Sleepy Has Spoken; Here Comes Dopey
In all of my years of service to the City of Los Angeles, I have never seen a financial crisis such as the one our great City faces today. In response to the global economic crisis, revenues have drastically declined by over $300 million, the State has withheld over $100 million in local funds, and if the ballot measures do not pass on May 19th, the State will undoubtedly withhold even more. Concurrently, the City's payroll and pension costs have soared. We have reached a breaking point. If significant and structural changes are not implemented quickly, the City's financial solvency is at significant risk.
As the Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, I led over 52 hours of hearings on the Budget. All of the City's Departments were called to the table, hours of public comment were taken, and deliberations went late into the night. We have presented a balanced budget to the Council based on the information before us. As of today, if the City does not enact a hiring freeze, over 7,000 civilian employees will be laid off.
A few years ago, members of the public were told that an increase in trash fees would be used only to hire new officers. This, however, is not the case and was never the case. The trash fee was increased to help cover the cost of collecting trash from single family homes. The City has fulfilled its commitment to fund a significant number of new police, but it is important to clarify that the entire trash fee was never committed or intended to be used solely for the hiring of police
officers.
The Mayor's plan is to hire expensive new police officers while handing out over 7,000 pink slips to the civilian employees that repair our sidewalks, fix our streets, maintain our parks and pick up the trash. The proposed combination of layoffs and furloughs will be an impact only felt by civilian employees. If we continue with the Mayor*s plan, our pension program will become unsustainable, not only for sworn employees, but for civilian employees as well. You may hear plans about gaining concessions from unions or selling off the City's parking garages and
meters. At this point, however, those are just plans, and hard decisions had to be made. In order to retain civilian employees, keep the City financially solvent and maintain a good bond rating, the only viable option is to enact a hiring freeze, reduce the City's cost, and minimize required layoffs.
The City Council will be considering the budget on Monday, May 18th in the City Hall, Room 340 at 10 am. I invite you to come and participate in the budget process. Members of the public will be afforded an opportunity to address the Council and share their opinions.
Regardless of how the Council votes on the budget, drastic change is inevitable. As we reassess and rebuild in the coming months and years, I look forward to working with you to use this as an opportunity to redefine the City and how we provide services. My commitment to fiscal responsibility while maintaining high quality constituent services remains strong.
Respectfully,
BERNARD C. PARKS
Councilmember, Eighth District
www.BernardParks.com
213-473-7008
As the Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, I led over 52 hours of hearings on the Budget. All of the City's Departments were called to the table, hours of public comment were taken, and deliberations went late into the night. We have presented a balanced budget to the Council based on the information before us. As of today, if the City does not enact a hiring freeze, over 7,000 civilian employees will be laid off.
A few years ago, members of the public were told that an increase in trash fees would be used only to hire new officers. This, however, is not the case and was never the case. The trash fee was increased to help cover the cost of collecting trash from single family homes. The City has fulfilled its commitment to fund a significant number of new police, but it is important to clarify that the entire trash fee was never committed or intended to be used solely for the hiring of police
officers.
The Mayor's plan is to hire expensive new police officers while handing out over 7,000 pink slips to the civilian employees that repair our sidewalks, fix our streets, maintain our parks and pick up the trash. The proposed combination of layoffs and furloughs will be an impact only felt by civilian employees. If we continue with the Mayor*s plan, our pension program will become unsustainable, not only for sworn employees, but for civilian employees as well. You may hear plans about gaining concessions from unions or selling off the City's parking garages and
meters. At this point, however, those are just plans, and hard decisions had to be made. In order to retain civilian employees, keep the City financially solvent and maintain a good bond rating, the only viable option is to enact a hiring freeze, reduce the City's cost, and minimize required layoffs.
The City Council will be considering the budget on Monday, May 18th in the City Hall, Room 340 at 10 am. I invite you to come and participate in the budget process. Members of the public will be afforded an opportunity to address the Council and share their opinions.
Regardless of how the Council votes on the budget, drastic change is inevitable. As we reassess and rebuild in the coming months and years, I look forward to working with you to use this as an opportunity to redefine the City and how we provide services. My commitment to fiscal responsibility while maintaining high quality constituent services remains strong.
Respectfully,
BERNARD C. PARKS
Councilmember, Eighth District
www.BernardParks.com
213-473-7008
Labels: 2009-2010 City Budget, Bitter Bernie, mayor antonio villaraigosa
Posted by Michael Higby @ 5/15/2009 10:30:00 PM
19 Comments:
Parks is Dopey alright. Besides being Bitter Bernie in constant contention with the Chief, he's just plain lying that the trash fee hike was NOT promised for more cops and was approved for the General Fund's misc. expenditures. Parks is as lousy a Budget Committee head as he was a police Chief -- he didn't plan for this shortfall so he's raiding the money promised for cops.
