Monday Morning Bullpen: Rent Control and Budget Hearings

Budget hearings continue this week in multiple city council committees. The schedule is online. 

Hopefully, it gets more people to listen to the committees which oftentimes are overlooked. 

Check it out, and yes do some homework and make your voice heard.

Yes, I still maintain the city’s budget is bigger than just the police budget. 

Last week I was taken to task for not attending a local community meeting on the budget.

According to one activist, and yes this one is a real activist  working hard to make things happen, my Monday column was short on facts and fairness.

That’s just not correct.  

I used some legit Jackson 5 lyrics to point out that the callers at Monday’s meeting went on and on about the police budget even when the council was not discussing it.

And that was a real J5 song and the lyrics were correctly posted. 

Yes, I said the song was the most soulful performance ever recorded. 

I guess that is opinion, but the lyrics were correct. 

Eh, I guess some people like the Osmond Brothers better.

What can you do? 

In all seriousness, the gist of it is  I would have known a grip of items about the budget, I won’t do the laundry list here, if I had attended this meeting.

I think they said 60 people attended, even a City Councilmember. 

It’s great to hear the meeting was well attended, and I am sure pertinent information was provided, but this idea that I had to attend that meeting to get the information is incorrect.

I got the information, because I did what I have been calling on other people to do. 

I read the staff reports.

The same thing I have been doing for the better part of 20 years when I cover budget hearings.  

And that remains the best way to get the information. 

I don’t care where you come down on housing, the police, sidewalks or any of that stuff, the budget is bigger than any one issue or department. 

That’s a fact. 

As always, all comments are welcome. 

On to this week’s meeting.

The LA County Registrar’s officer has confirmed enough signatures to move the rent control item forward.

Doesn’t matter what you think about rent control. 

Kudos to Ryan Bell and the others involved for not being a broken record and just talking the talk, but actually taking action.

We need more of that. 

The City Council will receive the certification of the sufficiency of a charter amendment initiative petition on Monday which could impose rent control, create a rental housing board, and establish ‘just cause eviction criteria’ in Pasadena.

The Council could also direct City staff to prepare a report on the impacts of the proposed initiative measure for presentation at the July 11 City Council meeting, or such other date as determined; and direct staff to prepare the necessary resolutions to call an election to submit the Charter Amendment Measure to the voters at the November 8 General Election.

Again the choice is yours, get out and vote.