LOS ANGELES : Council Defers Vote on Overturning DWP Contract
The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday balked at a proposal that it take steps to overturn a Department of Water and Power contract with a private firm charged with helping the giant city utility trim down. It is scheduled to consider the matter again on Friday.
At issue is the $13.5-million contract DWP commissioners authorized last week with PSC Energy Corp. The consulting firm is to identify ways to reorganize the DWP to help city officials eliminate 1,000 jobs by July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. A council-ordered audit last year concluded that the 10,400-employee department was overstaffed by nearly 3,000 positions.
After the contract was awarded, two DWP employee unions asked the City Council to exercise its right to review and overturn the DWP board’s action. A 1991 ballot measure granted council members a chance to have the final say on the actions of any of the city’s commissions. The council has five meeting days to request a review of an action and 21 days to reverse it.
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