Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has decided that the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades will be built by an “outside consultant.”
The decision was made without any consultation with local residents or any process of input from those affected.
Bass appeared in Pacific Palisades on Monday on an unannounced visit together with “chief recovery officer Steve Soboroff,” whom Bass appointed earlier this month — also without local consultation — and who had been absent.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Bass announced her intention to hire a consultant to handle the rebuilding:
The city of Los Angeles is planning to hire an outside consultant to handle a significant rebuilding contract for areas devastated by this month’s Palisades fire, Mayor Karen Bass said Monday.
The firm will represent the city’s interests in the wildfire recovery process, including performing damage assessments, monitoring air and water quality, interacting with various federal agencies and ensuring that the city gets as much federal reimbursement as possible, according to chief recovery officer Steve Soboroff.
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Details about the scope of the forthcoming contract remain scant, but Bass said Monday that the city was in the midst of reviewing proposals from “major firms” and pledged to make a decision this week.
Soboroff claimed that the consultant would represent locals — despite the complete lack of notice or consultation. He also suggested that the consultant would control the federal money entering California to deal with the fire damage.
Locals have had virtually no input into any of the decisions currently being made by city and state officials. Most were only able to access their property for the first time on Monday, after direct intervention by President Donald Trump.
Support for Bass has collapsed among Los Angeles residents since the fires, suggesting that she no longer enjoys the confidence of the electorate. More voters said that rival Rick Caruso should have won the 2022 election instead.
At a town hall meeting on Friday with President Trump, Bass, and other elected officials in attendance, this reporter proposed the appointment of a “special master,” along the model of the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund, to ensure that all federal money sent to California to rebuild after the fire is spent properly.
Trump endorsed the idea and appointed Ambassador Richard Grenell to search for a candidate or a committee to take up that oversight role.
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