Cost-Cutting Panel Blamed for Overruns on City Hall Project

Cost overruns on the renovation of Los Angeles City Hall can be blamed partly on delays by a blue-ribbon committee appointed by Mayor Richard Riordan to reduce expenses on the project, a top city official said Wednesday.

Chief Legislative Analyst Ron Deaton made the charge as the City Council reluctantly agreed to increase the City Hall seismic retrofit budget by $26 million to $299 million--nearly twice what the project originally was proposed to cost.

A representative of Riordan flatly rejected the allegation, indicating that the council is responsible for the project’s cost.

“This has been a City Council project from start to finish,” said Jessica Copen, a mayoral spokeswoman. “He continues to be concerned about the rising cost and the ability of the project to meet deadlines.”

Deaton, the council’s top advisor, said $12 million of the latest cost increase was caused by higher than anticipated bids on a construction contract. He attributed that increase to a year’s delay in seeking bids while the mayor’s task force considered proposals to reduce the skyrocketing budget of the project.

“There was a long delay as we had some outside assistance looking over our shoulders,” Deaton told the council. “And during that period of time construction inflation happened.”

Deaton also said that during the yearlong delay, construction increased overall in Southern California. The larger demand for contractors meant higher prices, he said.

If the construction had been put out to bid when first proposed, the city would have received the price that it estimated, Deaton said.

The charge amazed council members, including Laura Chick.

“So a year while we waited for a blue-ribbon committee to poke around and come up with unrealistic proposals about how we could save actually cost us a considerable amount of money?” Chick asked.

“That is my position,” Deaton said.

The allegation was dismissed by one Riordan aide as “ridiculous.”

Riordan was forced a few years ago to disqualify himself from direct involvement in the City Hall project because he had a conflict of interest stemming from ownership of a building in which the City Hall architect is a tenant.

Before he was disqualified, Riordan and City Controller Rick Tuttle appointed a blue-ribbon panel that recommended in 1996 that the project be scaled back so it could be kept at $165 million.

Originally, the project was proposed to strengthen the historic 28-story building so it could better withstand earthquakes, but the budget grew from $153 million as fire safety and modernization elements were added.

The latest cost increases include $9 million in new contingencies for ensuring that the building interior is ready for occupancy, including preparation of offices and committee rooms, as well as $5 million to install state-of-the-art communications systems.

Councilmen Joel Wachs and Rudy Svorinich Jr. voted against the cost increases.

“I just can’t justify it to my constituents,” Wachs said. “It has gotten out of hand. When we can’t afford to fix our streets and trim our trees, I can’t justify this.”

But others said the project, even at $299 million, is worth the cost.

“There is no greater symbol of Los Angeles, no more recognized symbol than our City Hall,” said Carol Schatz, head of the Central City Assn., a coalition of downtown businesses and property owners.