LA Needs a Vision that Connects

“THE FUTURE, MR GITTES, THE FUTURE”

CityWatch, July 13, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 55

The City of Los Angeles is recognized as the land of promise, of opportunity, and of talented people.

LA's rich history is the stuff of legends but that promise will be squandered if we sit by and wait for the city of the past to return. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that the people of Los Angeles move forward in creating a city of the future and it starts by developing a vision that connects.

1) LA's Environment: Los Angeles was founded when forty-four Pobladores walked from the San Gabriel Mission and established a new home, El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles sobre el Río Porciúncula.

They made their choice based on the availability of water and their connection to the environment continued as the City of Los Angeles developed.

The streets of downtown were aligned with the movement of the sun, positioning the buildings to benefit from a connectivity to the environment, maximizing the benefits of nature.

Since then, the city street grids have been "corrected" and the LA River has been "corrected" and the City of LA has drifted from its original connection to the land it occupies.

If Los Angeles is to become a City of the Future, it will take place when municipal decisions and actions are in sync with a vision that is based on a connectivity to the Environment.

2) LA's Communications: Los Angeles has a track record for telling stories that resonate around the globe, shaping culture, politics, fashion, society, and business along the way. Somehow, this local talent for communication has failed to breach the walls of City Hall which has elected to maintain a Tower of Babel approach to connectivity.

The LAPD uses a traffic collision report provided by the CHP but is unable to capture the data because the LAPD's database is outdated. This results in lost information, misinformation, outdated information.

The DWP relies on a computer language that is considered "dead" requiring new employees to forget what they know and to learn an archaic communications protocol, denying the City of LA the opportunity to implement "smart technology" solutions.

The LADOT uses technology that is outdated, requiring the adjacent communities to "dumb-down" in order to synchronize traffic control communications along city borders.

If Los Angeles is to pursue its destiny as a Great City, it will be because we connect as individuals, as communities, as departments, as municipalities and as partners in communication.

3) LA's Partners: Los Angeles is the rudder that steers the ship and yet at turn after turn, the people of LA hear "that's a federal issue" or "that's under state authority" or "we have no power" and the multi-jurisdictional morass of municipalities, authorities, and agencies is offered as an excuse for the simple fact that LA is not moving forward.

LA's ability to improve the quality of life for the people who live here, work here, own property here and operate businesses here depends on the City of LA laying down a vision for connectivity that draws LA's many neighbors into a partnership that benefits us all.

From the LAUSD to the Metro, from the County to folks on the other side of the city limits, LA is not an island. LA's vision must include a commitment to connecting with the many partners who have an impact on LA's journey to becoming a City of the Future.

4) LA's Story: From around the world, people travel to Los Angeles to experience the mythical LA Story and yet we allow that rich legacy to simply fade into a postcard theme, a brass plaque memorial, and a bit of charm that prompts people to pine for the old days.

LA's pioneers turned a small patch of dusty land into the center of the universe and it's our destiny to write the next chapter in that story.

LA's current challenges are formidable and there are many obstacles. But a vision that connects our strengths will result in a renewed commitment to the Entertainment Industry, the Tourism Industry and the Theatre Community.

It will also capitalize on the many challenges we face and seize them as opportunities to employ the creativity and innovation that is recognized around the world. Connecting LA's assets with the opportunities will result in new standards in technology, communications, sustainability and a revitalized municipal health.

The City of Los Angeles is positioned at a fork in the road. We can continue to embark on the "more of the same" journey or we can embrace a vision of connectivity that sets us on a course to become a City of the Future.

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net. Disclosure: Box is also a candidate for 4th District Councilman.)

CityWatchLA - City Hall, Where Inspiration meets Desperation

CityWatch, May 7, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 36

Everybody in Los Angeles should trek to City Hall at least once in their LA experience, simply to stand in the Rotunda and to experience the inspiration of the city founders as memorialized in the California Redwood beams that support the corridor ceilings, the marble floor with bronze Spanish Caravel, the cast bronze electrolier featuring silhouettes of people significant to California, to the ten pillars that surround, each one made of a unique marble.

Most important of all is the ceiling, two stories above, a beautiful mosaic containing eight figures representing Art, Public Service, Government, Protection, Trust, Education, Health, and Law. It's the vision of LA and the commitment of our founders.

In stark contrast is City Council Chambers, just a few feet down the south corridor, where one can experience the desperation that is the current commodity of LA's City Hall.

