For the second year in a row - and likely continuing for the foreseeable future - Los Angeles city leaders have had to live with diminished expectations.
"This past year was a year of holding the line," Council President Eric Garcetti said in a recent interview. "Holding the line on the budget. Holding the line on crime and making even further gains there. Holding the line on the size of the police force.
"There was not much room to grow anything."
The continuing economic problems afflicting the nation and the state have continued to impact local government, where tax revenues continue to decline - due primarily to reduced property values - and a high unemployment rate affects all levels of the economy from demands for services to a drop in most major tax revenues.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council did work closely on the city's budget, brokering a deal to win major concessions from city employee unions for the early retirement of at least 2,400 workers - the exact numbers are still being worked out - and an agreement from the Los Angeles Police Protective League to forgo pay raises for two years. Talks with the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City are continuing.
If there was any bright spot, Garcetti said it was with the city acting to identify and seek federal funding under the Obama administration's stimulus program.
"We have been very aggressive and have won commitments for half a billion dollars in federal funds," Garcetti said. "Only 5 to 10 percent of that has hit the streets, but that means in 2010, we will have a huge influx of money for projects around the city."
The City Council this past year saw the re-election of six members - Garcetti, Ed Reyes, Dennis Zine, Richard Alarcon, Jan Perry and Janice Hahn - under voter-approved extensions of term limits and the re-election of Councilman Bill Rosendahl to his second term.
Also elected was Councilman Paul Koretz, who has previously been a state Assemblyman and a West Hollywood city councilman. More recently, Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, D-Valley Glen, was elected in a special election to fill out the term of Wendy Greuel, who moved to the City Controller's Office.
The economic problems also meant the City Council had to rein in any ambitious programs it had and continued to debate issues such as regulations of medical marijuana clinics and billboards.
"This is a time for us to manage," Garcetti said. "People's expectations of government and politicians is fairly low. But it is also a time for real leadership opportunities for the mayor and the council to look at ways to innovate."
One example he cited was gains in residential recycling after the city expanded it to apartments.
Other areas he is looking at include a revival of the Business Tax Advisory Committee, which will recommend ways the city can further reduce business taxes and develop investment tax credits.
Bruce Ackerman, president of the Valley Economic Alliance, said the city is overdue in emphasizing tax reform, business development and job creation.
"It seems like the city never recognized how serious the problem has been and reacted to it slowly, rather than be proactive," Ackerman said. "The mayor is taking the lead when he talks about his priority being jobs, jobs, jobs. I love those three words.
"But, it seems as if the rest of the city doesn't get it. I was talking to one company in Van Nuys that has hundreds of workers and they were put in a new tax category. They can relocate anywhere and they will unless there is a change made."
Ackerman said he recognizes the problems the city faces and it is in for tough decisions.
"They are going to have to reduce services and they will have to explain to the public that we can no longer afford to do what we are doing," Ackerman said. "They are going to have to cut their staffs and reduce what they are doing. No one will like it, but it's something we have to do until things turn around."
Political science professor Raphael Sonenshein, who served as executive director of the Appointed Charter Reform Commission, said he would give the City Council a grade of incomplete for the past year.
"There were some areas where they made some progress, like with the LAPD, but there was a lot of work left undone, like with medical marijuana," said Sonenshein, who teaches at California State University, Fullerton. "Most of their problems were related to the economy. It's terrible wherever you are, but local government has taken a real hit. And even if the economy does come back this next year, it is going to be a year or two before cities and counties see any benefit."
Sonenshein also said he would like to see the City Council try to resolve the dispute between Greuel and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich in a legal battle they inherited from their predecessors, former Controller Laura Chick and former City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.
The lawsuit - Trutanich won the case but Greuel is weighing an appeal - is over the power of the Controller's Office to conduct performance audits of programs in other elected officials' offices.
"I think it's important for them to separate out their feelings about dealing with the office of the controller and make sure it clarifies the role of the controller," Sonenshein said.
Sonenshein said the challenges the city is facing will require showing an ability to do the job.
"At the end of the day, what gets proven again and again is that it's about being able to get things done," Sonenshein said. "It's nice every now and then to have amateurs come in and shake things up, but people want to see their problems taken care of."
Garcetti said he recognizes that.
"I think part as an institution, we have to tell the story of what is going on," Garcetti said. "It's very easy for folks to think badly. But if you look at what is going on in places like Hollywood, downtown, North Hollywood and the revivals going on there, the fact that crime is at a 50-year low, those things don't just happen. It happened because of actions we have taken over the past several years."
