Written by Dan Mariscal Street Services Employee and SEIU 721 Steward.
Our City Leadership has done a disservice to the residents and taxpayers of
the City of Los Angeles. Their idea of trying to fix the negligence and
incompetence of years of fiscal mismanagement, by blaming the City
employees, has taken it’s toll. Their solution? Balancing the budget on the
backs of the City’s workforce. But, what effect does cutting and/or
diminishing the City’s workforce, by laying off and furloughing employees,
have on the quality of life in this once-great city?
See for yourself bone-jarring potholes going unfixed, sidewalks that are
trip-and-fall hazards, untrimmed City tree limbs embracing wires,
overflowing trash receptacles, streets going unswept for weeks and unsightly illegal dumping of trash. These conditions are city-wide.
How much money is spent by residents annually on car repair due to damages by potholes?
How much money has the City paid out to trip and fall lawsuits for the last
two years?
Does the City incur liability if an untrimmed tree falls on a homeowners
house?
Is this the direction where our City leadership is taking us?
Is this the kind of City we want our children to call home?
Did you know:
- The Parking Lot Contractors were allowed to amass more than $445 million in back taxes owed to the City, and the City leadership, for some reason has failed or neglected to collect it. Yet the City leaders believe that more contracting out is a viable answer for the City’s budget crisis.
- The City backed a $246 million tax break for a hotel complex in downtown
Los Angeles. - An audit by City Controller Wendy Greuel for fiscal year 2008-09 showed
- that only 53% of some $553 million in city billings was collected, resulting in a loss of $260 million….annually.
- The Mayor’s anti-gang program (GRYD) was paid $525,000 to evaluate the program’s effectiveness but after a year has provided no results, according to City Controller Wendy Greuel.
- In March of 2010 the City of Los Angeles received more than $500 million in ARRA federal stimulus money to create and/or retain jobs and avoid raising taxes, yet increased DWP rates and laid off hundreds of City
employees.
Now is the time to stand for your City.
Please join us in calling your LA City Councilman and demand that they
restore the services that are being paid for by your tax dollars.
Help us keep LA strong.