This week was an extraordinarily busy and productive one at City Hall. The City Council not only considered significant items related to homelessness and moved forward with our citywide El Nio preparations, we also held committee hearings on topics that likely will be extraordinarily important to the present and future well-being of our city.Fixing Our Sidewalks
Monday was our eighth public hearing in 16 months on sidewalk repair. The Budget and Finance Committee, which I chair, and the Public Works Committee, chaired by Councilmember Joe Buscaino, met jointly to discuss the framework for a citywide repair plan for sidewalks next to homes and businesses. The two-hour meeting was fruitful and full of good discussion. In the end, we reached a tentative agreement about the city funding a repair program that will cover residential and commercial properties and asked for additional reports from city staff on a number of issues, including the preservation of street trees and the use of alternative, eco-friendly materials in our sidewalks. When we have our next meeting, I believe we will be ready to move forward with a comprehensive plan, something that hasn't happened for nearly 40 years in the City of Los Angeles. Read the LA Times article about this week's meeting.
Creating Jobs
On Wednesday, I chaired the second City Council Jobs Committee meeting and heard from the Economic and Workforce Development Department about their efforts to create a citywide economic development plan. That day, I also introduced two motions to support business growth in Los Angeles. My first motion urges the city to create a Business Unit that cuts the red tape and provides a one-stop shop for businesses to get information about city and state services, programs and incentives available to them, and that helps local businesses open, relocate or build in our city.
The other motion seeks to create a Small Business Commission to support and encourage the growth of local small businesses, which employ hundreds of thousands of people in Los Angeles. It also requests a report on the success of LA's Local Preference Ordinance, which I authored in 2010 to give local businesses a competitive advantage when doing business with the city. I want to make sure that LA is using its purchasing power to stimulate economic growth and create jobs.
Bringing the Olympics to LA
That day, I also participated in second 2024 Olympics Committee meeting where we discussed the timeline and requirements for making LA's Olympic bid as successful as possible. I raised the need to ensure that the city does not put itself on the hook for unsupportable costs that don't benefit Angelenos. I see my role on the committee as a watchdog for our financial interests and am confident that we can and will take the necessary precautions to put forward a very appealing, sustainable bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
As always, I will to keep you updated about all of these important issues and I welcome your feedback and ideas. Please email me at [email protected] or leave a comment on my website: www.paulkrekorian.org/services.
P.S. Check out this Downtown News article about my recent talk at the LA Current Affairs Forum.