Yesterday, the Los Angeles City Council voted to review a proposed utility rate hike that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says is crucial for the city to avoid falling into bankruptcy.
The council can either affirm the city Department of Water and Power plan or reject it with recommendations.
In a briefing paper sent to council members, Villaraigosa said that without the rate hike, the DWP would not be able to deposit $73 million in the city's general fund and the city would not have enough money to complete the fiscal year on June 30.
"Failure to meet basic obligations would send the city into a financial tailspin, leading to further downgrades and an inability to borrow to meet future financial obligations," the mayor wrote.
The DWP was scheduled to provide at least $220 million to the general fund for the 2009-10 fiscal year. So far, however, the utility has sent only a portion of that money.
This follows a week that saw Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gain some national attention. On Thursday, the mayor gained an important ally in his push for federal aid to speed expansion of the region’s transit network: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
Feinstein called the mayor’s "30/10 Plan" to complete 12 transit projects in 10 years instead of 30 "an innovative idea" that could help ease Los Angeles’ legendary traffic gridlock while creating jobs.
In light of the recent budgetary crisis and lack of funds, the question now is: where is the money?
Source:thestatecolumn.com/
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