A lean, not mean, City Hall

Concerned Los Angeles residents and advocates have warned the City Council not to impose draconian cuts that they say will harm the disabled, make the city vulnerable to lawsuits, gut the arts, stoke ethnic tension and undermine neighborhoods. Several council members have responded by promising not to make the cuts, or at least to delay any decision until, well, later.

The first problem is that there is no “later.” This is it. The council must cut $199 million in expenses by June 30 or begin the new fiscal year -- irresponsibly and, more to the point, illegally -- in debt and insolvent. The second problem is that City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana has not proposed harming the disabled, gutting the arts or doing any of those other things. The proposal is to reduce unnecessary administrative duplication by eliminating some newer, smaller city departments. It’s a good plan. The council should adopt it.

Not every service that the city coordinates, facilitates or delivers needs its own commissioners, offices, information tech officer, letterhead, copy machine or full administrative staff. Even in the best of times, it makes sense to move some city services away from the restrictions of the City Hall payroll and instead tap into the city’s underutilized business and nonprofit resources. As a councilman, Antonio Villaraigosa helped thwart an effort to eliminate the Department of Cultural Affairs, but as mayor he has shown, at his best, that he can supplement city services by raising funds, cajoling business and inspiring volunteers.

A successful Los Angeles will have to turn, increasingly, to that model for providing quality-of-life programs while focusing the budget on core functions such as public safety, street services and sanitation. The functions of the departments of cultural affairs, environmental affairs and human services can survive -- and be enhanced -- without the duplicative administrative functions of the departments themselves.

The Neighborhood Council program is not targeted for elimination, but it faces cuts. Some of the councils’ leaders apparently miss the irony in chiding City Hall for its failure to trim the budget while exhorting the City Council to not even think of taking their money. Neighborhood councils are funded by taxpayers, and the city should be able to use that money to balance its budget in an emergency. Councils that want to safeguard their money should raise their own.

The Department on Disability is a tougher case because it serves people who otherwise are often ignored or forgotten. But programs for the disabled can and should be supported regardless of whether they are housed in a separate city department.