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Politicians Angry, too, Over $6,200 a Week Consulting Gig at DWP
The LADWP headquarters in Downtown L.A.
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Omar Omar via Flickr
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The DWP headquarters in Downtown L.A. | Photo by Omar Omar via Flickr
Furthering the ridiculousness of the David Nahai consulting contract, City Councilmembers are chiming in as well.
"This is more than comical," City Councilman Dennis Zine was quoted saying in the Daily News. "Here we are putting city workers on furlough, talking about reducing cop hiring, asking people to conserve water, and then we're talking about squandering thousands of dollars on this man."
David Nahai retired as General Manager of the L.A. Department of Water and Power last week amid a month of water main breaks. He said he was headed to the Clinton Climate Initiative, but yesterday, it was announced Monday that he would remain being paid his $320,000 salary as a consultant for three months, equaling out to about $6,200 a week. At the same time, an interim General Manager will be paid the same. The department's commission President said the move to keep Nahai "on call" at that price was for "institutional knowledge."
But here's the kicker. David S. Freeman, a Villaragosa-hired Deputy Mayor, has been appointed as that interim General Manager. And guess what, he filled these shoes once before on the Richard Riordan administration between 1997 and 2001.
"There is no question (Nahai) is valuable, no question he is knowledgeable. But why do we need to pay him when we have someone who is capable?" questioned Councilman Tony Cardenas.
City Council may look at how they can change city law so they have authority over such moves. Currently, even DWP's commission has no authority over it as contracts under $150,000 need no approval.
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