A Case of Mere Change Masquerading as a Cure-All

On June 8, San Fernando Valley voters are being asked to vote on a proposed City Charter.

If voters haven’t read this new charter from cover to cover, they should not vote for it.

If they have read it from cover to cover, I am certain they won’t want to vote for it.

The proposed Charter Measure 1 is not charter reform but charter abuse. Although the charter commissioners were well-intentioned, they have crafted a document that invites corruption and abuse of power at the highest levels of city government.

They have crafted a charter that would cost taxpayers untold millions of dollars and provide fewer services, such as police and fire protection. They have crafted a charter that would make it more difficult for our city to provide emergency services. That is why the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the United Firefighters of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles City Fire Department Chief Officers Assn. are all opposed to adoption of this charter.

Those of us who live in the Valley have long demanded more from our city government. Clearly, the Valley has gotten shortchanged in police and fire services, public works and other city services.

The move for the Valley to form its own city has gained great momentum. This proposed charter is an insult to the Valley because it would make it more difficult for the city to provide these services.

Here are some of the reasons we should oppose the new city charter.

* The cost associated with implementing it is estimated at $7.4 million.

* The ongoing cost to finance it is estimated to be as much as $26 million a year.

* It would destroy the current system of checks and balances in our city government by concentrating power in the executive branch while adding unnecessary layers of bureaucracy through the creation of new departments and commissions.

* The proposal would abandon the ability of local citizens to appeal to the City Council zoning and planning cases that affected their community.

* It also would open the door to expand the size of the council, an unnecessary and costly move with a potential price tag of as much as $13 million a year.

* Section 520 of the proposed charter would force the Los Angeles City Fire Department to provide fire protection service to the Los Angeles Harbor, taking away needed firefighting and paramedic services for our communities.

* The proposed charter would allow the mayor to dismiss department managers and assistant managers without any appropriate review, making it virtually impossible for your City Counci members to deliver basic services to our community, including tree trimming, garbage collection and other services.

* It would remove citizen oversight from critical city departments, such as the Department of Animal Services. This would further hinder our ability to respond to wildlife problems, including mountain lions and coyotes, which have been a regular nuisance in many Valley neighborhoods.

* This measure would invite corruption by opening up our city’s top managers to cronyism and unreasonable political pressure by concentrating power in one branch of government.

The proponents of this new charter would have you believe that it is reform. They are not telling the truth. It may be a new charter, but it is not charter reform.

In the last six years, the Los Angeles Police Department has expanded by 2,000 officers. Fire Department services have increased. Hundreds of miles of city streets have been resurfaced. City library hours have been expanded, and basic city services have been provided. All of this has been done with our current charter.

The untold millions you are being asked to spend on this proposed charter would not trim one tree, would not pave one inch of roadway, would not buy one new paramedic ambulance and would not hire one new police officer. You simply would be buying a 300-page document that is difficult to read and understand and expensive to implement.

If you care about delivering more services to the Valley, if you care about hiring more police officers, firefighters and paramedics, and if you care about having local control of your government, you will join me in voting no on Charter Measure 1 on June 8.