BLOG: What’s happening in Compton City Hall? (Jan. 19)
Matthew Richmond | 1-21-2010 | Comments |
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During Compton's Jan.19 council meeting, council members voted unanimously against a consulting services contract that would have paid consultants more than $7 million to oversee the paying out of a $60 million bond for infrastructure repairs. The company, AIM Consulting Services, would have hired contractors and monitored their work on behalf of the city. AIM’s executives appeared before city council and were the target of more than an hour of heated questioning by the mayor and council members. The $7.2 million fee, an estimate of hourly expenses over a five year period, was considered too high by all the members. The mayor was concerned that the company didn’t have a Web site that came up through a simple Google search and questioned their expertise. “I’m just wondering how you reached the amount of $7.2 million,” said Mayor Perrodin.
Other members were doubtful that the company could deliver the hundreds of jobs promised to residents of Compton.
Also at last night’s meeting, Lynn Boone and William Kemp questioned the council about bond money for reinstating the Compton Police Department and for local schools. They wanted to know where the money went, if the city was anywhere near paying them back and why the city council never answers questions about the bonds. Mayor Eric Perrodin said the city controller was the person to ask about bonds and they are being repaid through fees on residents’ property tax bills.
The controversial decision to establish a new Compton Police Department was made back in August, when the mayor and city council voted to take away $20 million that would have gone to a senior center and for a parking structure at the transit station. The money was to be redirected into establishing the city's own police department, ending reliance on the Sheriff's department. Mayor Perrodin told the Wave at the time, “The Sheriff’s Department tends to tell you and dictate to you how things are going to be. They are non-responsive to not only my needs but to the needs of the citizens of Compton.”
Kemp and Boone both had concerns about the meaning of “non-agenda” items. On the schedule for city council meetings, there is a period for “public comments on all agenda and non-agenda items.” It’s required by the Brown Act and has led to some disagreement at city council meetings. Kemp and Boone took it to mean that “non-agenda” meant they could bring up any issue they chose during public comment. Mayor Perrodin said he thought that “non-agenda” meant people could talk about anything that was under the authority of whatever committee was currently in session. But all agreed that it was unclear as to what exactly it meant.
Did you attend the council meeting? Would you like to contribute added information to this report? Email us at southla@usc.edu or leave a comment below.
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