EDITORIAL : BEYOND-THE-FRINGE BENEFITS SPIRALING COSTS ARE POUNDING L.A.THIS week, in a five-part special report titled ``Living beyond our means: A city at risk,'' the Daily News is revealing why 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. municipal government costs four times as much as it did 20 years ago. Although the city work force is bigger now than it was in 1977, Los Angeles has a shocking backlog Backlog The total value of sales orders waiting to be fulfilled. Notes: This figure is used mainly in the manufacturing industry. Increases or decreases in a company's backlog indicate the future direction of sales and earnings. of repairs and maintenance on streets, sewers and the rest of the public infrastructure. The list is big despite the efforts of Mayor Richard Riordan Richard J. Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is a Republican politician from California, U.S. who served as the California Secretary of Education from 2003–2005 and as Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993–2001. Riordan ran for Governor of California unsuccessfully in 2002. and others. Why is it so difficult to turn Los Angeles around? As shown in today's installment of the series, one cause of the problem is that the cost of city employee fringe benefits fringe benefits, n.pl the benefits, other than wages or salary, provided by an employer for employees (e.g., health insurance, vacation time, disability income). has gone through the roof. L.A. employees get some benefits that are rare for comparable workers in private industry. Meanwhile, taxpayers are going deeper into the hole to pay for them. The problem grew in the past two decades after the state mandated that governments bargain with public employee unions. During that 20-year period, salaries have nearly kept up with inflation and benefits have become sweeter, including free family health coverage and plenty of vacation and sick days, which employees may redeem redeem v. to buy back, as when an owner who had mortgaged his/her real property pays off the debt. The term also refers to paying the amount due and all charges after a foreclosure (due to failure to make payments when due) has begun. for cash. It's it's 1. Contraction of it is. 2. Contraction of it has. See Usage Note at its. it's it is or it has it's be ~have reached the point that almost all of the city's property-tax revenue now is required just to pay for Los Angeles' pension costs alone. Obviously, there is much room for improvement when it comes to responsible management of taxpayer dollars, including the money spent on employees. That doesn't necessarily conflict with the view that Los Angeles should be a fair employer, treating its workers with respect and offering competitive pay and benefits. Even so, some belt tightening is in order. However, before real reform and accountability can be implemented, there must be a complete overhaul of many inefficient and outdated out·dat·ed adj. Out-of-date; old-fashioned. outdated Adjective old-fashioned or obsolete Adj. 1. procedures and policies set forth in the City Charter, which is the city's constitution. That's why local leaders and civic boosters organized a campaign for an elected charter reform commission on the April 8 ballot. The city needs a modern charter that establishes a new framework of city government - one that incorporates the virtues of accountability and efficiency. Vote yes vote April 8 on charter reform. |
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