Council Often Sidesteps Own Hiring Freeze : Budget: Exemptions kept staffs at earlier levels while other city departments made 7% cuts. Lawmakers say filling positions was vital.

While demanding that all city departments shoulder their share of budget cuts, the Los Angeles City Council has routinely exempted itself from an across-the-board hiring freeze, city documents show.

Since the citywide freeze was imposed in April, council members have received about 20 exemptions for staff positions ranging from receptionists and secretaries to public relations aides and chief deputies, the records show. In addition, the entire staffs of three freshman council members--a total of about 55 positions--have been exempted from the freeze.

Staffing in council offices has remained flat at about 260 employees. Meanwhile, other city departments have cut their staffs through attrition by 7%, or more than 2,200 jobs.

Most council members said their staffs are the front line of contact between city government and constituents. They also said demands on their offices increase in times of city fiscal crisis, making a full staff necessary.

“When you have a position that must be filled, you fill it,” said Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who asked for two positions to be exempted.

But some council members say it is time that elected officials set an example for the rest of City Hall.

“I don’t see us sharing the responsibility,” said Councilman Ernani Bernardi this week as the council voted to toughen the hiring freeze and extend it to the Police Department. “There’s no reason why there can’t be cuts at . . . council.

“We better start coming down to Earth,” added Bernardi, who had one position exempted.

With a 40% pay hike for council members that began in January, council expenditures rose by 5.3% in the current budget to more than $25 million. That includes the cost of fringe benefits and 105 city cars for council members and their staff.

Faced with a projected $180-million deficit last spring, the council imposed a citywide hiring freeze aimed at culling thousands of jobs from the city’s 34,000-member work force.

Unlike other departments, the council is not required to justify the filling of vacant positions or submit hiring requests to the city administrative officer for review. A council member’s request for an exemption from the freeze goes directly to the council itself--and these requests have typically been approved without discussion.

Councilwoman Joy Picus, for instance, received permission to unfreeze five staff positions in the past four months, including authorization to hire a secretary and public relations aide.

Councilwoman Ruth Galanter has sought and received exemptions for four staff positions since July.

The council also approved blanket exemptions for all positions on the staffs of rookie members Mike Hernandez, Mark Ridley-Thomas and Rita Walters.

At the same time, other city departments and agencies have been required to cut expenses below their budgeted levels and to aggressively reduce their staff.

Overall, city departments have reduced staffing by nearly 7% since April--representing the elimination of 2,280 positions from the city’s total work force of about 33,696.

In addition, the Department of Water and Power has eliminated 170 jobs this year--out of a total work force of about 11,200. But council members told the agency two weeks ago to make deeper budget cuts even if it requires layoffs.

Citywide, 712 exemptions to the freeze have been granted, 63 disapproved and 312 are pending.

Stephen Wong, assistant city administrative officer, said department heads do not seek exemptions for most vacancies because they need the staff attrition to keep within budget. In addition, Wong said, the approval rate tends to be high because marginal cases and frivolous requests have been weeded out before a formal request is made.

Picus said her decision to seek exemptions was simple. “People left and I had to fill these jobs,” she said. “It is impossible to function without them.”

Picus said that she has a minimum of clerical staff and must run a downtown office and district offices with her 16 employees.

Yaroslavsky has received approval to fill two staff vacancies in the past five months--although he has kept two other positions open for employees presently on leave.

He said it is unfair to compare the council to other departments. He said the council had a small, 2.1% budget increase in fiscal 1990-91 that effectively reduced staffing levels by about one employee per office.

And, he added, the council has typically exempted from the hiring freeze all departments with budgets under $1 million, such as the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Commission on the Status of Women.

Each council member has a budget of $717,930 to operate a City Hall and district office and to pay staff members--including the member’s own annual salary of $94,344. Some council members have staffs as large as 20 employees, others as small as 15.

The total council budget is $25 million, including benefits and the cost of the chief legislative analyst’s office.

Councilman Hal Bernson, who had three staff vacancies exempted from the freeze, said, “We have a certain amount of work to cover the needs of my constituents.”

He said he is running under budget and would consider returning the surplus to the city’s general fund. But, he added, “I’m not sure it would be enough to make a difference” in the city’s grim financial condition.

Galanter acknowledged that with the worsening economy, the council may have to consider cutting back its own staff. “Anyone could do with fewer employees, but service would decrease,” she said.

Records show that council members Richard Alatorre, John Ferraro, Marvin Braude and Michael Woo all had one exemption. Members Joan Milke Flores, Nate Holden and Joel Wachs did not request exemptions. None of them had staff vacancies.