As the City Council goes through the charade of pretending to actually understand the nitty-gritty of the city government they rule over and their inevitable acquiescence to the mayor’s plan to destroy it, there seems to be a growing awareness that what they are doing is a big mistake.<\/p>\n
Even Ed Reyes gets it, worrying in public about what kind of city LA will be in the future, what kind of city it is today.<\/p>\n
He didn’t even bring up his usual hand-wringing, gut-wrenching poverty pandering monologue Monday in questioning city finance bureaucrats and LAPD kingpin Gerald Chaleff, the former courtroom defender of serial killers turned administrative honcho.<\/p>\n
If you listen closely, you can hear Chaleff whispering to city financial advisers not to answer Reyes’ rhetorical questions as if he was still advising criminals in how to beat the rap.<\/p>\n
They ignored his advice and pointedly noted that hiring more cops to keep the number close to 10,000 at the expense of decimating parks, libraries and other critical services really wasn’t necessary in the name of public safety.<\/p>\n
Sharon Tso noted there are 300 more cops on patrol today than last June 30 and giving up training of 100 new recruits would immediately save nearly $3 million this year and $15 million next year when the deficit will be dramatically worse. <\/p>\n
Chaleff naturally tried to fend off such ideas but without the passion of an experienced barrister.<\/p>\n
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