Ranger Arcelia Rosas usually rides the trails of Griffith Park on horseback – watching for injured riders, unleashed dogs and fire risks in the busy park.
On Tuesday she was at City Council to speak out for the importance of the mounted patrol.
“Our department has gone through tremendous cuts,” she said. Griffith Park’s equestrian center is home to more than 400 horses, and thousands of riders enjoy the steep trails scarred by fire in 2007.
“There’s no other unit that does such good PR for the city,” she said. “Equestrians say, ‘We are so glad you are out here.’ More people are following the law now.”
After she spoke, Councilman Tom LaBonge, whose district includes Griffith Park, thanked her and said he would fight for park employees.
City Council Questions Contracts and Promotes City Workers
Today at City Council the debate focused on moving skilled tree-trimmers, project managers, landscapers and others to departments that outsource that work at the cost of hundreds of millions annually.
City Council members quizzed the department heads of DWP, Airport and Harbor about whether they were moving quickly enough to hire city workers and slash expensive contracts. “Have you taken a good hard look?” asked Councilmember Janice Hahn.
“I don’t know why we can’t just fire the contractors and hire city tree-trimmers,” said the DWP’s David Freeman to loud applause. DWP spends $52 million on tree-trimming contracts every year.
Freeman said the DWP is hiring more than 117 people in the coming year, and the harbor and airports are hiring dozens more from the city payroll. 
Look Around to See the Costly Impact of Privatization
Since budget deliberations began, members in the Urban Forestry Division have spoken out every week against the city’s costly privatization plans to hand over tree trimming services to contractors.
“Down the line, it will cost LA City more money as private contractors hike up service prices,” said Jimmy Francis, an LA City tree surgeon assistant. “We can point to the City of Beverly Hills that privatized tree services. Contractors began charging $50 per tree, but now it costs the city $500 per tree. We can’t let that happen here.”
As recent torrential rains have hit Los Angeles, the need for tree services to remove broken limbs from the streets, rooftops and obstructed traffic signage, is even more critical. Workers pressed the Council to explore other solutions before cutting tree trimmers.
“We have more than $400 million owed to the City of Los Angeles and we need to collect that before we cut services,” said Leonard Brown, a heavy duty truck operator in the Urban Forestry Division.
Other City Employees Show Support
Other City workers came to City Hall in support.
“This is a hard fight, but we still have to try our best. I want all my co-workers to understand what this means,” said Tony Wu, a structural engineer in Public Works who came to stand with SEIU members.
Be Heard, Speak Out, Save Services
Strong member turnout is needed to tell City Council that now is the time for leadership, not threats to critical services.
Wednesday, Feb. 17
10 a.m. – Budget Deliberations in City Hall
2 p.m. – Public Works Committee in City Hall
Offer the early retirement package to DWP workers and move city workers into their positions and off of the general fund.