Some Los Angeles City Council members didn’t appreciate the tone of the audit released Wednesday by their former colleague, City Controller Wendy Greuel.
The morning after Greuel called on them to give up some of the money in their council-controlled accounts so it could be used to help rebuild budget reserves, multiple copies of a document detailing some of Greuel’s own discretionary spending while she represented the San Fernando Valley mysteriously appeared on a table in the council chamber.
Greuel’s audit showed that $25 million had flowed into the accounts over the last 12 years from fees and the sale of city properties — though only $10.7 million is still available. Half of the money from most city property sales historically has been deposited in the discretionary account of the council district where the property was located. The controller called on members to permanently change the city’s policy to ensure that 100% of the money gets deposited in the general fund, which pays for basic services like police. That fund is currently $212 million short.
But even one of the council’s fiscal hawks, budget chairman Bernard C. Parks, said Greuel’s policy change proposal didn’t make sense because it would prevent council members from taking immediate action on safety issues.
“What does a council office do if they have a burning problem of fixing a stoplight so that they don’t have a child killed?” Parks said in an interview Wednesday. “Do you tell a parent in the community: ‘We know this is an unsafe crosswalk, but you’re on the list for eight years.’”
"I don’t think [Greuel] was ever reluctant in using them while she was in office," Parks said.
Greuel’s audit followed a Times story Tuesday about the $40 million in council-controlled discretionary accounts, which Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants to borrow to shore up the city’s reserves this year. Council members have emphasized that many of the accounts were set up to create flexibility in each district for improving streets and neighborhoods. Some of the accounts, such as a fund to mitigate the effect of the Sunshine Canyon landfill, have specific legal restrictions.
The spreadsheet circulating Thursday on Greuel’s discretionary spending showed items such as $150,000 to repave a portion of Moorpark Avenue, $50,000 for security cameras to catch taggers and illegal dumpers in locations identified by neighborhood councils and $13,000 for decorative crosswalks in Sherman Oaks. She designated an additional $64,000 from her share of the city’s pipeline franchise fees for salaries and other expenses to fix curbs and gutters at an intersection in Studio City.
"This is simply a distraction from the fiscal crisis the city is facing, with a $212-million budget deficit. It is ironic that time is being spent circulating a list of the streets and potholes we repaired instead of balancing the budget," Greuel said.
— Maeve Reston at Los Angeles City Hall
twitter.com/LATimesReston