Is City Hall Stealing Los Angeles?
City Hall’s Reckless Disregard For Your Hard-Earned Money Has Gone Too Far Last week the Los Angeles City Controller released an audit finding that “millions of gallons of taxpayer-funded city fuel was pumped in recent years with no record of where it went.” According to the report, City Hall lost another $7 million (if not […]
Voters Should Transform The L.A. City Council Into A Part-Time Council
Los Angeles City Council members are the
nation’s highest paid at $178,789 per year.
The part-time Washington, D.C. council is next at $130,538. New York’s part-time council makes $121,725
per year.
The L.A. Council costs the most per seat, $1.7
million, employs staff of over 300, and each receives a car (with parking meter
immunity) and a $100,000 yearly taxpayer-financed slush fund.
A part-time council would benefit city
governance. In addition to savings, a
part-time council provides access to a more diverse field of
professionals. Candidates would not have
to leave their private or public sector careers to serve. A part-time council takes advantage of talent
and experience from outside City Hall – members that create jobs and balance
budgets on a regular basis. City Hall
could use a daily dose of the real world.
L.A. Needs a Real Pro-Jobs Policy
Much has been written about the so-called pro-business
policies of "Business Tax Holidays" and "incentive packages" (including steep
discounts in DWP rates) – all in order to attract business to Los Angeles. When a politician holds a press conference
with business owners, standing behind a glossy logo, clamoring on about how his
or her pro-business policies are attracting business to the city (with glowing
headlines to follow), re-election seems like a certainty.
Lately, LA’s officials have been touting some high-profile
acquisitions and relocations in their attempts to claim that LA is a
business-friendly city. For example, the
BYD electric car company, Gensler architecture firm, and Balqon Corp. Yet, the city’s unemployment rate continues
its steady, steep climb to intolerable levels.
In March 2010, when Newsweek reported on the hiring of city
"jobs czar" Austin Beutner, Newsweek
noted that the city’s unemployment was at a staggering 11.3%.