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# Stating the Obvious
June 10 2013
Written by Paul Hatfield.
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PERSPECTIVE - The Los Angeles Police Protective League sent an e-mail encouraging people to attend Mayor-elect Garcetti’s series of “Getting LA Back to Basics” workshops.
The PPL Board wants attendees to emphasize the importance law enforcement plays in the city’s future.
That’s fine, but I think Garcetti gets it. For that matter, all of the former mayoral candidates got it. It is like wanting the sun to rise every day, preferably in the east.
The statement is typical of the banality you would expect from an interest group that bet on the wrong horse in an election – not just once, but twice in a row. In addition to the mayor’s race, there was [Proposition A](http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/City_of_Los_Angeles_Sales_Tax_Increase,_Proposition_A_%28March_2013%29).
The PPL directors are now motivated to make nice after [trying to buy the election](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/09/wendy-greuel-police-union-donations-_n_3245240.html), along with the other public unions – and for what? Although Mr. Garcetti was resolute on pension reform, it was not as if he was going to do a Scott Walker on them. They were motivated by selfishness.
If the PPL wanted to be honest, they would have asked citizens to question how much they are willing to pay for core services such as police and fire, as well as how they will be funded. That would make for a far more meaningful conversation at the workshops.
What the leaders of the public unions have to get through their heads is that the people do not have a problem with the overall work ethic of their members.
The concern is over the cost of the services. We all want the best, but only to the extent we are willing and able to pay.
In a city with almost a century’s worth of deferred maintenance and retirement benefits absorbing a growing piece of the general fund, Garcetti’s priority must be to whittle down the backlog and build reserves to cover the next economic downturn … and that is always a matter of when, not if.
*(Paul Hatfield is a CPA and serves as Treasurer for the Neighborhood Council Valley Village. He blogs at Village to Village, contributes to CityWatch and can be reached at: )* –cw
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 47
Pub: June 11, 2013
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