CommentsOLYMPICS POLITICS--Mayor Eric Garcetti recently boasted that the 2028 Olympic Games that will be held in Los Angeles should turn a profit of $1 billion.
At the same time, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is becoming increasingly concerned about the lack of public support that it has seen in some cities for hosting the Games.
It has not gone unnoticed at IOC headquarters that Boston was initially selected by the U.S. Olympic Committee to be the nation’s candidate for the 2024 Games, but widespread public opposition caused the city to withdraw.
The IOC is discussing the idea of requiring a public vote before an application would be considered. It is noteworthy that not only was Los Angeles’ bid not put on the ballot, but it was rushed through the City Council at the last minute.
This is yet another example of a time when the neighborhood councils have allowed themselves to be steamrollered. The City Charter section that created the neighborhood council system guarantees that they be given enough notice so they can have a reasonable opportunity to provide input before decisions are made.
This guarantee will remain meaningless until the neighborhood councils either consolidate their political strength and demand their rights, or bring together attorneys who support them, and force the issue through legal threats, proposed legislation, and lawsuits if necessary.
I spend over 30 years working in the City Council, and I can’t begin to count the number of times that a critically important city staff analysis wasn’t delivered until minutes before the City Council, or one of its committees meets, which gives no one any time to read or understand it.
I’ve always felt that a person’s worth is measured by the value they return to society. And that applies to the neighborhood councils.
Whether or not they are formally invited to do so, the neighborhood councils should form a working group of volunteers, including students from our fine universities, to dig as deeply into the spending for the Games as possible. Perhaps the City Controller will welcome their assistance.
The horror stories about over-spending during past Games abound. To be fair, Los Angeles is better positioned than probably all other cities because nearly every venue and major structure that would be needed is already here.
However, one fact remains true about every “build-to-suit” report that the organizers of commission: they ALWAYS underestimate the costs and overstate the benefits. Their purpose is to gin up interest among the public, government leaders, and the IOC.
The neighborhood council volunteers should begin by understanding these flaws in the way Games spending is estimated and calculated:
- The official profit and loss numbers of the Games released by the local organizing committees only reflect its own direct costs, and do not include the costs to taxpayers for fixing streets, constructing venues, improving transit systems, providing police protection, etc.
- In the run-up to the Games city leaders will often use the event as an excuse to spend money on projects near the venues that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to get support for because the money would be better spent elsewhere.
- The economic reports usually list the infrastructure projects as benefits of the event, and not expenses for the taxpayers.
- The reports aren’t clear about how taxpayers, beyond the richest and best-connected business leaders will benefit.
- Even if the city is reimbursed for support from the police and emergency services personnel, the reports don’t account for the diversion of those resources from other duties.
- They usually aren’t honest about how many of the jobs created will be low-paying and temporary in nature, such as ticket takers, as opposed to how many permanent jobs will be created, and the cost of creating them. Someone needs to ask the question, “Is this the best way to create jobs?”
The bottom line is that if hosting the Olympic Games will truly benefit the public, then proving it to the public should be easy for the organizing committee.
(Greg Nelson is a former general manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, was instrumental in the creation of the LA Neighborhood Council System, served as chief of staff for former LA City Councilman Joel Wachs … and occasionally writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at [email protected].)
-cw
