LADWP And City Officials Continue To Squabble Over Money
Comments (0)
City officials have voiced their displeasure with DWP's after the utility refused
to give up its surplus. (Creative Commons)
The Los Angeles City Council attempted to strengthen its grasp on L.A.'s Department of Water and Power Wednesday following the decrease of the DWP's bond rating.
As many eight motions are proposed for the next council meeting, which includes an alteration to the city charter that allows the city council to have control over the DWP's budget.
One of the Wednesday's proposals changes how DWP board members will be chosen.
According to the proposal, two members would be appointed by the mayor, two would be named by the City Council, and one would be chosen by neighborhood councils.
The proposal stipulates that one of the mayor's choices would need to be a utility expert, and one of the council's choices would need to represent business interests.
Currently, the entire board is nominated by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and approved by the City Council.
Villaraigosa originally proposed a 0.8 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity increase, a fee he says would help start pushing toward the use of alternative energy sources.
The City Council agreed last week to allow the DWP to increase bills by anywhere between 0.4 to 0.6 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity.
However, the DWP board requested an increase of 0.7 cents per kilowatt hour instead.
The City Council found this excessive and vetoed the proposal.
As a result of the bond decrease, the DWP has refused to give the $73.5 million it had previously promised to transfer to the city's general fund in an attempt to balance the budget.
The utility is unable to transfer the funds due to the council's rejection of the utility's proposed 0.7 cent increase, DWP officials have said.
S. David Freeman, interim general manager of the DWP, claims increased fuel costs are draining the utility of money, and that without the rate increases, they cannot afford to donate the "surplus" $73.5 million previously promised.
The announcement has not been taken lightly.
Wendy Greuel, the Los Angeles City Controller, announced that she would immediately conduct a four-week audit of the utility's power operation.
"We want to see what they are spending their money on, we want to know what they're doing. We don't know, so we need to know that," Smith said.
The disagreement comes on the tail of an intricate balancing act regarding electricity bill increases for the citizens of Los Angeles.
The backlash has not just come from within the Council chambers.
Former DWP commission President Nick Patsaouras filed a ratepayer lawsuit against the DWP, claiming the utility has more than enough to pay the treasury, with a surplus of 8 percent.
"As a taxpayer, I want to compel them, compel the DWP to honor their commitment," said Patsaouras.
