Council fails to override mayor’s veto on Office of Finance measure after daylong charter debate; unanimously overrides veto on youth BRIDGES program

The Los Angeles City Council on May 16, 2000, debated where new charter functions should sit in the city’s reorganized administration and failed by one vote to override Mayor Reardon's veto of an ordinance that would place a suite of responsibilities in a new Office of Finance.

The veto override motion on the Office of Finance question drew extensive discussion about revenue forecasting, debt management and risk management. Councilmember Chick argued the council was acting to protect “the will of the people,” saying the charter commissions had rejected a stronger mayoral Office of Finance and that the council should implement the compromise the voters approved. Councilmember Goldberg urged that revenue forecasting and debt management remain in an impartial office accountable to both mayor and council, saying, “I don’t think revenue forecasting should ever be in the Department of Finance.” Councilmember Walters said the council needed “access to unfiltered information” for bond raters, lenders and the public. Councilmember Wax and others pushed for a compromise that would place risk management in the Office of Finance while leaving forecasting and debt functions elsewhere to preserve independent analysis.

After daylong debate and multiple procedural motions, the council held a roll-call override vote on the mayor’s veto. The tally recorded in the meeting transcript was 9 ayes and 5 noes; the override requires 10 votes and therefore failed. Because the mayor’s veto was not overridden, the ordinance as presented will not take effect as written and the council and administration signaled plans to return to the issue at committee and in a later session.

Nut graf: The council’s vote leaves in place the mayor’s veto of the Office of Finance ordinance for now and ensures the Office of Finance implementation will be revisited in the short term. Council members emphasized competing priorities: preserving independent fiscal oversight versus consolidating operational accountability for functions such as risk management, workers’ compensation and revenue forecasting.

What happened and why it matters

- What the council voted on: A multi-part ordinance implementing portions of the city charter that describe the Office of…