Proposed Consulting Gig at Full Salary for Out-going DWP GM H. David Nahai
"How many more checks for out-going DWP General Manager H. David Nahai??"Its all a matter of semantics, correct??
Former Daily News editor turn blogger Ron Kaye, broke this story over the weekend. Now LA Times scribe David Zahniser has the financial details on the proposed "consulting contract" with out-going Department of Water and Power General Manager H. David Nahai.
Officials at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials plan to give a consulting contract to the outgoing general manager of the power agency that would pay him the same salary he was earning as the DWP's top executive.
Just days after he resigned, David Nahai is slated to receive nearly $6,300 per week as a consultant to the utility.The DWP commission, whose five members are appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, is scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss the plan.
Now the comments from the "enablers" or should we call them "Villar lackeys"??
“There’s nothing nefarious about it, nothing complex about it. This is a reasonable business decision, nothing more than that,” Alpert said. “David’s resigned, and we need his institutional knowledge for the next few months.”
Nothing nefarious?? Institutional knowledge??
Let me try this in some simple venacular, "this is bulls..." I would like to see the "dollar to word ratio" for Nahai's wriiten insight on what is needed to turn around the mounting problems at the nations largest public utility, during his proposed consulting gig. I'm guessing in the range of the number of busted water mains that cause Nahai to "fall on the sword" to protect Mayor antonio Villaraigosa.
Then Alpert continues........
“He may have knowledge we want to pick his brain on,” Alpert said.
Lot of taxpayers may want knowledge on Nahai's dealings with the likes of Keith Brackpool and Ari Swiller and what role temp DWP GM S. David Freeman had in these dealings.
When it comes to this, then maybe Nahai has been "consulted" to remain quiet.
Your thoughts.......................
Labels: dwp, DWP Committee, H David Nahai, mayor antonio villaraigosa
Posted by Red Spot in CD 14 @ 10/05/2009 03:13:00 PM
34 Comments:
Come on, don't be so hard on them all.
Nahai may be the only one that knows where they hide the handle that turns the City's water supply on.
We NEED him!
As a taxpayer, I am insulted by Alpert`s comments. Does he think we are idiots and we believe his B.S?
And this person is President of DWP!
No wonder with Alpert/Freeman/Nahai/D`Arcy at the wheel the City is sinking and has run out of power.
Nahai has about one-millionth as much institutional knowledge as Freeman. Could you imagine in your wildest dreams, Freeman going to him for advice?
I only WISH Alpert's lame excuse had read:
"David Nahai may have some institutional knowlege we may want to pick his plugs on."
Y'know...because of his stupid oh-so-obvious HAIR PLUGS that us DWP customers have been financing for years.
The Mayor feels so secure in his position and all his corruption because the sheeple are not going to do anything as usual. They are busy watching the Lakers or American Idol.
'The world is a dangerous place to live in, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.'
Albert Einstein
This is a fairly common practice in the private sector. Look at it this way, now he get's the salary, but no benefits. We're paying less for him than if he just stayed on the job.
Even if, and it's a big 'if,' Nahai has any so-called 'institutional knowledge' worth a damn, he should be allowed to charge a reasonable hourly rate for it, not simply paid a lump sum for whether his 'knowledge' is needed or not.
Frankly, paying for the 'institutional knowledge' of a man who has fucked up the DWP is insane, and we all know it.
Also, if Nahai has resigned, how come he's still driving around Bel Air in that Black Hybrid Nissan Altima that's on City license plates? Is that a retirement gift or something? Just our money being poured down the drain to pander to limo liberals, why should anyone care or complain....
8:03pm, Really?
In the private sector, people are paid to get results for those that pay their salary.
That hasn't happend with Nahai as the GM for DWP, so where's the bargain?
And then, if Nahai came up dry (no pun intended) while on salary, why in the world would anyone pay him and expect any different results- and at the same pay?
So again, to look at the picture, Nahai's not meeting with success as DWP's GM, so he resigns. Then he gets picked up an even sweeter salary AND he's only a consultant, not the one responsible.
What's wrong with this picture (besides Mayor Tony probably showing up in it in some prominent position)?
If the Council is in on approving this deal, they should really make a note of why no one trusts them.
One big happy family for Tony Villar and the nepotism, figuratively and literally, keeps them happier as they all walk away with lots of loot from the city.
