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“The time to act is now,” said the LA 2020 Commission in its report last year urging big changes for Los Angeles city government. Not so fast, said City Council President Herb Wesson, who created the commission.
Wesson told me Wednesday that he wants the recommendations to go through the council’s labrynthian (my characterization, not his) committee hearing process before big decisions are made. “I have asked the chairs to come up with a timeline to begin the process,” he said when we talked on the phone. “Once it goes through the committee process I will chat with the chairs and what to bring to council and when.”
Wesson created the commission in 2013, telling it to come up with ways to improve Los Angeles’ economy and its slow-moving, financially troubled city government. Attorney Mickey Kantor, a former U.S. commerce secretary and Democratic political power, and Austin Beutner, a top advisor in the administration of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and now publisher of the Los Angeles Times, headed it. Its proposals, while they wouldn’t blow the roof off of city hall, would substantially change how business is done there.
I asked Kantor how he thought things were going. He said he was pleased there was “some movement” on the report. “I only hope that we make progress,” he said tactfully.
Knowing the leisurely manner of city government, I decided to find out what happened to the commission proposals after Kantor and Beutner submitted them to the council. I learned they had been turned over to committees that vote on proposals before the council gets them. I called the councilman who counts most, council president Wesson, who runs everything in the legislative body.
Wesson noted that one of the commission’s recommendations, changing the date of Los Angeles elections, so they will coincide with national and state elections, is on next Tuesday’s ballot. These elections are now in March and April. And he wants to go ahead with recommendations to speed up revisions in community plans and to create a regional body to promote tourism.
But he was in a go- slow mood when I asked him about two of the most important and controversial proposals. One would be to create an Office of Transparency and Accountability. It would analyze the city budget and legislation that would affect jobs and city revenue. Since the city administrative officer, who reports to the mayor, and the legislative analyst, who reports to the council, already do this, they probably hate the idea of giving up power to a new body, as would the mayor and the council. The second would be to set up a Los Angeles Utility Rate Commission, to set water and power rates. Elected officials, who now approve rates, would really hate that.
On the office of transparency, Wesson said, “Is that a good thing to do, is it a duplication of services? Is it going to cost more money? Are you spending money on this and not trimming trees?” Regarding a commission to set utility rates, he said, “I wouldn’t want to say yes or no until this conversation (with committee chairs) takes place. I am not against it, I am not for it but it has to be properly vetted.”
I talked to Councilman Curren Price, whose economic development committee, will study a proposal for economic development zones and Tom LaBonge, head of the committee taking on regional tourism promotion. They said their committees would study the proposals. Paul Krekorian, who heads the budget committee, didn’t call me back but an aide said he’s awaiting a report on the 2020 commission recommendations from city budget officials.
As they say in city hall, not so fast.
