Outreach Office Is Political, Critics Say

South Gate has created a new city department staffed by dozens of field workers to tell the public about city services. But opponents fear that the “community outreach” work force is really being formed for political purposes.

The Community Services Department was approved in a 3-2 vote Tuesday night without comment by the City Council majority as protesters heckled them.

City officials said the new department, budgeted at $1.1 million per year, will be a unique effort to address residents’ concerns in the blue-collar city of 96,000. Fifty community services specialists will go door to door, informing people about city services and soliciting feedback.

“For the first time your government can actually get to the grass-roots level,” said Lou Moret, the consultant hired to organize the department.

But critics said the move is a ruse by city Treasurer Albert Robles and the council majority to counter a voter recall drive against them.

Those critics said they plan to monitor the new staffers’ activities to ensure they don’t do any illegal campaigning.

“We will be watching over them,” said Al Lopez, president of the Police Officers Assn., one of two police unions that helped launch a voter recall drive against Robles, Mayor Raul Moriel, Vice Mayor Xochilt Ruvalcaba and Councilwoman Maria Benavides.

The new department is the latest in a series of controversies contributing to the city’s political turmoil.

Shortly after the council majority was served with recall papers, their supporters launched a counter recall effort against Councilman Henry Gonzalez and City Clerk Carmen Avalos. Both sides are exchanging corruption charges. Councilman Hector De La Torre is the only elected official not facing a recall.

Several municipal government experts said the creation of an entire department for outreach purposes is almost unheard of. Such programs exist, they said, but usually consist of small-scale measures like public meetings, or mail and telephone surveys.

“The cost and the scope of this is highly unusual. That’s a pretty expensive effort,” said Jack Joseph, deputy executive director of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, a coalition of cities in southeast Los Angeles County.

According to the division’s organizational plan, the 50 field workers will be supervised by eight managers, including a citywide ombudsperson.

Mayor Moriel defended the new department, saying that the city is in solid financial shape and that the new employees are needed to bolster “woefully staffed” departments such as public works. He denied charges that they would be used for campaign purposes.

“We need people to come in so we can maximize what we can do for this community,” he said after the meeting.

Moret, the consultant, did not return calls seeking further comment.

But critics wondered why such a significant expansion in the city’s staff was rushed through with just a few days notice and approved at a specially called meeting. They also wondered why the city hired a public relations firm, at $10,000 per month, to handle the new department’s publicity, when the city already has a public information officer.

“Why do we need 50 community specialists?” said Joe Ruiz. “We have 90,000 people that live here. They’ll tell us when there’s something wrong.”