CITY PANEL BACKS CREATION OF CHARTER REFORM GROUP.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

Seeking a compromise, a Los Angeles City Council panel called Wednesday for creating a 15-member Charter Reform Commission whose proposals would be placed on the April 1999 ballot without revision by the council.

The recommendation by the council's Rules and Elections Committee was designed to address concerns by charter reform advocates that the process for revising the City Charter would be dominated by the council, not the citizens.

``With these elements in place, we will be able to reform and revise a new charter that can govern this city into the 21st century,'' said Councilman Mike Feuer, the committee's chairman.

But charter reformers remained skeptical.

``Just because something is proposed, doesn't mean it's there,'' said city Fire Commissioner David Fleming, a leader of the Valley Economic Alliance that is promoting charter reform.

He noted there is a large bloc of council members who have voiced opposition to giving up their right to revise reforms recommended by the Reform Commission.

``They have got to get eight votes on the council to do this and that is not a foregone conclusion by any means,'' Fleming said.

In addition, Fleming said there would have to be guarantees that future councils will honor a pledge by the present council to put the committee's recommendation on the ballot without changes.

As a result, Fleming said a group led by himself and Mayor Richard Riordan will go ahead with plans to start collecting signatures today to qualify a ballot measure to create an elected Reform Commission with power to put reforms on the ballot.

The petition drive will begin in the San Fernando Valley, where charter reform efforts started as a means of putting city government more in touch with the people.

Under the proposal endorsed by the council's Rules and Elections Committee on Wednesday, the council would be given six months to review the final ballot measure before the election and could place a competing measure on the ballot if it does not agree with the commission's reforms.

``Even though we cannot change it, we could review that charter, put it on the ballot, but also we could put our own on the ballot if we feel that one is not worthy of the city,'' said council President and committee member John Ferraro.

Members of the commission would be appointed by Ferraro and Riordan, and approved by the City Council.

The committee recommended that the full council allocate $300,000 for the commission to cover staffing expenses, studies and legal analysis. The intention would be to supplement this expenditure with private funds.

The full council is scheduled to take up the proposal Sept. 4.

The City Charter is the blueprint for city government. Some of the issues that would be considered by a Reform Commission include giving the mayor more authority and giving neighborhoods a greater say in development issues.

The committee proposal would require the Reform Commission to hold public hearings throughout the city to get input into the reform effort and to consider recommendations made by the City Council.

``The commission would be empowered to accept or reject those recommendations, but those recommendations and that thorough council review would be critical,'' Feuer said.

But like Fleming, activists involved in the group Valley Voters Organized Towards Empowerment said they are skeptical of the council appointing the commission.

The coalition of 40 Valley groups has not taken an official position, but Valley VOTE co-chairman Jeff Brain said concerns were raised during a board meeting Wednesday.

``The general consensus is we don't trust that process,'' Brain said.

Brain said he will work to oppose the council plan and that Valley VOTE leaders have begun discussing how they can organize to work for the qualification and passage of the initiative proposed by Fleming and Riordan.

A bare majority of eight council members has indicated support for the concept of allowing the Reform Commission's proposals to go directly to the ballot, although some members have concerns that they want answered.

``The council would still have the right, if it is dissatisfied with what is proposed, to put on the ballot its own version,'' said Councilman Marvin Braude. ``This is a good compromise.''

However, other council members said they would oppose giving up the council's right to alter the commission's reforms.

``The whole thing is fraught with problems,'' said Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas.

Riordan said through a spokeswoman that he wants to see what the full council approves before deciding whether he can support its action.

``He's committed to have a system where the commission's recommendations go directly onto the ballot,'' said Noelia Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for Riordan.

The proposal recommended by the council committee Wednesday ``is in keeping with the spirit of what the mayor has been advocating'' but the mayor still is concerned about the independence of such a commission, Rodriguez said.

For that reason, Riordan plans to go out today and begin collecting signatures for an initiative that would create a Reform Commission elected citywide that would have power to submit charter changes directly to the people, Rodriguez said.

Fleming said the initiative ultimately might be dropped if the council approves an acceptable process.

City officials said they are concerned that a commission elected on a citywide basis might not reflect the geographic, racial and social diversity of the city. They worry that a heavy turnout in one area - such as the Valley - could result in the commission being dominated by members from that region.

Assistant City Attorney Tony Alperin told the council panel that such a vote might conflict with the federal Voting Rights Act by diluting the vote of minorities.

Feuer said he would support a council-appointed commission that would reflect the city's diversity.

``An elected charter commission . . . has the shortcoming of not providing a way to assure that the commission reflects that diversity,'' Feuer said.

He also said a council-appointed commission could move faster toward reform.

However, Brain said if the council appoints a biased commission and a lawsuit blocks its work, that process could take longer than electing a commission.

In addition, Brain said the city's geographic and racial diversity could be provided on an elected commission through the creation of slates of candidates from different parts of the city.

Fleming said that if an independent commission is allowed to seriously scrutinize and revise the charter, he hopes the council would decide not to put its own measure on the ballot.

``What my hope is by the time this commission's work is done, its work product will be so widely accepted and unanimously backed by different groups throughout the city that nobody is going to want to challenge it,'' he said.