Everyone knows it was promised for cops, from the homeowner associations that have been demanding "Where are the 1000 cops?" to the media demanding the same. It's true that the money first goes into the General Fund BUT a promise is a promise -- the Mayor, Chief and other officials INCLUDING BILL ROSENDAHL promised in so many words to the people.
Parks and Smith and Rosendahl are just breaking a promise to us because they're incompetent and will do and say anything to get their hands on that money.
They're the reason we the people have so little faith in government.
Shame on Mayor AV,Chief BB and Sheriff LB for touting that measure as "more police on the streets for the city of L.A." in order to get us to vote for it. After all, everyone wants to feel safe! They are all guilty of fraud!!!
No wonder every deep pocket developer in L.A. feels they have the sameright as them by saying such crap as "we are going to improve your community" to hell with lack of infrastructure, we'll figure it out later!!. Or, how about our city council approving all those programs and events for non-citizens and anyone else so they can get them votes , and then worry about the end result about how they are going to pay for them later. No need to make sure that union demands are realistic, heck they may be termed out of office before the ".... hits the fan and we are out of money and it won't be their fault! Oh, by the way, watch our City Council meetings and see how many people bother to learn English, but still feel entitled to all the same benefits as Americans. It's pretty costly to accomodate them, don't you think? If they can't be bothered to learn English, they shouldn't receive any benefits and their own country should be billed for any benefits they receive from the U.S.A.. That's a good way to start repairing our budget!
My neighbors are talking about boycotting city trash pickup altogether. One of the neighbors is a gardner and has trucks. For $35.00 he can bring a truckload to the dump.
does anyone out there know if its a hassle to discontinue city trash pickup?
There are a lot of gardeners with trucks in this city More and more yards will need less cutting with the water restrictions. We think it seems like a win-win situation.
Feedback please!
Anonymous said...
"There are a lot of gardeners with trucks in this city More and more yards will need less cutting with the water restrictions. We think it seems like a win-win situation.
Feedback please!"
I'm game.
I agree that it's a win-win situation since I might be switching over to astro-turf and I don't want to cut his pay.
Did I buy or rent my city trash cans?
May 16, 2009 1:03 AM
The Police contract expires July 1 and I've heard the Mayor has promised a 3% annual increase. Is this true? I've also heard the 3/12 is costing the City dearly in overtime. Is this true? Our public servants are not the fat cats from Wall St...they are Main Street people. And, they have always been asked to sacrifice in name of public safety...in this case, for the Mayor's magic "10,000"...it's a number, just a political number! So, here is the fix the our City:
1. Eliminate the 3/12
2. Hard Freeze on all Departments
3. Early Retirement program with 5 or 5 open for 30 days...reopen for another 30 days in 90 days
4. In six months access, impact on retirement fund...if fund needs dollars, ask City unions for addition contribution of 2% across the board for 3 three years then assess if economy has bounced back to strengthen fund; if not, addition 3 three years.
5. All new hires, now contribute at 8% rate
6. Immediately, terminate all non tenured employees by this Friday...except for public safety.
This mess is not that difficult to get out of...if, cooler heads prevail
With the exception of the Mayor firing Bratton, how and by what means do the residents of Los Angeles have to fire a department head who is using threats of removing police officers from the communities who are represented by elected officials who do not follow his bidding?
Less police will mean more crime in those communities and more violence against those residents.
One can do a good job but at some point their inability to work within the frame work of an orgainzation makes them too much of a libality.
If crime in New York was reduced so much,why was Bratton fired?
Your Ego is not your Amigo Mr.B
Thank you Asshole Parks. You piece of shit liar. Because of your horrible management of LAPD 1,000 officers left because they couldn't stand your dictatorship. A CLA report from back in 2003 that clearly shows recommendations how special event waivers can be streamlined and save money. BUT BITTER BERNIE HAS NEVER MOVED IT TO FULL COUNCIL FOR A VOTE.
The trash fee was campaigned again lying saying it was only for cops not for the general fund. City council assholes are pissed because a judge ruled that the millions they were getting transferred from DWP had to go back. Hell no our cops aren't going to suffer because of their incompetence. WHERE IS THE PHONE TAX MONEY GOING ASSHOLES??
Bad news for those of you wanting to boycott trash and recycling hauling. I think the City's ordinance makes the City the monopoly provider for residential trash and recycling. I do not think you have a choice.
You will use the City and you will pay the fee whether you put your bin out or not.
Hey, here's a wild idea: HOW ABOUT CUTTING THE $680 MILLION PER YEAR THAT GOES TO THE CRA?
Do we REALLY need to give hundreds of millions of dollars every year to developers to build "affordable housing" -- i.e., $500,000 condos that no one is buying -- given the current real estate crash?
