15 Possible City of L.A. Ballot Measures to be Considered Today, LADWP Reform Targeted

Photo by hall.chris25 via LAist Featured Photos on Flikcr

Photo by hall.chris25 via LAist Featured Photos on Flikcr
In March, Angelenos will be asked to go back to the polls and vote again. Half of the Los Angeles city council seats are up for grabs, and current councilmembers are proposing more than a dozen ballot measures. This afternoon at a joint city council committee meeting (.pdf) they will be discussed. Here's a quick list of them, divided into two sections:Roads, advertising, oil and marijuana

• "a ballot measure that would allow competitive negotiation or best value selection process for major design-build construction projects."
• "a measure to place a tax on off-site advertising transactions."
• "a measure to implement an oil extraction fee on all barrels of crude oil extracted in the City of Los Angeles."
• "a tax on the cultivation of medical marijuana."
• "a measure to establish a new business license tax on recreational marijuana businesses, if recreational use of marijuana is legalized under Proposition 19."
• "a measure to fund library services."
• "a measure to require all of the City’s Community Plans to be updated every ten years."

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

• "a ballot measure for a Ratepayer Advocate including specifics about an operating budget and staffing."
• "a ballot measure to provide for the removal of the Department of Water and Power General Manager by a two-thirds vote of the City Council."
• "a ballot measure that would provide for the removal of any member of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners by a two-thirds vote of the City Council."
• "a ballot measure to provide for setting a standard to obtain wage parity between categories of employees of the LADWP with categories of employees of the City of Los Angeles."
• "a ballot measure to restructure the membership of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners."
• "a ballot measure to provide that the annual budget of the LADWP be adopted by the City Council with the concurrence of the Mayor."
• "a ballot measure that would establish the definition of surplus in the context of the DWP Power Revenue Fund transfer."
• "a ballot measure to reorganize the Board of Water and Power Commissioners."

It's obvious the LADWP showdown earlier this year, starting with the controversial and confusing carbon surcharge issue, caused counilmembers to be wary of the utility and its apparent lack of transparency. While the council doesn't have direct control over it -- they can, however, assert jurisdiction in some cases -- these possible ballot measures are a way to fight back.