CITY ATTORNEY RELEASES DRAFT OF CHARTER REFORM PLAN : COUNCIL WOULD OK MEMBERS, BUT NOT CHANGE FINAL INITIATIVE.

Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer

City Attorney James Hahn's office released a draft ordinance for a charter reform commission Friday that gives the City Council the final say on commission appointments, but also allows the commission to put its proposals directly to the voters.

The city attorney ruled that the council could not be bound in the future by its current intent to put charter reform on the April 1999 ballot, leaving open the possibility that the council could stall reform indefinitely if its members disliked the commission's recommendations.

The draft ordinance was requested by the Los Angeles City Council, which is scheduled to review it next week as momentum builds for updating the city's 1925 charter.

Under the proposal, the mayor and council president would nominate members for the 15-member commission. But the ability to confirm the members would rest entirely with the council.

Moreover, the council would have the power both to nominate and appoint the commission members if lists of nominees from the mayor and council president are twice rejected.

David Fleming, a city fire commissioner who has been leading charter reform efforts, has advocated a 30-member commission where both the mayor and council get an equal number of appointments.

Of the council plan, Fleming said: ``A lot depends on the final list of names submitted by the mayor and (Council President John) Ferraro. Frankly, it's something the mayor has to decide. We want people who are open-minded, unbiased and more concerned with the citizens than maintaining power for either the mayor or council. We don't want to stack the deck on either side.''

The ordinance does address a key concern of reformers, however, by saying that if the council agrees to establish the commission, the ``proposals must be placed on the ballot without any revisions by the council,'' according to a memo by Hahn and Assistant City Attorney Tony Alperin.

The memo says the state Elections Code mandates that the council must place the measures on the ballot without interference. However, the council would still retain discretion over other factors, including the date of the election.

The draft ordinance, for example, states that it is the council's intent to put charter reform on the April 1999 ballot.

``That declaration of current intention does not bind the Council to act in that manner in the future,'' the memo said. ``Indeed, it is our advice that the Council could not legally so bind its future exercise of its legislative discretion.''

Councilman Nate Holden said he still believes an advisory panel should be named with the council retaining its power to change whatever is submitted to voters.

``If we are going to change the charter, we should have an advisory board brought together now to start looking at it,'' Holden said. ``This committee would get a jump-start and start looking at it right away.''

But Councilman Mike Feuer, who has been leading efforts at the council level to reform the charter, said he would fight Holden's motion.

``It is directly at odds with what we're trying to do,'' Feuer said. ``It's a complete contradiction to the effort to get an independent panel review the charter and submit what they come up with directly to the voters.''

Feuer said he fears if Holden's proposal is adopted when the council is scheduled to consider the matter Tuesday, it would add fuel to the initiative drive being backed by Mayor Richard Riordan to have voters elect a 15-member Charter Reform Commission.

Fleming, an attorney who heads the Valley Economic Alliance that first called for charter reform, said no decision on whether to proceed with the initiative until Riordan returns Monday from his trip to Israel.

Holden has been the most outspoken opponent of the charter reform drive, arguing the council has made changes to the charter over the years and that reform is designed to put more power in the hands of the mayor.

Fleming and others argue that the charter is out of date, and that reforms should give more authority to both the mayor and local communities under a borough-type system.