L.A. Withholds $4-Million Payment for Union-Tied Nonprofits

Los Angeles Controller Ron Galperin said Wednesday that he will not release nearly $4-million the city owes two controversial nonprofit groups affiliated with its Department of Water and Power with which officials have been feuding over past spending, writes the Los Angeles Times.

Also on Wednesday, city leaders filed a lawsuit seeking a court-appointed receiver to take control of the Joint Training Institute and the Joint Safety Institute, which are co-managed by the municipal utility and its employees’ union, the Times reports.

Los Angeles officials have been embroiled in a monthslong fight with the union over its refusal to turn over books showing how the institutes, established in the early 2000s to improve labor-management relations, have used some $40-million in previous disbursements drawn from Angelenos’ water and power bills. The payments are enshrined in the city’s contract with the union, but Mr. Galperin said he could not make them in “good conscience” because the nonprofits have not accounted for past spending.

The union’s business manager, Brian D’Arcy, has sued to quash subpoenas for the financial records, arguing that the institutes are not public agencies subject to sunshine laws. The Times said Mr. D’Arcy could not be reached for comment on Wednesday’s developments.