NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL VOICES NEEDED - The Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates (NCBAs) have sprung into action and will be engaging with city officials to better understand and develop a position on the new Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) contract proposal currently before City Council.
This contract once approved will have an impact on you, the ratepayer, as well as on the financial sustainability of the DWP.
NCBAs are elected each year by their peers to advocate for Neighborhood Councils’ budgetary priorities before the Mayor and City Council. At their next scheduled meeting on August 19th, the NCBAs will be joined by the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition (LANCC) to hear from numerous city officials, including the City Administrative Officer, the City Legislative Analyst, Council offices, and the DWP Ratepayer Advocate.
The NCBAs have also invited the union representing the DWP employees, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18.
The meeting is open to the public.
Last week, Council President Wesson called for public hearings and further analysis of the DWP proposal. Soon thereafter, the City Council’s Committees requested an analysis “…with particular focus on the impact of the proposal on the ratepayers as well as its impact on the financial sustainability of the DWP as a utility enterprise…” (August 9th motion)
To see the full motion and the report from the Chief Legislative Analyst, visit Council File 13-1004.
For additional background information and in-depth analysis, you can also view the independent third party review of DWP from last year.
● For additional info on this important issue, see EmpowerLA Report below.
(Jay Handal is Co-Chair of the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates and Chair of the West LA Neighborhood Council.)
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On Friday morning at 10 am, the regularly scheduled City Council meeting is canceled, replaced by a Joint Committee meeting which will conduct a public hearing of the proposed contract between the City of Los Angeles and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
At issue is a proposed contract that both proponents and opponents contend will have significant financial impact on LA's ratepayers over the next 30 years through restructured pension obligations, healthcare contributions of union members, and salary rates of new employees.
Budget & Finance Committee Chair Paul Krekorian and Energy & Environment Committee Chair Felipe Fuentes will conduct the ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE and BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMITTEE, SPECIAL JOINT MEETING and SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL and will be taking public comment on two Council Files.
Council File 13-1004 requests "an analysis from the Chief Legislative Analyst and the Office of Public Accountability, of the most recent proposed contract between DWP and IBEW, with particular focus on the impact of the proposal on the ratepayers as well as its impact on the financial sustainability of the DWP as a utility enterprise."
Council File 13-1004-S1 is a CM Price - Cedillo motion "instructing the DWP and City Attorney, in cooperation with the CAO, CLA and other departments as appropriate, to report to the Council within 120 days with an analysis of the operational and budgetary impacts of a strike, contingency plans to ensure continued operation of the utility, and legal implications and strategies should a strike occur."
This meeting is noticed as a special meeting of the City Council, called by the Council President, because there may be a majority (at least eight members) of the Council present to consider this matter. However, it is not anticipated that a meeting of the Council will occur since there is not expected to be a quorum (ten members) of the Council present.
Joint Committee Meeting
Friday, August 16, 2013
10 a.m.
Los Angeles City Hall
City Council Chambers
200 N. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Your opinion matters and your comments count!
To contact the Mayor and the City Council, email [email protected]
To file a Community Impact Statement with the City Clerk, click this link
Please include "Council File 13-1004" in the subject line of all emails.
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Neighborhood Council Groups host Town Hall Meeting on IBEW Contract
The Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates (NCBA) and the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition (LANCC) are convening a Town Hall meeting on Monday night to review the proposed IBEW contract and they have invited LA's Ratepayer Advocate, Dr. Fred Pickel, the General Manager of the Department of Water & Power, Ron Nichols, the DWP MOU Committee's Tony Wilkinson, the DWP Advocacy Committee's Jack Humphreville, Council President Herb Wesson, Budget & Finance Committee Chair Paul Krekorian, Energy & Environment Committee Chair Felipe Fuentes, and Deputy Mayor Rick Cole.
At issue is the proposed labor contract between the City of Los Angeles and Local 18 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) which represents more than 8,200 employees of the Department of Water and Power. The current contract with the union expires in the fall of 2014, prompting some Neighborhood Council leaders to ask for more time to review the proposed contract and to solicit a review from the Ratepayers Advocate.
NCBA and LANCC Town Hall
Monday, August 19, 2013
7:00 p.m.
Los Angeles City Hall
200 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, California 90012
To contact the Ratepayers Advocate: [email protected]
To contact the DWPMOU Committee: [email protected]
To contact Budget Advocates: [email protected]
To contact LANCC: [email protected]
To contact the Mayor and the City Council: [email protected]
Please include "Council File 13-1004" in the subject line of all emails.
As of Wednesday evening, Jack Humphreville's comments were the only public comments on Council File 13-1004, as recorded by the City Clerk.
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 66
Pub: Aug 16, 2013