Council OKs Budget but Rejects Key Riordan Ideas

In a series of rebuffs to Mayor Richard Riordan, the Los Angeles City Council on Monday approved a $4.4-billion budget that rejects the mayor’s efforts to earmark federal tobacco settlement money to cover Rampart-related liabilities and his attempt to cut off funds for the controversial L.A. Bridges anti-gang initiative.

Without discussion, the council voted unanimously to turn down Riordan’s request to secure $91 million for Rampart-related expenses immediately by giving up the city’s claim to nearly $300 million in tobacco settlement funds over the next 25 years. Council members--who have described Riordan’s approach as “fiscally irresponsible”--decided instead to place $30 million in a special savings account and to pursue other loans, such as judgment obligation bonds, to help pay for an anticipated $125 million in litigation growing out of the Rampart police corruption scandal.

The city lawmakers also decided to continue spending nearly $9 million on the city’s beleaguered anti-gang initiative, L.A. Bridges, although the council demanded widespread reforms in the program.

A recent audit conducted by City Controller Rick Tuttle found that Bridges is so poorly managed that it was unclear whether it was effective in keeping the city’s troubled youths out of gangs. Riordan’s budget suggested funding the program through September to give the city time to come up with a new anti-gang program. Council members said they would rather fix Bridges and voted unanimously to extend funding for a year.

The council--meeting in a daylong budget session--also voted 9 to 5 to reject Riordan’s proposal to increase street resurfacing funding to cover a record level of 245 miles next year, up from 220 miles this year.

The city legislators agreed to cut $4.9 million for 25 miles of the work from the street budget after Councilman Mike Feuer said there is a question about whether the city can physically accomplish 245 miles of resurfacing in a single year.

The extra money was put into an account for unappropriated funds, where it could still be restored to the street program but can also be tapped for other emergencies if the city is unable to resurface 245 miles.

“There is among all of us a strong consensus that we want to pave more streets,” Feuer said. “The transfer of this funding . . . is not in any manner a decrease of our commitment to get the streets paved.”

However, the cutback in the street repaving budget was opposed by council members Hal Bernson, Rudy Svorinich Jr., Alex Padilla, Nick Pacheco and Joel Wachs. Opponents noted that even the mayor’s record repaving plan would fall short of fixing all of the streets that have gone beyond their expected life of 25 years.

There is already a backlog of 4,000 miles of streets that need to be repaved or rebuilt, because the system has been neglected for years.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Padilla said. “It’s a very dire situation throughout the city.”

While handing Riordan defeats on a number of high-profile issues, the council agreed with the bulk of the mayor’s proposed budget, which includes a $2.9-billion general fund representing a 5% increase over city spending this year.

The budget includes money for new libraries, more after-school programs, meals for senior citizens, firefighting equipment and other services.

The spending plan also freezes sewer service charges for at least five years, reduces business taxes for new companies and eliminates a controversial brush clearance inspection fee.

“This budget addresses our common desire to improve public safety while putting in place funding for additional police reforms in the wake of Rampart,” said Feuer, head of the council’s budget and finance committee. “It also addresses quality of life issues, like fixing our sidewalks and paving our streets.”

The council left unresolved whether the Personnel Department should play a greater role in police recruiting efforts. Riordan recommended that the LAPD retain control. Council members, however, said they were not so sure, especially in light of the push by the U.S. Department of Justice to reform the Police Department.

“This is not the time to be further insulating the Police Department,” Councilwoman Ruth Galanter told her colleagues. “We debate a lot here on checks and balances. . . . It is important we keep the Personnel Department involved in this.”

The lawmakers compromised by sending the matter to their Personnel Committee for review.

The council also tussled over whether to combine the city’s treasurer and director of finance into one position, a move that would save $500,000.

Riordan and his staff objected to the plan, saying the new City Charter clearly calls for setting up two positions--both reporting to the mayor.

“The consolidation undermines what voters asked to happen,” Pacheco said.

Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg retorted: “What the voters have asked at all times is that we do things efficiently.”

After a 30-minute debate, the council voted 8 to 5 to combine the two positions. Because the lawmakers mustered only a bare majority, the mayor plans to veto the plan, said Deputy Mayor Manuel Valencia, a Riordan spokesman.

“We believe we can sustain a veto on this,” Valencia said.

Another area of contention was whether to give the city Fire Department money and staffing to begin a controversial test program in the San Fernando Valley to reduce response times by paramedics.

In the end, the council approved a Fire Department proposal that would provide enough money to increase the number of paramedic vehicles available to respond to calls by discontinuing the practice of assigning paramedics to work in pairs and instead assigning one paramedic to each ambulance and firetruck available for medical calls.

The program may reduce the response time of the first paramedic to medical emergencies from 8 to 6.5 minutes in the Valley.