League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Los Angeles County, CA March 5, 2013 Election
	Scott Silverstein Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Los Angeles; District 3

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What do you think is the single most important issue facing the City of Los Angeles today? As Council Member, what would you do to deal with it?

The single most important issue facing the city is the enormous legacy cost. We cannot sustain the current Ponzi scheme that we employ to fund the retirement packages. Today's pensions are almost $10 billion dollars underfunded. This means that the pension pools contain only 60-65% of the resources needed over the next decades. This underfunding, along with pie-in-the-sky accounting, leaves the pension system vulnerable to failure and bankruptcy. Unfortunately, we are stuck with the poor decisions of the past. Going forward, we must philosophically change from that of a bloated employment agency to an efficient public administration. Instead of the exorbitant retirement packages, we should tier the salaries so they are in line with the private sector, maintain the job security offered to civil servants, but structurally and radically reduce any retirement package that is funded by the citizens of Los Angeles.

2. The City Administrative Officer has estimated a $200M budget shortfall for 2013-2014 increasing to $300M in 2015-2016. What steps do you propose to deal with this problem, and how much do you estimate each step would reduce the shortfall?

The projected budget shortfall of $300M over the next three budget cycles must be dealt with from both the income and expense sides. First of all, we need to increase income. This can be accomplished by lowering the tax burdens on businesses to improve the business conditions in the city. The surrounding communities, along with the surrounding states, are poaching our tax dollar producers to their communities. Next, we need to cut spending. Privatization of the convention center, the zoo, animal services, ambulance services, local inmate transportation, and library services should be further studied. These items alone account for over $70 million dollars annually. Even if the initial savings were insignificant due to startup costs, the savings related to legacy costs would be exponentially valuable over time.

3. Do you support the ballot measure to increase the sales tax in the city?

I do not support any increases in the sales tax, or any tax, unless there is an equal reduction in the gross receipts tax. We put our businesses at a competitive disadvantage with the surrounding cities. Our businesses are bombarded with taxes, fees, and regulations. Business is the generator of opportunity and economic growth, and should be treated as such. Higher taxes reduce spending at and by those businesses.

4. What role do you feel the City of Los Angeles has to play in addressing climate change? Please explain in terms of what you as a city councilmember would have the power to do.

The single greatest improvement made to environmental quality has been the reduction of auto and truck exhaust. Local air-quality improvements will continue due to more stringent state and federal mandates. The city can address climate change by improving the local mass transit system. We need to get cars off the roads by placing mass transit in areas of high impact such as the airports, stadiums, coast, and business districts. Any new developments or existing properties undergoing a very substantial renovation should be required to meet a LEED silver level or greater. There should be a bonus offerred to those projects that meet a high LEED standard and are developed in a Transit Oriented District.

5. How would you prioritize your local constituency versus the City as a whole when acting as a Council Member?

As a Council Member, your constituents expect you to provide the basic city functions such as public safety, fire protection, and the other city functions that they pay for with their taxes. In crisis situations, particularly in the citywide economic crisis we are currently experiencing, an informed citizen is more apt to want their representative to prioritize his or her time mitigating the crisis. As difficult as it may be, I will maintain a balance between improving the City as a whole and the needs of my constituents.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League. 

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: January 5, 2013 17:10
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