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VIEWPOINT - In the spring of this year, I wrote in this space that facing massive budget issues, the Los Angeles City Council raised waste collection fees and eliminated staff positions instead of reconfiguring its departments to cut costs, and redefine the duties carelessly assigned to them. The existing duplication of work, lack of communication and coordination between departments, and the detachment of responsibilities, all have resulted in programs eliminated, project delays and increased costs.
Move Bureau of Street Lighting to Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Street lighting is a major concern for residents, who link darkness to neighborhood decline and crime. Although property owners pay $44 million annually, ten percent of the 233,000 lights remain broken due to insufficient streetlight bureau funds.
In my book, “The Making of Modern Los Angeles,” I suggested moving streetlighting from the Bureau of Street Lighting (BSL) to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), which also handles streetlight projects. BSL owes LADWP more than $78 million, a debt that dates to 2016. In 1998, Mayor Richard Riordan proposed that LADWP take charge of street lighting. A task force, which included the mayor’s office, the city council, city attorney, the general managers of the affected departments, CAO and CLA, found no charter barriers or legal issues but political interference ultimately blocked the move.
In 2024 a City Charter Reform Commission was formed to review and suggest changes to the city council. The charter, which defines the roles, powers, and duties of city officials and departments, has not been significantly revised since 1999.
I am pleased to see that one recommendation in the staff report is to move the BSL into the LADWP. It has been estimated that the move will generate more than $8 million in savings.
More than street lighting is involved. In 2020 a liability expert testified that after reviewing thousands of documents no records were found for inspecting the lights on a regular basis, and that light poles had caps that were missing, indicating that some had fallen off. A 2-pound metal cap had fallen on a man in Van Nuys fracturing his skull, causing brain trauma and a condition worsening over time. Los Angeles agreed to pay $22 million to settle the case.
Other Actions
I also advocated in a series of articles in this space the merging the Bureau of Street Services (BSS) with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (DOT) and redefine the Public Works Board for better delivery of core city services and cost savings in view of the staggering city budget deficit. Again, my advocacy regarding such an action was addressed last week by the City Charter Reform Commission which will consider staff recommendation to move BSS and DOT into Public Works Department.
Merging the Bureau of Street Services (BSS) with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (DOT)
According to a Chief Legislative Analyst report, “DOT since its establishment in 1979, never implemented the second step of its mission of bringing planning and policy, design, construction, and maintenance responsibilities into a single department, leaving the city with a fractured system.” The report continues, “This fractured system is a structural barrier that has impeded the implementation of every major transportation plan or policy adopted by the City Council, from the Bicycle Plan to the Safe Routes to School Strategic Plan to the Mobility Plan to the Green New Deal.”
Mayoral initiatives like Great Streets and Vision Zero have also struggled to advance beyond temporary pilots and spot improvements, falling short of the systems change they were intended to catalyze.
Los Angeles Daily News reported that, according to an audit, the City of Los Angeles failed to meet its goal of eliminating traffic fatalities by 2025, in part due to a lack of support from political leaders and poor coordination between departments. Nearly half of the 56 “actions and strategies” outlined in the Vision Zero Action Plan were not accomplished as of 2023, as per an audit from KMPG, which was released on April 11. Initially, each of the goals had target dates in 2017 and 2020.
The city council recognized in 2018 that many operational inefficiencies existed, with the most disruptive being the division of responsibilities between DOT and BSS. No other major city conducts key planning, operational and maintenance functions among several departments like Los Angeles. For example, DOT is responsible for traffic signals, street signs, and lane striping, but BSS is responsible for street resurfacing, sweeping, and issuing special permits that require use and closure of our city’s streets.
And a motion introduced in council in 2021 repeated that under the city’s current organizational structure, one department is responsible for paving streets, and another is responsible for striping that pavement; one department is responsible for placement of bus stops, and another is responsible for bus shelters. One department oversees the operation of personal mobility devices on our streets and another regulates parking devices on sidewalks.
Public Works Department
Redefining public works has been voiced before, with concerns directed at its paid commissioners. All other city and county commissioners receive no payment for public services provided. Further, the paid Los Angeles Public Works Board is generally comprised of community organizers, social workers, advocates for numerous public causes, and ardent political hacks. Hence, they do not have the technical knowledge, expertise and experience to oversee multi-million-dollar infrastructure projects that frequently come in late or over budget and add heavily to the cost. It has been a political patronage appointment costing the taxpayers over $5 million per year.
Despite many calls for reform and numerous reports, city leaders have failed to stop wasteful tax spending. Former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa once called the city rudderless and declining. The fiscal problems cause crises, stunt growth, and loss of jobs.
The City Charter Reform Commission has the opportunity to recommend changes that will strengthen city leadership and benefit everyone. By working together, Los Angeles can achieve fairness and progress, exemplifying the idea: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” as suggested by an African proverb.
(Nick Patsaouras is an electrical engineer and civic leader whose firm has shaped projects across residential, commercial, medical, educational, institutional, and entertainment sectors. A longtime public advocate, he ran for Mayor in 1993 with a focus on rebuilding L.A. through transportation. He has served on major public boards, including the Department of Water and Power, Metro, and the Board of Zoning Appeals, helping guide infrastructure and planning policy in Los Angeles. He is the author of the book "The Making of Modern Los Angeles.")
