Four Year Budget Outlook, there are no ongoing funds available to keep the 186 filled positions through the end of the fiscal year. Delaying this action makes solving the 2013-14 budget gap even more difficult as the Outlook already assumes elimination of these positions after December 31, 2012”.
  - CAO is also recommending, supposedly as a cost-saving measure, the elimination of 50 positions in the City Attorney’s Office (specifically in the Criminal/Special Litigation branch) in response to on-going challenges of the legality of mandatory employee furloughs for certain positions in the City Attorney’s Office.
  - Viewpoints: As noted in a recent LA Times story, the bulk of these 208 positions are civilian administrative employees in the LAPD. While I don’t doubt the need for these types of positions, every City Department, including LAPD and LAFD, must learn to live within its adopted budget, especially during these next few lean years. If Department General Managers, including the Police and Fire Chiefs, can’t manage their Departments given annual budget constraints and staffing allocations then they should step aside (or be removed) and replaced with someone who is up to the task.

Tuesday, October 30:

County Board of Supervisors (9:30 AM)
- No items of note.
City Council (10:00 AM)
- Item 9 (Council File 13-1100-S2)
  - Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Council Committee Report relative to a proposed ballot measure to raise $39 dollars per parcel for city parks and park programs.
  - Per the report, and pending City Attorney’s drafting of the appropriate resolution, the proposed measure could be on the ballot for the March 5, 2013 election.
- Item 12 (Council File 13-1100-S4)
  - Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Council Committee Report relative to a proposed ballot measure to increase the documentary transfer tax through the implementation of a new tiered tax structure.
  - Per a CAO/CLA joint report (.pdf) the proposed tiered tax structure would be a “progressive tax structure based on sales price (rates ranging from $2.25 to $9.00 per $1,000 of the sale price)” that would “generate between $76.1 million and $82.4 million in additional revenues, while reducing property sales by 283 transactions per year”, which is only a 1% reduction in annual property sales. The City’s current documentary transfer tax rate is $4.50 per $1,000 of the sale price.
  - Per the report, and pending City Attorney’s drafting of the appropriate ordinance and resolution, the proposed measure could be on the ballot for the March 5, 2013 election.
- Item 20 (Council File 12-0011-S27)
  - Continued consideration of a motion to transfer $250,000 from the CD 4 portion of the Street Furniture Revenue Fund to the CD 4 office salaries account to pay for CD 4 Council Office staff salaries.
  - The motion states that “there is a great need for additional Council staff to focus on transit related projects, sidewalk projects, curb / sidewalk improvements, beautification projects needed to improve conditions for public transit patrons, and all expenses relating or incidental thereto in Council District 4”.
  - Viewpoints: As I’ve previously noted, Street Furniture Revenue Funds must be used for the specific purposes identified in Los Angeles Administrative Code Section 5.121.7, which includes improvements to public streets, public transit systems, and the beautification of public right-of-ways. These purposes do not explicitly include the funding of general staff salaries nor funding for "general services" to the community. Also, as I noted the last time CD 4 raided the Street Furniture Revenue Fund to pay for staff salaries, if these funds are transferred into the CD 4's general salary account then they absolutely cannot be used "for any aspect of efforts" as the Motion states as these funds will be only be available to pay for Council staff salaries.
- Item 21 (Council File 13-1100-S5)
  - Motion (.pdf) relative to a proposed ballot measure to change the City Charter in order to permit the CLA (which works for, and reports to, the City Council) to employ its own attorneys.
  - The motion states that (emphasis mine) “Our budgetary limitations have stretched the abilities of the City Attorney to provide legal services in a variety of areas while still maintaining a focus on public safety. In the case of the City Attorney's role as advisor to the City Council, this has resulted in the delay of many key ordinances which the Council is waiting to adopt as well as in other legal services necessary for the Council to proceed with its duties and responsibilities”.
  - Per the motion, and pending City Attorney’s drafting of the appropriate ordinance and resolution, the proposed measure could be on the ballot for the March 5, 2013 election.
  - Viewpoints: If its just an issue of staffing, then the City Council could easily fix the situation by providing the the City Attorney with more funding. Of course, this issue isn’t so much about funding and staffing issues at the City Attorney’s Office as it is about the Council attempting to chip away at the authority and independence of the City Attorney’s Office.