Following more than five hours of deliberation, a Los Angeles City Council committee Monday advanced several proposals intended to improve the City Charter.
On Monday, the Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance approved recommendations brought forward by the departments of planning, personnel, recreation and parks, airports, water and power, among others.
While some of these recommendations will be brought forward to City Council at a future date to be finalized and placed on the November ballot, others are expected to be discussed by the new Charter Reform Commission — once it has been established.
The City Attorney’s Office is drafting a measure for the November ballot that if approved by voters would create a Charter Reform Commission, which would routinely review and update aspects of the City Charter.
According to Council President Paul Krekorian, most of the suggestions were technical changes or updated guidelines, and other ideas would need to be fleshed out.
One proposal was that the city switch to a two-year budget process instead of a one-year process.
A two-year budget would reduce the challenges of the new election cycle with the new mayor taking office in December and the budget due on April 20. It would also allow time for analyzing outcomes of year one spending in the second year.
There are concerns that moving to a two-year budget cycle may exacerbate fiscal risks by locking in spending decisions for a longer period without enough assessment, and could also limit input from newly elected officials until a year after taking office.
Another proposal would lift the 13:1 floor area ratio for downtown Los Angeles that typically affects Bunker Hill, Financial Core and South Park areas. Planning staff explained that the limitation seems “arbitrary” in a context where high-rise construction is supported.
There was a general agreement among council members to move it forward, but due to concerns with how this may impact the environment it will be taken up by the Charter Reform Commission.
The City Attorney’s Office proposed amending the charter so no elected official or their office, other than the Ethics Commission, has the power to subpoena another elected official or their office..
Under the City Charter, the mayor, city controller, treasurer, the zoning administrator, City Council, and each board provided for in the charter have the power to examine and issue subpoenas — so the change would prevent these entities from investigating each other.
The recommendation will be sent to the Charter Reform Commission as well.
Some of the proposals the committee advanced with little discussion involved changes to how employees are hired, specifically how potential candidates score on the civil service test. Another proposal moved forward to the council would give the city more flexibility with contracts.