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LA WATCHDOG - The Department of Recreation and Parks is preparing its Parks Needs Assessment, its first in fifteen years. This entails hosting outreach meetings throughout the City so that the department and its management have a better understanding of what Angelenos want from their parks and its facilities and programs. Underlying this effort is the goal of the Rec & Parks to win voter approval for a parcel tax that would offset the loss in 2026 of $25 million Prop K money and provide additional funds to address its hundreds of millions in deferred maintenance, finance its existing operations that have been shortchanged by City Hall, open new parks in underserved areas, and offer additional programs and services.
Angelenos voters have not been receptive to the department’s overtures. In November of 2022, 65% of the voters rejected Measure SP, a parcel tax designed to raise $227 million a year. Ironically, it required the approval of two-thirds of the voters. Underlying its defeat was the recent City Hall scandals and the belief that it provided City Hall with a “blank check” because there was not a listing of projects.
If Rec & Parks, with the concurrence of the City Council and Mayor, places a parcel tax on the ballot, it needs to develop a listing of projects, especially those with millions of deferred maintenance. There also needs to eliminate pet projects.
The City also needs to rescind its “full cost recovery” program where the department is required to kickback money to City Hall to pay for a variety of expenses, unlike any other department. Next year, the kickback will divert over $140 million, representing almost 50% of the Rec & Parks charter mandated funding and over 60% of the proceeds from Measure SP.
And since 2010, over $1.2 billion has been systematically diverted from the department. No wonder our parks and their bathrooms are not properly maintained and programs for children and seniors have been cut back or eliminated.
Simply put, Rec & Parks should not be funding the City’s deficits and paying for budget busting labor agreements.
Before any money raising measure is placed on the ballot, the City needs to engage in real reform as recommended by the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates. Otherwise, voters who are already in a foul mood because they understandably do not trust City Hall will reject any ballot measure that is not oriented towards public safety, and even then, who knows.
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One other area of concern is there are a number of measures that are expected to be on the 2026 ballots that involve increased taxes. Already, the City is considering bond measures for firehouses and the infrastructure. And no doubt, other governmental entities will be trying to pick our pocket, including the County, LAUSD, and the State. And we have the highest taxes of any state.
The Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates have recommended seven reforms.
1. The Four-Year General Fund Budget Outlook needs to be updated to account for raises for City employees.
2. Develop a two-year budget as recommended by the City Controller.
3. Conduct open and transparent labor negotiations that require significant outreach to Angelenos before, during, and after the negotiations.
4. Place a measure on the ballot that would prohibit the City from entering into any labor agreement that would create a current or future deficit. In the short term, pass an ordinance.
5. Develop a long-term infrastructure plan to address deferred maintenance and future capital expenditures.
6. Create a robust Reserve Fund that can only be used in declared emergencies, not to balance the budget as is the current procedure.
7. Establish an Office of Transparency and Accountability as recommended by the LA 2020 Commission to oversee the City’s budget and finances in real time.
(Jack Humphreville writes LA Watchdog for CityWatch. He is the President of the DWP Advocacy Committee, the Budget and DWP representative for the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, and a Neighborhood Council Budget Advocate. He can be reached at: [email protected].)
