Los Angeles voters decide fate of 120-year-old infrastructure board

Los Angeles voters face a choice on Tuesday's ballot that could end the existence of the Board of Public Works, a body that has managed city infrastructure since 1905. Measure LA includes a provision permitting the City Council to disband or alter the five-member panel, a change that has split local officials.

The board currently oversees sanitation, street lighting, engineering, and graffiti removal, supervising more than 5,500 city employees. If voters approve the measure, the council could eliminate the board by a two-thirds vote. Supporters argue this consolidation would streamline repairs and reduce bureaucratic delays. Opponents fear that centralizing authority in a single director would invite graft and reduce public access.

Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who served on the board from 2013 to 2016, expressed concern about concentrating power. "If the Board of Public Works was eliminated and concentrated within the authority of one person, I think that gives way to more corruption than transparency," Rodriguez said. She noted that the board currently approves more than 85% of the city's construction contracts, a function she believes requires collective oversight to maintain integrity.

The board meets in an ornate room on the fourth floor of City Hall, typically on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Recent sessions have handled routine but specific items, including reviewing seven bids for sidewalk repairs ranging from $1.9 million to $2.47 million. Commissioners have also voted on budget increases for storm drain projects in the Pacific Palisades and decisions regarding the removal of protected trees on Mulholland Drive. All agenda items in recent meetings were approved unanimously.

Critics point to a precedent in San Francisco, where the former director of public works was sentenced to seven years in federal prison in 2022 for a kickback and bribery scheme. They argue that a single point of failure creates vulnerability in a system managing billions of dollars in projects. Former board member Valerie Lynne Shaw, who served from 1996 to 2013, described the panel as a necessary coordinating mechanism. "Power in the hands of many better serves the city as opposed to power in the hands of one," Shaw stated.

Proponents argue the current system lacks clear accountability. Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky cited a long-running intersection repair on La Cienega Boulevard, saying she struggled to obtain information from the board. "I can't get any information from anybody, and I'm the councilperson," Yaroslavsky said. She contrasted Los Angeles with the county, which has a single director of public works. She believes a single leader would make it easier to hold the administration responsible for delays.

Board President Marqueece Harris-Dawson acknowledged that the current structure causes confusion among bureaus. He described a situation where Street Lighting and Engineering departments pass responsibility back and forth, leaving no single person to solve the problem. "So it just feels like it's bounced around, and there isn't any one person that can say, 'Here's how the problem gets solved,'" Harris-Dawson said during a council meeting in June.

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, a supporter of the measure, said the change addresses a long-standing challenge in coordinating multiple bureaus. He noted that while voter approval would only set the stage for future action, it grants the council the authority to make the decision. Blumenfield argued that the current system creates silos that slow down progress on projects requiring input from several departments.

Political observers have noted that the board's potential elimination is bundled with other less controversial changes, such as adopting a two-year budget cycle. Some critics argue this packaging obscures the magnitude of the change. Rodriguez described the measure as a package designed to make voters accept the board's dissolution. "I think those are all tethered together to make you swallow the poison," Rodriguez said.

If voters pass Measure LA, the board will remain in place until the City Council acts. Any future move to eliminate the panel would require 10 votes, or 12 if the mayor vetoes the change. The five current board members are full-time employees earning slightly less than $200,000 annually. They are appointed by the mayor and have not publicly commented on the measure.