City Council divides up assignments

At the first City Council meeting of the new year, on the evening of Monday, January 8, the only item of note saw the council decide which of the various subcommittees and outside boards they would each be sitting on for the next 12 months.

Action Item 1 read, “1) Adoption of resolutions and/or motions appointing city council members/staff members to various outside agency boards, city council subcommittees and other related bodies; 2) creation of subcommittees as needed and appointments thereto; 3) dissolution of subcommittees as needed; and 4) direction to the city clerk as deemed appropriate.”

The process was conducted without drama, and actually in a very pleasant atmosphere as the Mayor, Vice Mayor and three Council Members were generally content to continue the work that they started last year, with a few minor tweaks.

The LA County City Selection Committee is generally a position for the Mayor, and Vice Mayor as alternate. Last year it was Council Member (then Mayor) Albert Vera and Mayor (then Vice Mayor Yasmine-Imani McMorrin. So this year it will be McMorrin and Vice Mayor Dan O’Brien.

The LA County Division of the League of Calif. Cities will see Council Member Göran Eriksson continue his work, this time with O’Brien as his alternate. The Independent Cities Association will see Eriksson and Vera stay on.

Both the Board of Directors LA County Sanitation Dist. No 5 and the SCAG Southern Calif. Association of Governments are jobs for the Mayor and Vice Mayor, so McMorrin and O’Brien take those roles.

The Westside Cities Council of Governments will see Eriksson and O’Brien continues in their roles, and the Interagency Communications Interoperability (ICI) will see Council Member Freddy Puza retain his position. The Clean Power Alliance will see McMorrin and Vera switch roles, with McMorrin now the delegate and Vera the alternate.

Onto the subcommittees, and Eriksson and Puza will sit in the LAX Noise RoundTable. The Baldwin Hills CSD CAP calls on Vera and McMorrin,while the Joint Finance & Judiciary Subcommittee, the Treasury Investment Subcommittee and the Audit, Financial Planning, and Budget Subcommittee on McMorrin and O’Brien. The Standing Economic Development Subcommittee will be served by Vera and Eriksson.

The CCUSD/City Council Liaison Subcommittee seats McMorrin and O’Brien, the Standing Sustainability Subcommittee seats McMorrin and Puza, and the Standing Mobility Traffic & Parking Subcommittee seats Eriksson and Puza.

For the Ad Hoc City Council Policies Subcommittee – Vera and McMorin. The City Council West Los Angeles College Liaison Subcommittee – O’Brien and Puza. The Ad Hoc Short Term Rental Policy Subcommittee – McMorrin and O’Brien. The Ad Hoc Equity Subcommittee – McMorrin and O’Brien. For Ad Hoc 2028 Summer Olympics Preparation – O’Brien and Puza. And for Ad Hoc Minimum Wage Subcommittee – O’Brien and Puza.

O’Brien and Vera will sit on the Ad Hoc Bill Botts Fields and VMB Feasibility Study, Puza and O’Brien on the Ad Hoc General Plan Subcommittee, McMorrin and Puza on the Ad Hoc MLK Jr. Event Subcommittee, and Vera and O’Brien on the Ad Hoc Signage Subcommittee.

There are four new subcommittees: O’Brien and Puza will sit on the Ad Hoc 2024-25 Special Events rant Programs Subcommittee, Eriksson and O’Brien on the Ad Hoc 2024 Legislative and Policy Platform Subcommittee, Vera and McMorrin on the County Inglewood Oil Field (IOF) Projects Subcommittee, and Eriksson and O’Brien on the Ad Hoc 2024 Police Policies Subcommittee.

Nine subcommittees were dissolved: the Ad Hoc FY 2023-24 Special Events Grant Program Subcommittee, the Ad Hoc 2023 Legislative and Policy Platform Subcommittee, the Ad Hoc Cannabis Policy Subcommittee, the Ad Hoc Nonconforming Firearms Retailer Uses Subcommittee, the Fiesta Vendor Ad Hoc Subcommittee, the Ad Hoc LAX and FAA Subcommittee, the Ad Hoc Police Liaison Subcommittee, the Ad Hoc Regional Oil Operations Subcommittee, and the Ad Hoc Street Vendors Subcommittee.

Now the City Council has it’s assignments and it will get to work in 2024.