Jose Huizar, maybe you could say something functional on this matter as our CM once in a while besides getting your name all over everything at the Eagle Rock Music Festival on Saturday.
We know your name- we just don't see you doing anything. Well, then, neither are any of the other schmoes on the Council, from Eric on down.
in cd-14.
Let me get this straight. Nahai resigns, no severance, no pension, but he gets a contract because he has valuable knowledge after a year and a half on the job?
And then he goes to work for Clinton...and gets a paycheck from Clinton too? When the city is broke?
Hello? L.A. City Council? Can we have a vote on this? Cause this is totally unethical! I think the operative word here is "double-dipping."
On the other hand, maybe Nahai’s staying on to fix Mayor Villar drip from porking around on his wife. Ya never know!
You filled in a couple of blanks in the "Nahai resignation" puzzle.
Swiller and Brackpool. Now, if there were out there an investigative reporter worth his/her salt, we might be able to solve the puzzle.
Alpert saying "There is nothing nefarious about it,..." makes his comments in and by themselves nefarious.
A new meaning for pay to play.
Even if Nahai didn't fuck up the DWP, most people would just say "Call me if you need anything" and leave it at that.
They always claim not to be micromanagers- apparently that's bullshit if we need "institutional knowledge" from this guy.
H. David- tell us where the keys are and don't let the door slam your ass on the way out...
Kevin James just reported on David Nahai sill using a City car even though he has 'resigned.' Kevin has a photo to prove it.
Nahai was using the car to take his wife to Starbucks on Saturday afternoon at 4:30pm. That's not even City business by any stretch of the imagination.
Rocky Delgadillo was brought down because of his City car abuse, don't let Nahai get away with this.
I think this is good because the money doesn't do any good just sitting there unused. If you give it to Nahai, at least he will spend some of it in the local economy and help generate revenue and contribute to the tax base. So you can say this deal actually helps stimulate the local economy. Think of all the restaurants and watiers who will be tipped all the sales clerks who will get commission, etc. Hope he at least keeps the spending in LA.
9:40 PM -
Well if you say Swil(ler) and (Cess)Brackpool are part of the departure then could it be over the wind farm land deal that Nahai let slip through his fingers the way Huizar's LAUSD let Taylor Yard slip through theirs, allowing Villaraigosa pals (Taylor Yard=Meurelo, DWP Wind Farm=SWILLer)?
And if Bill is flying in to scoop up Nahai and keep him out of the way and quiet (and I'm sure he'll do a great job on Clinton's energy projects), then he must feel he has to protect his investment in Antonio and help keep everything together and all covered up.
Is that very savvy? Just a hunch.
It's the Mayor Sam Home of Reposting Stories From Other Outlets. Used to be the other way around. #17.
It is both better and worse than that.
Legally they cannot discuss a consulting contract as part of his buyout negotiations. Most things connected with personel decisions can be done behind closed doors, but not this type of consulting contract and they especially couldn't put the city council in the spot of having to take responsibility by voting on the contract.
However the way the LA government works, the law is something to be worked around, not a boundary line that can't be crossed over, especially when it comes to an informed public. So what do they do? They pass it off to a committee to approve and spare the council a vote. They also manage to not discuss an agreement that was obviously already made in private (which is what would be illegal) and pretend like it is something they have to do. If someone blew the whistle, they would claim ignorance of the Brown Act requirements that prohibit serial polling by staff of a government body before there is a public vote on an issue. It's all just pathetic.
Where does this leave Cindy Montanez?
He resigned, so let him get his ass out and save that money. Surely some subordinates in the overpaid DWP hierarchy can manage to run this mess in the interim. There are 5 general manager positions now including DWP and Building & Safety, etc. Let's save some money on these overpaid positions by leaving them unfilled. The next in line can't make a bigger mess than their predecessors.
Here's an perfect opportunity for Neighborhood councils to show their power and oppose this ridiculous idea of paying this crook.
Is this paving the way for a consulting contract when the Mayor and current city council members leave? We can continue to pay them for all their institutional knowledge? Don't be so hard on the guy he had none when he came in to the job but then look who appointed him, the SEIU poodle that's who.
What a lucky guy that he can now get paid for doing nothing.
I guess elected officials think taxpayers are stupid. Wait until they come up for re-election. Oh, by the way, many are termed out so what do they care?
