Storm Clouds For City Hall as L.A. Budget Heads For $400 Million Hole: Villaraigosa Asks For Retirement Concessions

By Dennis Romero Wed., Mar. 2 2011 at 1:44 PM

Peter Baer

Storm clouds for L.A. City Hall.

Here we go again.

Bleak day for L.A. City Hall's wallet. City controller Wendy Greuel issued a forecast with few surprises -- Los Angeles will take in less than it spends next year and faces a more than $400 million deficit. (More than 50 mil this year, 350 next).

Mayor Villaraigosa this afternoon then told the Board of Fire and Police Pension Commissioners that he wants to nix a proposed $4.8 million increase in city-paid medical benefits for retired cops and firefighters.

Greuel implores the City Council not to take the slow economic recovery for granted. Tax receipts for the fiscal year will be down $24 million, the city will have to borrow $450 million to keep cash flow happy next year, and $628 million in debt payments will come due at the same time.

Whew.

Mayor V., meanwhile, is begging for a meager $5 mil from police and fire retirees, saying:

No one appreciates the work of our employees - and particularly the work of our sworn officers and firefighters - more than I do. But we need to face reality. The City is facing a $350 million deficit next year and increasing benefits for retirees at the same time that we are laying off and furloughing current employees is simply irresponsible.

In fact the mayor wants a freeze on retiree health subsidy increases come July. And he wants to increase the city retirement age to 65.

The all-powerful unions from which he came would probably have a problem with is plans, though.

Good luck with that.

Tags:

benefits, city budget, City Hall, LAFD, LAPD, unions, Villaraigosa

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Hilford

The corrupt practice of letting non-competitive health insurance contracts in an amount of approx. $850,000 per year needs investigating. The insurance is cheaper if purchased individually but is a forbidden practice for current employees by the City. The insurance contracts are monopolistic and not subject to open bidding or even shopping for cheaper suppliers. This smacks of corruption and I would bet that kickbacks are astoundingly high.

Now with CALpers being caught in corruption it is time to turn an eye to the Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System's 10 Billion Dollar fund and the Fire and Police 15 Billion Dollar fund. This is a combined 25 Billion Dollars subject to the worst imaginable abuses.

Hilford

correction to cost of insurance: it is approx eight-hundred-fifty-million dollars.

Scott Zwatz

Again Tony V, Eric Gracetti, Tom Labonge, and all the other councilmembers are lying to us. They have enough for a $930 Million deal with the CRA, $52 M for Eli (as other poster noted), $30 M to CIM Grpup to rehab the new Kodak Theater and the CRA/LA still have multi-million dollar developer slush fund.

Until Prop 22, the city had to power to take the CRA spendable cash and use it for city services, but instead the City Councilmembers like LaBonge supported Prop 22 which defunded schools by $1 B per year and made it illegal for the CRA's slush to be used for anyone other than real estate speculators.

The current City Council is waging war against Angelenos on behalf of the millionaire and billionaire real estate developer. On March 8, we can vote for Stephen Box to replace Fat Tommy (LaBonge) and for Martinez to replace Tony (Blind to Corruption) Cardenas.

If we vote for the same people, nothing will change. Box and Martinez on March 8th.

Robert

Wait a minute. These clowns just gave Eli Broad a gift of $52 million for a parking garage, wants to give another $300 million bond to millionaires at AEG to develop a stadium even though everyone is against it, refuses to audit CRA with all the billions they have. Then you have the Failure of a Mayor who continues to employ a staff larger then Pres. Obama and the White House with over 15 Deputy Mayors all making way over $135,000 and he now wants police and fire retirees to sacrifice. When the hell is this clown and the clowns on council going to start leading by example. I think Angelenos need to revolt like Egypt and the City of Bell