DATABASE TRACKS CITY'S REAL ESTATE.Byline: James Nash Staff Writer Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. city government, which has been castigated by consultants for mismanaging its multibillion-dollar real estate portfolio, has developed a first-of-its-kind database to keep track of property, the city's top real-estate manager said Tuesday. But the database only includes property purchased by departments under City Council control - not by the city's three giant departments that run the airports, harbor and the water and power systems, said Reginald Jones-Sawyer, the director of asset management. Last July, a consultant faulted city officials for poorly managing property ranging from office buildings to libraries to sanitation sanitation: see plumbing; sanitary science. yards. KH Consulting Group wrote that elected officials ``are presented with a bewildering be·wil·der tr.v. be·wil·dered, be·wil·der·ing, be·wil·ders 1. To confuse or befuddle, especially with numerous conflicting situations, objects, or statements. See Synonyms at puzzle. 2. array of transactions for approval without a context for good decision-making decision-making, n the process of coming to a conclusion or making a judgment. decision-making, evidence-based, n a type of informal decision-making that combines clinical expertise, patient concerns, and evidence gathered from and its long-term Long-term Three or more years. In the context of accounting, more than 1 year. long-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss in the value of a security that has been held over a specific length of time. Compare short-term. implications.'' Testifying to two City Council committees Tuesday afternoon, Jones- Sawyer and other city officials said they are taking the report's findings seriously and beginning to develop a long-term plan for managing real estate. But Jones-Sawyer said the progress is hampered by a lack of cooperation from the airport, harbor and water and power departments, which collectively have larger budgets than all other city departments combined, but are controlled by commissions appointed by the mayor. ``We've got some information (from the three departments), but it hasn't been useful,'' Jones-Sawyer said. City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel Wendy Greuel is President Pro Tempore of the Los Angeles City Council representing the 2nd District. Greuel was elected in 2002 to fill the remainder of the term of Councilman Joel Wachs. She was elected in her own right in 2003 and reelected in 2007. , who chairs the Audits and Governmental Efficiency Committee, urged city officials to act on the KH Consulting Group report, which was commissioned by City Controller Laura Chick chick abbreviation for chicken (1). . ``It was clear that the city does not have a strategy on real estate acquisition,'' Greuel said. ``This is about being fiscally conservative and also responsive to our constituents.'' The city spends some $100 million a year on real estate, records show. City officials and consultants have said that developing a database of all the city's property is a critical first step toward managing its portfolio strategically. James Nash, (213) 978-0390 james.nash(at)dailynews.com |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion