EXPENSE: Retroactive boost is expected to cost agency $5.5 million.
By Rick Orlov, Staff Writer, L.A. Daily News, Updated: 03/05/2010 10:34:17 PM PST
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_14523162
This is an example of the direction the city is going, one big downward random spiral that ends with a big thud upon impact with the ground at the bottom of it's travel. You have city employee layoffs announced in the thousands- and the next several years are as bleak on the deficit side of things, but you have the DWP being your biggest regular bill next to housing and transportation, normally, if you happen to live in the city.
But Jack Humphreville, an activist and a member of the DWP Oversight Committee, questioned the decision.
The DWP is pretty much in the hands of the IBEW who have made this agency their own. If you heard the 8 a.m. special panel discussion in City Hall last week about the budget, hosted by CM Jose Huizar, you heard a lot of ideas on how we can get better representation, in the varied theories and observations that the panelists presented."The council is approving a lump sum payment to the highest-paid city workers at the same time the DWP is shortchanging the cash-starved city with its transfer," Humphreville said, referring to a $147 million revenue transfer approved this week.
"At the same time, the IBEW is forcing the DWP to forgo competitive bidding on solar projects that will end up costing ratepayers even more."
If you heard the ending, the last panelist, Ron Kaye, stated observations and drew some conclusions that were more along realistic lines than purely theoretical. Kaye's view, although very accurate, was somthing of a welcome surprise with it's bluntness, noting that the IBEW's leverage is the ability to shut down the city if it doesn't get it's way.
How did things get that way? Probably in the same way that we have see the arrival of the current budget disaster- the Council Members and Mayor applied the "Why Not?" test to all requests and proposals presented from the union, the IBEW local, and really, as with most things, they did not think of the long term or even many short term consequences and risks that were created by their decisions. The union, for their end of things in discussions and negottiations, kept leading the way for all kinds of things to come to the union's side, but the Council and Mayor followed that lead until we reached the end of the road now and it's turned out to be a cliff with a big drop.
It didn't happen overnight and other administrations may be sharing the blame, but when you get closer to the fire, you should have to noticee the heat. But before that unavoidable sensation, there were some warning signgs and maybe even see some smoke and flames before then, visible from some distance. Those signs were not heeded, and avoidance and remedial actions never really happened as the downhill slide to come was just made steeper while all the money being handled in the real estate market was too good to be true- and we saw that ended with a the falling dominoes effect reaching far and wide.
So now, the City "leaders" have no ability to deal on an equal footing with the unions and especially the IBEW. The results? Now we get these insane deals that happen as we have heard Council members discuss layoffs of police, brown out reductions in ambulance service in fire stations and some 4,000 layoffs that CM Alarcon was vehement in his correction of CAO Santana's term, and insisted that this should be calle "reductions in 4,000 positions." Call it what you want, there's still a big problem with the money to spread around and it's getting worse by the day. But at least the DWP is going to stay strong and comfy as they plan how to get out the next round of rate hikes for a list of things that will bring in more cash. And there's more information on that to come.
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