Midway through the City Council's Budget and Finance Committee review of the Mayor's proposed budget for 2010-2011, the corridor, the hallway and the City Council Chambers are abuzz with community members fighting for services, staffers fighting for jobs, department heads fighting for budgets and politicos fighting for an exit strategy.

This is where the vision of LA as a Great City gives way to the reality of LA as a ship adrift, nothing but flotsam and jetsam in its wake. It's the failure of our leaders.

The current budget discussions have wandered far from structural change or systemic revisions and instead grind excruciatingly, painfully, slowly through the minutiae of departmental operations.

Department by department, Chiefs and Managers and Executives alike have appeared before the seven figures who comprise the Budget & Finance Committee, giving detailed reports on their departments in an effort to justify their funding and staffing.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck opened confidently by stating, "I'm satisfied with the proposed budget. Just let me do my job and then you hold me accountable." Of course, he must know that it is the Mayor who will hold him accountable, not the City Council but it sounded good.

Recreation and Parks GM Jon Kirk Mukri also opened strong saying, "Let's agree on the budget but let me run the department." If only it were that easy!

Another General Manager wistfully expressed a different sentiment when she pointed out "I don't manage a department, I work for the Mayor."

The Budget & Finance Committee review of the proposed budget is in its second phase. Some of the Departments are reporting back on questions that they were unable to answer in the first round. Most telling was CM Huizar's question to LADOT "What exactly did the Bikeways Division do last year?"

Crickets chirped and staffers made a note to find out. A nip here, a tuck there, a parking garage that is key to the revitalization of an urban environment disappears but a welder reappears.

Through it all, the Neighborhood Councils Budget Advocates continue to meet with the Mayor's office, lobbying to develop systemic solutions that commit to maintaining the efficient delivery of services.

Budget Advocates have attended the Budget & Finance Committee hearings, repeatedly urging the committee to position the delivery of city services as the priority, not simply to cut costs.

From the proposed Public Parnerships to the consolidation of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment with the Community Development Department to the proposal to consolidate the Department of Transportation into other Charter Departments, the NC Budget Advocates have been there, representing the neighborhood councils.

For more information, visit BudgetLA.org.

The Central Planning Area Budget Recommendations:

Budget 2010/2011

Central Planning District - 
Budget Recommendations

1) Honor the Charter - Protect Charter Departments over Ordinance Departments. Look for redundancies, look for opportunities to consolidate, pursue efficiencies by supporting Charter Departments and always pursuing the Great City commitment it represents.

2) Public Private Partnerships - Investigate rigorously, no short-term financial gain at the expense of the constituents who pay for those services, at the expense of the city’s assets, and at the expense of long-term revenue streams.

3) Invest in Infrastructure - Avoid short term and ineffective maintenance/repairs of the City’s Infrastructure, instead committing to the substantial prioritization of an investment in the future.

4) Community Redevelopment Agency - Draw the CRA into a robust relationship with the City of Los Angeles, evaluating the financial relationship and embracing a partnership in funding, in revenue, in budget accountability, and in budget responsibility.

5) City Pensions - Evaluate and re-evaluate the City of Los Angeles pensions program for budget savings. (including health care liabilities and contributions)

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and represents the Central Planning District on the NC Budget Advocates Committee. He also writes for CityWatch. Box can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net)

• Photo by Floyd B. Bariscale

CityWatchLA - Talkin’ Budget with the Mayor: My Personal Story

CityWatch, Mar 23, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 23

"A Seat at the Table!" Long the battle cry of neighborhood council Mayor’s Budget Advocates who have fought hard for the right to participate in the City’s process … balancing the city's budget while prioritizing the delivery of city services and engaging the public in the journey. Along came the Mayor's Budget Day (Mar 13) and approximately 70 NC reps spent a Saturday morning with Deputy Mayor Ceja and CAO Santana, reviewing the Mayor's Budget survey results and the Mayor's Budget.

This representative body then broke up into groups based on planning areas, discussed budget priorities, and then elected Budget Advocates who would take those recommendations to the Mayor.

I was honored to be selected as one of the 14 Budget Advocates, elected to represent the Central Planning Area along with Scott Bytof of the Downtown LA NC. When we arrived at City Hall last week to meet with the Mayor's staff in preparation for our Budget Presentation to the Mayor we found that there were lots of chairs, an abundant number of chairs. Finally, our day had come and we had the proverbial seat at the table!

