EDITORIAL ALL WET CITY HALL HAS A LEAKY ROOF - AND BROKEN LEADERSHIP.IS it any surprise that the roof leaks in 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 Hall? That's not all that's broken upstairs. Sure, L.A. taxpayers have spent $300 million upgrading the building - about 1,200 times the median price of a home in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. - but $300 million only goes so far among the bureaucratic elite. It only covers the big things, not the little details - like a roof. That's extra, an additional $800,000. Just put it on the taxpayers' tab. And there will be more unexpected expenses to come, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the city's chief legislative analyst, Ron Deaton. That whopping $300 million contract, he says, ``was not a rehab of the entire building.'' Oh. What's next? Toilets? Locks for the doors? Electric wiring? It's amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. how little $300 million will buy these days - and how the public keeps getting bilked, again and again. What had already started out as a bad deal just seems to keep getting worse. That's what the city gets for letting Deaton play general contractor A general contractor is an organization or individual that contracts with another organization or individual (the owner) for the construction of a building, road or any other execution of work or facility. , personally overseeing the project from beginning to end. Deaton has managed City Hall's renovation the same way he manages the rest of city government - secretively and disingenuously dis·in·gen·u·ous adj. 1. Not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating: "an ambitious, disingenuous, philistine, and hypocritical operator, who ... exemplified ... , at maximum cost to the public. When Deaton and his crew first started in on the project, they decided to ignore the fact that the building's 70-year old roof had leaky, crumbling tiles. So when officials recently realized that - oops! - the roof that's supposed to protect their newly spiffed-up palace from winter rains was in shambles, it was time to go to the well of taxpayer dollars yet again. Without informing the City Council, Deaton simply shifted $800,000 from a maintenance fund and gave one lucky roofer a no-bid contract  This article or section may deal primarily with the U.S. and may not present a worldwide view. to
take care of the job.
Construction began Monday. By Wednesday, city officials will probably discover another problem that only an ample supply of your tax dollars and the services of a well-connected contractor can fix. Oversights, overruns, no-bid contracts, and plain old ripoffs will continue to be part of this and every other City Hall venture as long as Deaton, the dark overlord o·ver·lord n. 1. A lord having power or supremacy over other lords. 2. One in a position of supremacy or domination over others. o of L.A. government, continues to run the show. City Controller Laura Chick says she plans make sure the public's money is being spent wisely by auditing city renovation ``from top to bottom.'' It's a good idea. Be sure to pay extra attention to the top. |
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