Members of the Los Angeles City Council voiced their frustrations on Tuesday after learning that the city had only issued four building permits since the Palisades Fire — while paying $10 million to Hagerty Consulting for a “report.”
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass proudly announced in February that the city had set up a “one-stop” center for residents affected by the fire to obtain permits to rebuild their homes without enduring the usual city bureaucratic processes.
However, as local ABC News affiliate KABC-7 reported, only four permits have been issued in the past six weeks.
KABC quoted Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, as she expressed her outrage:
Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Palisades and attended the [city council] meeting, says that’s not acceptable.
“When I hear in the community meeting like we had today that only four permits have been issued — and we’re on day 75 post-fire — that is concerning to me,” Park said. “And I don’t think it’s a lack of interest in rebuilding, I suspect it is indicative of systemic issues that we need to continue to focus on.”
Likewise, City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez questioned the $10 million the city spent on Hagerty Consultants:
“We have city departments who know how to do this recovery, who have been involved in recovery efforts in the past,” Councilmember Monica Rodriguez told ABC7. “And yet they can’t be afforded the opportunity to hire the personnel that they need, but we can give a $10 million contract to an outside agency to help write a report for us.”
Rodriguez called the Hagerty contract “obscene.”
As Breitbart News reported in February: “the city hired the consulting firm in a secretive process. The amount and terms of the contract have yet to be revealed to the public. Hagerty was hired despite two former consultants for the firm recently pleading guilty to defrauding New York City of federal relief funds during the Hurricane Sandy disaster recovery.”
When Breitbart News asked Bass about the Hagerty contract at the time, she said:
Hagerty is a world-renowned disaster recovery firm that has a long track record in the State of California. … The county and the city are aligned with Hagerty. And so they will do the overall project management. We are confident in their ability to get the job done. They have a proven track record in the state of California; they have a proven track record with the county. They will be working hand-in-glove with our local government to make sure that we get the job done. And they are beginning in the next few days.
With only four permits approved, Hagerty’s role is now attracting further scrutiny. Tuesday’s meeting was the first time members of the L.A. City Council openly questioned the contract.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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