Well, almost. When we showed up at City Hall last Wednesday to meet with the Mayor's staff for the planning meeting, the chairs were abundant but the table was lacking in size. Next time we'll have to remember to ask for "A Seat at the Big Table!"

One would think that the host would be able to match the number of invitees with the number of seats and then match that with a table large enough to hold both the attendees and the requisite chairs but such was not the case. After much milling about and moving of furniture, two more tables were put into service and a replay of the "furniture power" debates of the Paris Peace Talks was narrowly averted.

In past years, the Budget Advocates have presented "consensus priorities" for the Mayor's Budget but the intensity of this year's budget crisis seemed to warrant a more robust presentation of priorities and recommendations and the "single item" focus approach fell by the wayside.

With less than a week to prepare, the Budget Advocates put together a program that offered a wide variety of representative voices to be heard on the issues that impact us all. Prepped and repped, we returned to City Hall this past Friday to meet with the Mayor and to present our budget recommendations.

Well, again, almost. In spite of the fact that there were three city staff members handling the 14 advocates (20+% ratio and we're in a budget crisis?) the City Hall bureaucracy doesn't seem to have a knack for planning or for learning from missteps. This simple example might be an anomaly or it might be an indicator of a systemic behavioral flaw.

Based on results, often harsh but always fair, City Hall's inability to staff appropriately, plan effectively, allocate resources efficiently and match performance with desired outcome seems to be a pattern that impacts everything from simple meetings to the big-picture issues of a balanced budget and the efficient delivery of city services.

So it is that the people of Los Angeles find themselves, backs against the wall and hands in the air, faced with the impossible demand "Your libraries or your parks!"

Our meeting with the Mayor went well. Co-chairs Dr. Dan Wiseman and Doug Epperhart guided the highly motivated team with great diplomacy, Ron Galperin set the tone with an optimistic call for innovation in governance and Scott Bytof closed with a simple commitment of partnership.

Along the way, Shawn Simons presented an evolved plan for the Department of Empowerment, Ginger Damon addressed opportunities to reduce costs, and Ernesto Arias called for a commitment to the delivery of community services.

The recurring message was that any efforts to balance the budget must take place with an equal commitment to the delivery of services, based on the understanding that the purpose of the city is not to serve as an employment agency but to provide Public Safety, Public Health, Public Works, and Public Service. These are not just options, they are the essential elements of a Great City.

As for the Central Planning Area, there are many budget issues that came up on Budget Day and again in the planning sessions, all of which resulted in the drafting and approval of the following guiding principles that should be used to "script" the critical decisions that must be made in the immediate future and over the long haul.

1) Honor the Charter - Protect Charter Departments over Ordinance Departments. Eliminate redundancies, inefficiencies, confusion, and city family competition by consolidating Ordinance Departments into Charter Departments. Use the City Charter as a guide for pursuing the Great City commitment it represents.

2) Public Private Partnerships - Investigate rigorously, avoiding short-term financial gain opportunities that come at the expense of the constituents who use those services, at the expense of the city’s assets, and at the expense of long-term revenue streams. Consider the opportunities that non-profits and academic organizations offer as partners in the delivery of services.

3) Invest in Infrastructure - Avoid short term and ineffective maintenance/repairs of the City’s Infrastructure, instead commit to the substantial prioritization of an investment in the future.

4) Community Redevelopment Agency - Draw the CRA into a robust relationship with the City of Los Angeles, evaluate the financial relationship, and embrace a partnership in funding, in revenue, in budget accountability, and in budget responsibility.

5) City Pensions - Evaluate and re-evaluate the City of Los Angeles pensions program for budget savings. (including health care liabilities and contributions)

The process for preparing the Mayor's Budget is a year-long journey and the City Charter specifies that it is due by April 20. This doesn't leave much time for the feedback and advice from the Mayor's Budget Day and the Budget Advocates to be included, especially if the Mayor's proposed budget is delivered early, as promised.

This means that the most recent engagement by the neighborhood councils isn't the conclusion of the budget process but is actually the beginning of the long-term budget advocacy journey.

Now, more than ever, it is imperative that the people of Los Angeles step up and communicate clearly their priorities for balancing the budget and prioritizing the delivery of services. Now is the time to join together to make Los Angeles a Great City that Works!

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate, is a Budget Rep for the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net)