Oh, I forgot: the real goal is to scare you into letting City Hall charge you more, whether it's taxes, fees or -- through the miracle of privatization -- parking meters! "Pay up, or we fire the cops!"
This whole drama is a distraction blow to the head of the body politic.
6:27
Other than Smith saying that it's so, what other evidence is there that Bratton threatened to reduce the number of police officers in the districts of the bad Councilmembers?
The gardener/truck idea is nifty but it won't work.
The trash fee is associated with your electric meter. The only way to halt the trash fee is to disconnect your electric account with DWP.
Bratton was making a point to these assholes. Look at the numers if they stop hiring we lose 520 officers off the bat because tons of veterans are retiring. Every station will lose officers not just one district. Can you imagine if LA had a major crisis what an about face the jerks in council would make? We have 3 assholes Smith, Parks and now Rosendahl who people are saying just wants the publicity. THANK YOU ZUMA Very good point. Helloo why isn't anyone collecting that $10 MIILION BUSINESS TAX THAT IS LATE>
Rosendahl should be more concerned with his district then trying to become Bitter Bernie's pal
LA has worst air
LA has worst traffic
LA has worst roads reported this week and now
LAX WORST AIRPORT
http://www.dwell.com/articles/terminal-illness.html
Once again, Bratton is not "making threats" to play hardball with those idiots Rosendahl, Smith and Parks and Perry. He's just laying it out: you want more cops, he says to Rosendahl (Rosendahl made a HUGE public fuss about it in December when he hosted the public safety Town Hall Mtg in his district with Bratton as the "guest"/ person on the "hot seat"), I need the money.
He told the hundreds of people there that if they wanted to see MORE cops on the westside, Pacific and Hollywood divisions instead of him having to remove some to staff other more high-crime areas, he needs the 10,000 cops min. He really needs 12,000 to do the job that residents want. Rosendahl just can't put 2+2 together and wants more cops but to cut funding.
It's outrageous that they're blaming their incompetence on the Chief and accusing HIM of using "scare tactics" when if anyone is, it's that Protective League Head Paul Weber who's bosom buddies with Zine and Trutanich. He refuses to consider the slightest compromise of even 1 hr/week furlough for cops so they can keep their jobs and pensions and continue to replace cops who leave through attrition in the academy. Weber says so right on PPL website and in the Daily News. HE and Zine are the HUGE frauds.
Hey Zine, where did you get the money to repave Doug McIntyre's street just to buy free airtime to promise Trutanich and bash Weiss?
Zine asked Doug McIntyre how he liked his brand-new, smooth street on the show yesterday in the last hour and McIntyre joked it's SO smooth "I like to walk barefoot on it."
PARKS AND SMITH AND ROSENDAHL, WHY DON'T YOU CLOWNS FINE ZINE FOR MISUSING OUR CITY FUNDS FOR PARTISAN POLITICKING LIKE THIS IS A BANANA REPUBLIC?
Whewn it came to the trash tax, weren't the "liars" the mayor and Bratton?
"Within a couple of months, I'll be pulling out of each of(Rosendahl's) police stations about 25 or 30 officers," Bratton said. "So people on the Westside, I'm sure, are going to be very happy to hear about the councilman's vote to reduce their already short-staffed stations."
The whole story here:
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_12373816
We cannot eliminate the 3/12 shifts for the LAPD. It was the only way we were able to get the cops we do have. If we don't give it to them, we'll lose all good candidates to all the surrounding cities who do offer 3 - 12 hour shifts. Check it out for yourself. But don't post bullshit that you don't understand. It's annoying.
Parks is against it because Bratton (and the entire police force) is for it. That is just the way Parks operates. Isn't that how he got the "bitter" part of his nickname?
It's about time people you woke up to the fact of th DEVELOPERS RUNNING THE CITY. Broad, Soboroff, etc. For the past 7 years as an activist MY fellow motley crue of like minded activits have tried to tell people about this stuff no one wanted to listen, now the lid is finely off and people are getting burned, is this what it took?? Look to the Neighborhood council DONE funding as the next place to exlode with FRAUD, and our council people who run there own private NON-PROFITS, and the way the City is giving open space park land to these conservancies, after 20yrs. they can sell at a profit the land that people lost there homes for. Just remember the BELMONT HIGH SCHOOL/VISTA HERMOSA insident, BUT I KNOW people don't want to hear the truth any more. HOW SAD....
LIKE I KEEP SAYING THESE PEOPLE IN CITY HALL HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE HOW TO BUDGET THEMSELVES OR THIS CITY. COLLEGE DEGREES DON'T MAKE SMART PEOPLE, JUST EDUCATED ONE'S. LIKE YOU COMMENTS ON DONE THERE CORRUPT TOO.
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