Garcetti meets with KPCC news staff, pledges no City Hall raises

LA Observed file photo of Garcetti shortly after his 2013 election.

Add KPCC to the list of newsrooms where Los Angeles mayors and other officials now stop in to brief editors and reporters. Garcetti was in Pasadena today and talked about City Hall finances, the likelihood of "double-digit" hikes on DWP bills and whether he will run for reelection in three years. From Alice Walton's story:

As union contract negotiations get underway for Los Angeles city firefighters, police officers and most City Hall employees, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Monday he does not support any raises for city workers....

“I don’t see us being able to afford probably for that term — for two or three years at least — any raises,” Garcetti said. The current contracts with public safety and rank-and-file unions expire this year.

At the same time, Garcetti wants to see city workers pay 10 percent of their health premiums. Currently, the unions pay varying amounts.

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Angelenos could also be asked to pony up for a $3 billion initiative that would fix the city’s failing streets. The Bureau of Street Services currently does not repair streets that are considered “failed” because of the huge expense. Councilmen Joe Buscaino and Mitch Englander have floated the idea of a multibillion-dollar bond that would allocate money just for those streets. But, Garcetti is unsure whether he would support such a measure.

“If there’s a chance of it passing — yes,” Garcetti said of his possible support.