LA WATCHDOG - Public banking advocates are on a roll.
Does LA Need A New City-Owned Public Bank of Los Angeles?
LA Watchdog
Blockbuster Investment Returns Could Eliminate Underfunded LA Pension Liability! Will City Hall Do the Right Thing?
LA WATCHDOG - The City’s two underfunded pension plans, the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System and the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions, may no longer be underfunded as a result of blockbuster returns on their investment portfolios for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2021.
Garcetti’s Budget Legacy: Long on Rhetoric, Short on Fiscal Responsibility
LA WATCHDOG - The City of Los Angeles budget cycle for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022 officially started on September 13 when Mayor Eric Garcetti issued his Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget Policy and Goals.
Kevin de Leon Must Commit to Pay for Special Elections
LA WATCHDOG - Recently elected Councilman Kevin de Leon announced that he is a candidate to be the next mayor of the City of Los Angeles.
Hello LA. Business is Not the Enemy
LA WATCHDOG - The City Council is considering a 2022 ballot measure that would amend the City Charter to limit bid preferences on City contracts to include only business located in the City of Los Angeles.
Jose Huizar: Who Me? Just an Evangelist for Robust Development
LA WATCHDOG - Former City Councilman Jose Huizar has been indicted on federal racketeering charges in connection with his shakedown of real estate developers in a $1.5 million pay-to-play scheme.
The Governor's Possible Recall Not the Only Critical Vote Facing Californians
LA WATCHDOG - While Californians are awaiting the outcome of the vote to recall Governor Gavin Newsom, others are already focusing on the November 8, 2022 ballot.
DWP Is Not Curren Price’s Piggy Bank
LA WATCHDOG-Everybody loves trees and green space, especially in crowded, disadvantaged neighborhoods of the City where there is a scarcity of parks, recreational opportunities, and open space.
Alternatives Needed for Sanitation’s Clean Water Campus
LA WATCHDOG - The Bureau of Sanitation is considering the development of its Clean Water Campus, a 159,000 square foot facility with a 750 car parking facility, that is expected to cost more than $100 million.
Encino’s Fire Station 83 Is Still an Eyesore
LA WATCHDOG - Seven years after the City entered into a deal for Fire Station 83, you have to wonder what the hell is going on with this facility that is located at 5001 North Balboa Avenue in Encino in Council District 5 represented by wannabe controller Paul Koretz.
LA100: Billions of Your Dollars Undisclosed
LA WATCHDOG - The Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study (“LA100”) explored multiple pathways for the Department of Water and Power to achieve a 100% clean energy future by 2045.
Will the LA City Council Be Held Accountable for Failing to Meet Its Homeless Housing Goals?
LA WATCHDOG - City Councilman and wannabe mayor Kevin de Leon (“KDL”) has been outspoken about holding the members of the City Council accountable for failure to meet the goal of creating 25,000 new housing units by 2025.
Ballot Measure Needed to Protect City’s Budget from the Public Sector Unions
LA WATCHDOG - Every two or three years, the City Council and the Mayor approve new budget busting labor agreements* with the campaign funding leaders of the City’s public sector unions.
LA's Property Values Set a Record Causing Revenue Shortfall
LA WATCHDOG - The 2021 Assessment Roll for the 792,559 properties in the City of Los Angeles rose to a record $724 billion, an increase of $28 billion, or 4%, from 2020.
Newsom Recall Election Is a Referendum on Sacramento
LA WATCHDOG - A recent poll indicates that the September 14 special election to recall Governor Gavin Newsom is essentially a tossup, with 50% of likely voters opposed to the recall while 47% are supportive.
DWP Ratepayers Pay for Feuer’s Follies
LA WATCHDOG-The botched rollout of the new DWP billing system has already cost Ratepayers a bundle, whether through billing errors and the massive cost overruns on the development of the Customer Information System.
Vacancy Tax Transparency
LA WATCHDOG-Has the City Council learned anything about transparency over the past year?
Rooftop Solar: A Worthwhile Investment for LA Homeowners?
LA WATCHDOG-As part of the Department of Water and Power’s study to achieve a carbon free future by 2045, it is proposing that a third of the City’s single family residences install rooftop solar systems at a total cost of $3 to $5 billion, or $15,000 to $25,000 for each of the 200,000 homes.
Is Garcetti Going to India?
LA WATCHDOG-Reliable sources in Washington are saying that the Biden administration is having second thoughts about appointing Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to be the country’s Ambassador to India, a country of increasing strategic importance to the United States in its efforts to curtail the political and economic influence of the People’s Republic of China.
LA’s Budget Has Record Revenues & A Sea of Red Ink
LA WATCHDOG-The City Council and its lack of financial discipline have once again created a Structural Deficit, where the increase in spending is greater than the growth of tax revenues.
Garcetti’s Legacy of Fiscal Irresponsibility
LA WATCHDOG-One of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Back to Basic Priorities was for the City to “Live Within Its Financial Means.”
