L. A. Council to Keep Mayor in Check? #420
Los Angeles, CA—City Councilman Bernard Parks who serves as the Chairman of the powerful City Budget Committee says there is a need for the City Council play greater role in screening the Mayor’s appointments to powerful Commissions in order to avert possible conflict of interests, as occurred in James Hahn administration.
With nearly 40 years of government experience, the former Police Chief Bernard Parks commented on the need for higher scrutiny of the Mayor’s actions such as seeking political endorsements from Neighborhood Councils who are funded with taxpayer dollars. Parks said that Mayoral endorsements by city funded groups certainly should raise a question of ethics. Watch a free 7 min preview here.
Parks also noted the L. A. City Council has for the first time approved a budget policy document prohibiting any new government programs without providing for funding. He also stated that a fiscal crisis was averted this year when the City took in an extraordinary amount of money from property tax transfers that prevented any budget cut-backs. And, in fact, Parks said this year’s budget was the best in five or six years, with no cuts, increases in service and even increases in personnel.
