Asking Los Angeles property owners to repair their own sidewalks was among several ideas floated Thursday by the City Council to help offset a $684 million budget shortfall over the next 18 months.
Council members spent most of the meeting discussing areas in which the city can bring in more revenue through collection of bad debts and the request that contractors reduce their bills by 10 percent.
"Most of the contractors have shown a willingness to step forward," City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana said, estimating the city might see as much as a $15 million return on the $150 million in contracts the city has for this year.
Beyond that, Santana said the city is conducting a review of all its contracts to see if they can be canceled and the worked performed by city workers.
Council President Eric Garcetti said the goal is to try to find ways to save money or bring work back to the city to deal with the budget gap as well as save jobs.
The City Council is looking at 1,000 layoffs by July 1 and another 3,000 for the coming year.
Antoinette Christovale, general manager of the Office of Finance, said she is in the process of determining how much is owed the city and speeding up the collection process, working to bring in collection firms to get the money owed the city.
The city is owed about $105 million in outstanding ambulance fees, although it is estimated the city will be able to collect about $20 million of that.
The Department of Transportation has a contract with a firm to collect its back payments, but Gracility said it might be difficult because of how people move and ignore the tickets.
Christovale said her department is in the middle of receiving business taxes, which are expected to bring in nearly $300 million this year.
The city has had an aggressive program, working with the state Franchise Tax Board, to uncover businesses that do not pay taxes in the city.
Councilman Bernard Parks, who chairs the council's Budget and Finance Committee, suggested it is time for the city to get out of the sidewalk repair business.
"Between 2001 and 2008-09, over $95 million has been spent on repairing sidewalks," Parks said. "During that period, about 550 miles more deteriorated."
Parks said he believes the council needs to look at transferring responsibility for sidewalks to businesses and property owners.
Councilman Bill Rosendahl offered a different option - requiring property owners to provide sidewalk repair money when a property is sold.
Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller said several other proposals to bring in more money are pending, including a hike in ambulance fees, developing a fee for paramedic treatment on the scene and developing an annual fee for emergency medical service.
Other areas where increase are being studied are brush clearance fees, burglar alarm fees, parking meter fees, parking citations and the trash collection fee.
