Los Angeles City Charter

Just beneath the surface of Los Angeles' charter reform debate, a historic struggle for power is being waged inside the LAPD, with the department's chief trying to solidify his authority and the city's police union taking what once would have been considered desperate measures to resist. According to documents submitted to the city's two charter commissions and interviews with many of the principals, Police Chief Bernard C.

A day after Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ordered the elimination of 1,000 jobs to address the city's budget crisis, Chief Deputy City Atty. Bill Carter wrote a memo stating the mayor does not have authority under the City Charter "on his own to order layoffs." In the Friday memo, Carter advised employees in the office of City Atty. Carmen Trutanich that Villaraigosa lacks the power to compel city department heads to lay off employees, an opinion that puts the city's top lawyer at odds with the mayor.

"Any man who reads beyond the second paragraph of the Los Angeles City Charter would be out of his mind to run for mayor." -- SAM YORTY, mayor from 1961-1973

Voters in the Los Angeles Unified School District will decide next month on a little-watched amendment to the City Charter that aims to rein in the frenzied nature of school board races with campaign contribution restrictions and term limits. Supporters of the proposed amendment say it is needed to bring the school board in line with other elected bodies.

A public meeting on Los Angeles City Charter reform and the election system will be held Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Department of Water and Power building, 111 N. Hope St., Room 1555H, Los Angeles. Information: (213) 367-5234.

The appointed Los Angeles City Charter Reform Commission will hold the last of seven neighborhood open houses tonight. Residents will have a chance to respond to the commission's recommendations, which were released this summer after more than 20 months of research, public meetings and community hearings.

Two public meetings on Los Angeles City Charter reform will be held next week. The Los Angeles Elected Charter Reform Committee will meet Monday at 6 p.m. at the Department of Water and Power building, 111 N. Hope St., Los Angeles Room (cafeteria level). Information: (213) 977-6700. Appointed officials with the City Charter Reform Commission will hear Mayor Richard Riordan's proposals for charter reform and will discuss how charter reform affects the Los Angeles Board of Education.

Public meetings on Los Angeles City Charter reform will be held Monday at the DWP Building at 111 N. Hope St. Three meetings are set for 5 p.m.: the Los Angeles Elected Charter Reform Commission Committee on a More Responsive City Government in the Portland Room, the Committee on Improving the Delivery of City Services in the Los Angeles Room and the Committee on the Quality of Life in Los Angeles in the San Francisco Room. At 7:15 p.m.

Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks will speak at a public meeting on reforming the Los Angeles City Charter. Parks will attend the Wednesday session of the appointed City Charter Reform Commission. The meeting will discuss improving opportunities for citizen participation in city government. It will begin at 6 p.m. in the 15th-floor boardroom of the DWP Building. Information: (213) 367-5234.

The weakest piece on the chessboard, arguably, is also the one with the grandest title: king. Change "king" to "mayor" and you've got the quandary of Los Angeles' political chess match, the one the city keeps playing against itself. Only six days remain for the two candidates to spend their millions and expend their vituperation, all to land a job that sounds far more powerful than it is. After all, for the first half a century in American L.A.

A proposal to create a borough system in Los Angeles was submitted Tuesday to the City Council by five of its members. If approved by the council, it would go to voters on Nov. 5, providing the city's electorate with an alternative to an expected secession measure or measures that same day. The proposal calls for a charter amendment that would create an elected, 15-member commission to draft a plan within a year.

In an embarrassing about-face, Mayor Richard Riordan was forced Wednesday to rescind a recent merit raise he gave to Police Chief Bernard C. Parks after Riordan's staff discovered that, under the new City Charter, only the Police Commission has the authority to boost the chief's pay. "After reviewing . . .

The doubling and tripling of private utility company electricity rates in California is a warning of what may happen if San Fernando Valley residents vote to secede from the city of Los Angeles. Few realize that the City Council of Los Angeles has the legal authority to raise Department of Water and Power electricity rates for the Valley if it secedes based on Los Angeles City Charter section 676 subd. (3), which states: "The [electric] rates inside the City may be less, but not greater, than the rates outside the City for the same or similar uses."

Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn is seeking a number of City Charter amendments aimed at bolstering the Los Angeles Police Commission and overhauling the way the LAPD handles officer discipline and grievances. Hahn said he will send a letter today to the mayor and City Council asking that they consider seeking voter approval of a number of charter amendments, including one that would make the Police Commission presidency a full-time, paid position.

The new City Charter that was approved by voters takes effect today and government leaders said Friday that residents need not fear any disruption in basic city services. The new charter was approved by voters in June 1999 to make city government more effective and responsive, and city officials have spent the last year drafting and approving the ordinances required to carry out the constitutional overhaul.

In another showdown over the new City Charter, the City Council on Tuesday failed to muster the votes to override a veto by Mayor Richard Riordan on a key portion of the 2000-2001 budget that deals with the newly created office of finance. Under a council plan adopted during the budget proceedings, city lawmakers agreed to combine the city treasurer and the finance director into one position, saying the move would save more than $500,000.

Los Angeles is on the verge of a major change in the way development projects are evaluated, and, despite assurances from city officials, some planning experts fear the transition will not be smooth.