Skip to main content

City Attorney vs City Controller

Support Provided By
KCETgreuel2I.jpg

The city controller's office--currently filled by Wendy Greuel--may be deprived of the legal power to audit other elected officials programs if a current court decision is finalized.

It's a convoluted story, summed up in this Daily News account:

A judge on Tuesday again postponed finalization of a ruling that could set a precedent for elected officials to avoid having their programs audited by the city controller. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Mooney decided to hold another hearing on Nov. 20, though Chief Deputy City Attorney William Carter argued a delay would be pointless since a settlement seems out of reach.....In his preliminary judgment dated June 23, Mooney sided with then-City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo's argument that then-City Controller Laura Chick had no authority to audit the workers' compensation program in his office. Mooney has repeatedly postponed finalizing that ruling, however, to give their successors, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and City Controller Wendy Greuel, time to reach a settlement. To date, they have been unsuccessful. The sticking point is who should pay lawyers' fees amassed by Chick and Greuel, estimated at $200,000.

Speaking of lawyers' fees amassed by the city, see this other Daily News story for more grim news for our city in budget crisis:

The city of Los Angeles shelled out $137 million over the past two years for legal costs - nearly two times more than the previous two-year period and enough to hire nearly 1,300 police officers and cover most of the public works budget, according to a report released Monday.The study by California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse also found the amount of money Los Angeles County spent on lawsuit verdicts, settlements and outside counsel rose from $138 million to $190 million in the same period.

California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse website.

The image associated with this post was taken by Flickr user David Markland. It was used under user Creative Commons license.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.