He should try enforcing immigration law in LA and resolve both problems!

Mayor pledges funding to fight gangs despite massive budget shortfall
LAPD to fare well as other services, jobs face chopping block
By Kerry Cavanaugh and Rick Orlov, Staff Writers
Article Last Updated: 04/14/2008 09:51:35 PM PDT


Despite a financial crisis that threatens to cripple Los Angeles with everything from service cuts to layoffs, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pledged Monday to continue boosting the ranks of the Police Department and pouring money into ridding city streets of gang violence.
For the second consecutive year, Villaraigosa centered his State of the City address on preventing and reducing gang crime - including adding four gang-reduction zones to eight created last year and spending $18 million in hands-on gang programs in those 12 hard-hit communities.

"Public safety is the first obligation of government," Villaraigosa said during his address at LAPD headquarters.

"When you don't have safe streets, everything falls apart. People become isolated. Kids turn into prisoners. Jobs evaporate. Families struggle just to survive."

But the increase in anti-gang funding - from about $19 million to $24 million by the first of the year from the city's general fund and state and federal grants - comes even as the mayor warned of major cuts to help balance a $406 million budget shortfall that is the largest in city history.

Villaraigosa warned that he will cut 767 city jobs while also raising a variety of fees - including hiking the $26 a month residents currently pay for trash-collection services.

While the mayor would not release details of his budget until next Monday, he hinted in his address that the city's commissions on women, seniors and
children would be consolidated to save money.
And the mayor said he is willing to take on the City Council by diverting proceeds from parking and surplus property sales that have been going to council members' trust funds to instead help balance the budget.

"I know these monies have traditionally been the political province of the council," he said. "But, ladies and gentlemen, we know we can't solve this equation dividing by 15."

Council President Eric Garcetti said council members are willing to give up some money for district projects to help fund police, fire, streets and other citywide services.

"We have been supportive of the idea that if something is generated by the general fund it should return there for everybody," he said. "That's just the tough news in a bad budget year."

The mayor also suggested that he will turn to Angelenos to help raise money for transportation projects.

"It's time to recognize that the only true long-term solution to gridlock is an efficient, convenient mass-transit alternative," he said.

"Everything is going to be on the table - including new local revenue options and private investment in the public good."

But the mayor came back to public safety as the most important challenge facing the city. And while the mayor has warned of staffing cuts, he has vowed that the Los Angeles Police Department would be spared.

In a meeting with Daily News editors and reporters Monday, LAPD Chief William Bratton said he expects that Villaraigosa will fund 1.6 million hours of police overtime, compared with last fiscal year's 1.2 million hours, and is committed to 1,000 hiring new officers.

"This budget, ironically, despite the worst city budget in many years, is perhaps the best budget I have had since I've been there," said Bratton.

Police Department personnel also will be exempt from layoffs, although Bratton said hiring has slowed and that the department will also reduce its vehicle fleet by 10 percent.

Last year the mayor made gang reduction the centerpiece of his State of the City speech.

Now, barely a week after the City Council gave the mayor authority to take over the gang-prevention and gang-intervention programs, Villaraigosa announced his plan.

The Mayor's Office said he will boost funding for gang-intervention programs from about $19 million a year to $24 million a year.

He will phase out over the next six months the programs operated by L.A. Bridges, said Deputy Mayor Jeff Carr, who is heading the mayor's Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development.

Existing gang-intervention workers can bid on the new programs, but the contracts will set clear work goals and accountability measures and be reviewed every year to ensure that they are working.

"We're trying to professionalize street gang-intervention workers," said Carr, who is developing a code of conduct and gang-intervention academy to train and certify workers.

Villaraigosa also announced the creation of four more gang-reduction zones - in addition to eight that were created during the past year to merge intensive social services and community policing. His office wouldn't give the locations of the new zones, but said one will be in the Valley and one in South L.A.

In the coming year, the city will spend $1.5 million in each of the 12 gang-reduction zones - $1 million on prevention and $500,000 on intervention.

The first key change will occur today, Carr said. The city has $3 million to spend on gang prevention in six gang-reduction zones, with the goal of reaching at least 100 teens in each neighborhood.

The city will release a request for proposals for prevention specialists today, with detailed criteria requiring workers to make contact with at-risk teens at least two times a week to persuade them not to join gangs.

"We know that the group most susceptible to joining gangs is between the age of 10 and 15, and then only 15(percent) to 25 percent end up in a gang," Carr said.

"And we know that if they stay in a gang to the age of 15, chances are they will be involved in the criminal-justice system for the rest of their life."

In addition, the mayor said he aims to keep one city park and recreation center in every gang-reduction zone open till midnight four nights a week to keep kids busy and out of harm's way.

The changes in the operation of the city's gang programs is coming after critical reports by civil-rights attorney Connie Rice and Controller Laura Chick.

The City Council last week agreed to Chick's recommendation to move the programs into the Mayor's Office to increase accountability and responsibility.

Chick had been critical of a lack of accountability in L.A. Bridges, saying it had not been audited in more than a decade.

Councilwoman Janice Hahn said she was happy to see the mayor's plan to dedicate more money to gang prevention and intervention.

"What's important is that we're taking action. We've done the studies, we've seen the reports, the evidence is in. We need to act," said Hahn, who has proposed a $30-a-year parcel tax to raise $40 million for anti-gang programs.

But Chick expressed some concern about proposing a tax when the tax and fee increases are on the horizon to help balance city and state budgets.

"The public is having hard times, too," Chick said. "I just do not see how there is a whole running to the trough here and asking for more tax dollars."

Bratton, who supported Chick's recommendation that all anti-gang programs be placed under mayoral control, applauded the plan.

"If somebody says, `I want to take responsibility; you can hold me accountable,' ... he's up for election in another year so if it falls apart you basically don't elect him.

"It's going to be a big, big plus," Bratton said.

Staff Writer Rachel Uranga contributed to this report.


BLUEPRINT FOR L.A.

In his third State of the City address, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said among his plans for the year ahead are:

SERVICES

Move toward full cost recovery of services - including hiking an already recently boosted trash fee paid by residents.

POLICE OFFICERS

Fully fund the hiring of more police officers, with the addition of 1,000 by the end of the year.

GANG VIOLENCE

Open a community dialogue - including clergy, civil-rights and community leaders - on gang violence. Also, create four new gang-reduction zones in the city.

MTA

Ask the MTA board this month to seek proposals to privately fund, build and operate an expanded transit system.

SUBWAY TO THE SEA

Fight for federal funding to pay for a "subway to the sea" and other major transit projects.

SPENDING CUTS

Cut $1.50 in city spending for every $1 raised in new fees.

OFFICE CUTS

Cut his own office's spending by 5percent.

CITY JOB CUTS

Cut 767 city-worker positions.

RESERVE FUND

Restore the city's reserve fund, consolidate technology functions and consolidate administrative staffers among commissions.

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_8925853

Here is the text of his speech (in pdf) and am I wrong or is he referring to the event with Jamiel Shaw as a "temporary storm"???? See page 7.

http://tinyurl.com/5vx7ky