1:56AM- CM got the Mayor`s support. Need not to worry.
This is the answer to all these shenanigans!
http://halfofflapay.wordpress.com/
Questions & Answers
What is the “half-off” campaign?
The “half-off” campaign seeks to qualify a ballot measure to cut by 50 percent the pay of Los Angeles city elected officials. At present, Section 218 of the city charter specifies that pay of city council members is equal to that of a judge ($178,789). The city controller gets 10 percent more, the city attorney 20 percent more, and the mayor 30 percent more. By inserting the word “half,” compensation would be reduced. Elected officials would still receive automatic raises when judges’ pay increases.
Why should L.A. officials’ salaries be reduced?
Los Angeles City Councilmembers are the highest paid in America. They make substantially more than their counterparts in New York and Chicago. They make more than U.S. Senators and Congressmembers. Their pay is 54 percent more than that of California Senate and Assembly members. In short, they are grossly overpaid when compared to other elected legislative officials.
In addition, the mayor and council have compiled a record of poor fiscal and administrative management that does not justify the high salaries they receive. Many of the city’s fiscal problems stem from the lack of prudent management of financial resources. Elected officials’ inability to deal with rampant development, regulation of billboards and medical marijuana dispensaries, and traffic congestion are other indicators of why their high wages are not justified.
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From September through December 2009, the campaign will conduct a drive to educate the public about the proposal to cut officials’ pay and seek endorsements from neighborhood councils, neighborhood council coalitions and other groups interested in government reform.
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Currently, 239,442 valid signatures of registered voters residing the city of Los Angeles are required. This number (15 percent of registered voters in the city) will change by the time signature gathering begins, but probably not by much. The campaign will have 180 days to get the required signatures. At least 300,000 signatures will be needed in order to obtain about 240,000 valid signatures.
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We need to unearth the link to Villaraigosa on this shitty act of cowardice.
October has arrived.
Time to pull out the recall petitions and go after the "Failure" Mayor.
did you notice the DWP commissioners conveniently changed the location to Boyle Heights Tech Center. They are hoping anyone against this shows up to the DWP building. Why do you think they changed the location?
There's "institutional knowledge" and then there's "knowing where the bodies are buried."
The second one is worth a LOT more in politics.
The idea of Neighborhood Councils opposing this is tough because actions by NCs first have to be placed on an agenda posted not less than 72 hours before the regular meeting, (less for a "Special Meeting") and then an action can be taken.
Some NCs meet once a month and some meet twice a month, so you have a variable with lead times for any "action" to be voted on by any NC, and much slips under the wire before an NC can address such items in a timely manner.
It looks like such quickly moving items like this, a Friday resignation by Nahai and a Tuesday DWP Special Meeting at 12:30pm that includes the personnel arrangements in management, is a difficult timetable to coordinate the best NC responses.
You know Nahai and the Commissioners worked this out beforehand, including the timing of the actions for approval.
If only the city "leaders" could treat the residents with as much concern as the do for those pals exiting public office, even when leaving for unsatisfactory performance, then we all might live a little better- but still not as well as Nahai and Tony V. and his affilliated cronies.
in cd-14
One can only hope/think that there will be some concern within the horseshoe at City Hall in terms of a possible 245 Motion? possibly not to ultimately kick this back to the DWP board, but at least to have a "public discussion" as to the "need" for the contract???
Does the city council get to vote on this? If so then the NC reps individually can email their council person to show outrage. Zine is the only one speaking out. Why is Greig Smith keeping quiet since he's on Budget Finance Committee
Some Ciy employees have been participating in furloughs since July 1, but somehow hundreds of thousands can be found to pay off these figureheads and to hire do-nothing commissioners with no experience like Alarcon's daughter, Andrea Alarcon on the Public Works Board. What a joke it all is! Shared sacrifices don't extend to Villar and his band of City Council idiots.
I hope everyone who voted for the mini mayor are happy. General Managers are leaving in droves. The City is almost bankrupt and mini mayor keeps hiring and recycling old trolls from Riordan's administration. Mini gives friends contracts, wastes more money everyday, and is planning more trips away from the city. RECALL NOW THE WORST MAYOR IN HISTORY.
When David Nahai announced his resignation last week, didn't we all think, "Oh, goodie! The DWP is finally replacing its aging infrastructure!"
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