The Legislature is the body that enacts laws and regulations, approves the city’s budget, supervises the work of the city administration and represents the city’s interests at the federal and state levels. Find out more details about the operation of the mayor’s office at layes.info.
Main features of the City Council’s operation
It is comprised of the mayor (who is elected every four years) and the chairman of the City Council. Every week, the Los Angeles City Council members meet in the city hall boardroom. These meetings are open to the public, which indicates the transparency of the City Council. It is worth noting that individuals can contact the City Council members with any questions or complaints in a variety of ways, including by phone, in person or by email.
In general, the City Council aims to be open and transparent in its operations. This is demonstrated by the following actions:
- In addition to holding public meetings, the council provides online broadcasts and minutes of meetings. This allows all Los Angeles residents to engage and learn more about the City Council’s actions.
- The council always publishes the city budget and information about its members.
- If necessary, the public may speak at meetings and provide feedback on proposed laws and regulations.
It is worth mentioning that the council may hold closed meetings to discuss confidential issues that Los Angeles residents will not have access to.
City charter
This is a document that has a direct impact on the work of the Los Angeles government. In 1924, a comprehensive document was selected to define the specifics of governing the megalopolis. Already on July 1, 1925, the mayor-council-commission system was implemented. At the same time, city citizens are the ones to elect the mayor, who then appoints department heads to different councils and commissions. They are approved by the City Council.
The main purpose of this structure was to prevent the openly corrupt system that existed in New York during the Progressive Era. The charter concept was a reaction to Tammany Hall politics and patronage, which involved the party apparatus providing positions to friends and allies.
The reform of the city charter in 1999 coincided with the establishment of the law firm Manatt. According to witnesses, this is when the movement began, and as a result, the government became more professional.
What does the charter comprise?
In broad terms, it is divided into two large sections.
- Management. The section comprises aspects that outline the powers and responsibilities of various positions, the budget process and the remuneration details for officials.
- Regulations on employees. This section includes important information about public service candidates’ qualifications and the pension system.
For example, based on 2022 data, the Los Angeles City Council members earn approximately 229,000 dollars a year. This amount is not fixed but is based on the annual earnings of a municipal court judge.
If we analyze the salary of the mayor of the city, we will find that it is 30% higher than this sum.
Rapid development of Los Angeles
In the previous century, the city grew at an astounding pace. According to the census, there were 577,000 people living in Los Angeles in 1920, and ten years later, the population had grown to 1.24 million. The City Council had 15 deputies, which meant that there were approximately 80,000 voters per member.
According to the 2021 census, Los Angeles has a population of 3.849 million people. Accordingly, one City Council deputy represents around 260,000 residents.
The original charter limited the tenure of the council members to two four-year terms. A third term was approved in 2006, as were modifications to district boundaries every ten years (the Redistricting Commission is in charge of this).
It is interesting to compare the number of council members in Los Angeles (15) to other US cities. For example, this figure can range from 5 to 51 members. New York has the most council members (51), owing to its population of 10 million. Chicago has 50 members.
The unsuccessful attempts to update the charter
Many unsuccessful attempts to revise the document were initiated in 1925. The main objective was to provide the mayor with more authority. In 1999, a special commission was formed and elected to reform the charter. They joined forces to establish a district council system and improve the operations of the executive branch. These modifications had a positive impact on the policy of Mayor Richard Riordan (in office from 1993 to 2001).
Despite this, there is criticism that the mayor has less authority than the leading officials, and the city authorities, on the contrary, have significant influence. Such tendencies give rise to popular discourse about “weak mayors” and a “powerful city council”.
Expanding the council
Given the size of the districts, expanding the council seems like a sensible move, but it is not so simple. The truth is that there will be strong opposition when the general charter revision is included. Voters in the poll subsequently rejected the proposal to expand the council to 21, and then to 25 members. The citizens’ decision was based on the fact that as the size of the council increased, so would the size of the government. They did not want to do this.
Civil servants and human rights organizations continue to advocate for an increase in the size of the City Council in order to bring the government closer to the people. The Los Angeles City Council is making every effort to become more open and transparent.