LOS ANGELES : Open Bidding Urged on Convention Center Bonds

A Los Angeles City Council committee recommended Tuesday that the city use competitive bidding to select firms to sell $400 million in bonds to refinance the expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Budget and Finance Committee members Zev Yaroslavsky and Joel Wachs said previous attempts to select bond underwriters through negotiations had become hopelessly tainted by errors and political manipulation.

It was based on the negotiations that the L.A. Convention and Exhibition Center Authority had recommended a small, minority firm to manage the bond offering. The firm of Grigsby Brandford & Co. stood to earn at least $600,000 in fees if the City Council had approved the recommendation. The firm had been recommended in part to boost opportunities for minority businesses.

But officials in the city administrative office said it potentially will produce greater savings to have the underwriting business thrown open for competitive bidding. The city hopes to save at least $15 million because interest rates have fallen since the expansion of the Convention Center was approved.