Tuesday, May 19, 2009
News / Clout City Making like Daley
Posted by Ben Joravsky on 05.19.09 at 11:09 AM
In Los Angeles, the mayor and city council are thinking about selling off their parking meters. Here's how the Los Angeles Times describes how they're going about it.
My favorite quote in the story is from councilman Greig Smith, who says: "We're selling property at the bottom of the market; what a stupid idea. If we were stockbrokers, we'd be in jail with Bernie Madoff. This is fool's gold."
How can we get that guy to join our city council?
In his attempt to find someone (anyone) to say something (anything) complimentary about the way Mayor Daley runs city finances, reporter Phil Willon turns to Dana Levenson, the mayor's former chief financial officer. If there are any readers in L.A. interested in an alternative to the Daley/Levenson's world view, here you go.
Comments (23)
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Forget the City Council! have this guy move to Chicago now so he can run for Mayor in 2011!
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"How can we get that guy to join our city council?" clever redistricting? his ward would look no funnier than the 30th or the 2nd or the 3rd
Despite such problems, Daley's wheeling and dealing has intrigued politicians from California to Pennsylvania. By "privatizing" government infrastructure, elected officials have found a way to generate hundreds of millions of dollars without raising taxes. Supporters of the idea describe it as simple good management. "The question for Los Angeles is, should the city be in the parking garage business?" said Dana Levenson, Chicago's former chief financial officer who oversaw the city's parking garage and toll road leases. "A city should be in the school business, the police business, the fire business and the sanitation business. Not parking garages and toll roads." Levenson, now head of North American infrastructure banking for the Royal Bank of Scotland, said that by shedding parking meters and garages, Chicago officials were able to improve city's finances, pay off debt and spend tens of millions of dollars on social programs and parks. The city also socked away hundreds of millions of dollars in reserves, which generate interest to help replace the revenue from meters and garages. If L.A. chooses to privatize garages and meters, the biggest challenge for the mayor and council will be to resist the temptation to spend it all to adjust the current year's budget, pay salaries or fund special projects, said Steve Steckler, chairman of Infrastructure Management Group Inc. in Bethesda, Md. A good chunk should be squirreled away in an interest-bearing reserve account, he said. "We like to tell cities to take a little up front and take a little more over time," Steckler said. "They're not very good at that. We're typically asked, 'What's the point, my term ends in three years?' " If you notice the Royal Bank of Scotland has done a lot of development finance for the Daley Administration. A bank involved in Money laundering.
Richard is a true hero for those going through tough times. Daley canceled any layoffs at a high profile meeting tonight. Now that is a great leader.
I love it when the Daley Mob sticks it to me. I love it when he steals our autos.I love it when he takes my money and gives back little in return. Maybe the Citizen should have given him a Casino.
Some people have a lot of nerve, Denise Lanton, of all people is spreading the rumors that Vanessa Quail is going on Family and Medical Leave to have Picardi's baby on June 1st. Denise Lanton has been selling herself to the highest bidder for years. After having the baby of a married man with Streets and Sanitation, who got caught in that hired truck scandal you would think she would keep her mouth shut.
Will Stroger survive,..... Probabily not. So should we let the culprit,who has benefitted by ruling behind the throne off too. John Daley as Finance Chairman,gave Stroger his script,from his big brother Mayor Daley. Now Stroger has become a pariah,the Daley's are distancing themselves from Todd. Stroger is attempting to grow a brain but it is too late. The die is already cast. Boss Daley runs everything he surveys,including the County. He and his Machine minions picked the 8th ward weakling,because he was no threat,and would follow the script. Now Stroger has become a lighting rod for bad Government,he need to be thrown under the bus,so he won't contaminate the other Machine Apostles.
since selling future assets in the present for quick cash is seen as good for chicago why not daley and the aldermen sell the city their pensions and health benefits to the city for $10,000 each and they can run off with their wealth and we'll call it even.
Stop this crap about Tony Peraica being the "Jesus On The Pizza" bit. How disgusting.
We need Mayor Daley May 19th - 9:07 p.m. Richard is a true hero for those going through tough times. Daley canceled any layoffs at a high profile meeting tonight. Now that is a great leader. Please stop sucking Richard's Dix.
Richy is a very handsome man. He keeps the lowlifes away from our government. Bye Bye evil people. Taxes in Chicago are very low all thing considered.
New Video with Russ Stewart www.chicagoclout.com Mayor Daley is destroying the Peraica camp conservatives.
Lest we forget Tony Peraica's waterworks with Frank Cuckooforcocoapuffs at Steamworks????????.
Check it out: http://secondcitycop.blogspot.com/ Things are getting interesting, I mean, REALLY interesting.
Many people don't have any type of pension benefits,count your blessing and ratify the deal. You can thank me later for the free advice
