Monday, February 22, 1999
Merchants petition for head to quit
BUSINESS: Owners say director inefficient; board plans for ways
to improve
By Christine Byrd
Daily Bruin Contributor
Westwood merchants are circulating a petition to force the
resignation of the executive director of a commerce organization in
the area, citing inefficient spending of funds and failure to
improve business in the village.
At the meeting of the Westwood Business Improvement District’s
(BID) board of directors this Thursday, Mike Haas, owner of the
Great Chicago Dog on Weyburn Avenue and author of the petition,
plans to present the document demanding the resignation of Bob
Walsh, the executive director of the district.
The BID has an annual budget of nearly a $250,000, paid by
merchants and landowners in the village in an effort to improve
Westwood business. The petition is the fruition of deep-rooted
frustrations over the economic downfall of Westwood over the past
decade.
"We’re in a down right now," said Robert Schwartz, who runs
Baskin Robbin’s on Kinross Avenue and is a new member of the BID’s
board of directors.
"When I first came here in 1983, they used to close the streets
off at night because the streets were packed with people," he
added.
Merchants in the village want to see Westwood restored to at
least some level of its former success, and those who are angry say
they have seen no significant improvement in conditions within the
three years the BID has been operating.
"I want to see where the merchants’ money is going," Schwartz
said.
The list of complaints against the BID is lengthy, including a
lack of accountability regarding funds, an excessive salary for the
executive director, failure of committees to meet regularly, voting
board members who do not pay into the BID, and inadequate
advertising for the parking structure on Broxton Avenue.
The petition specifically blames the BID’s failures on the
executive director, Walsh, and expresses a vote of "no confidence"
in him, asking that he resign or be fired by the board.
So far, 95 members of the BID – representing over 20 percent of
the businesses in Westwood – have signed the petition, according to
Haas.
Walsh said he does not plan to resign when the petition is
presented and does not have the impression that the board plans to
fire him.
"I work at the pleasure of the board," Walsh said. "Every
program they wanted has been accomplished."
According to the petition, the executive director’s salary and
benefits of $130,000 per year are too high. The petition calls for
a new director’s salary to be capped at $75,000.
"A hundred and thirty thousand dollars a year for a director of
that type would usually be paid only in a zone four times as large
as Westwood. It’s crazy." Haas said.
But Walsh said the salary was set by the board of directors
before he was hired and has remained constant for the three years
the BID has been in operation.
"They set the salary based on the profile and type of individual
they wanted to be able to hire and maintain," Walsh said.
Total administrative expenses for the Westwood BID are between
30 and 40 percent of the its annual budget, while the Los Angeles
Times reports that the national average for such costs is only 12
to 15 percent.
"The administrative budget has been the same or less every year
I’ve been here," Walsh said. "How it relates to other BIDs is like
comparing apples to oranges."
Still, some Westwood merchants and owners feel there is little
evidence that the $2 million they have collectively paid into the
BID has effectively helped local business.
"Westwood was dying and is still dying after three years of the
BID," Haas said. "The village is 35 percent vacant."
A group of merchants descended on a meeting of the board in
September to voice complaints, express dissatisfaction with Walsh,
and ask for change.
"It was the first time I’ve actually felt like merchants cared
about the BID, instead of just using it as a scapegoat," said Sol
Solzer, treasurer of the board and owner of City Bean Coffee on
Lindbrook Avenue.
After this meeting, five merchants were appointed to the board,
some of whom had protested.
"It’s been a real eye-opener for me to be on the board and on
three different committees," said Cheri Schekman, an owner of
Schlotzsky’s Deli on Broxton Avenue and one of the new members of
the board.
Schekman said she would like to see more of her fellow merchants
donate time to committees to fix the problems they have with the
BID because most of the decisions are made at the committee
level.
"Merchant participation is vital – not just to the continuation
of the BID – but to the survival of the village," she said.
Those still advocating Walsh’s removal, such as Haas, say that
the committees still do nothing, and they blame the executive
director for it.
"We haven’t seen a tremendous amount of change," Schekman said.
"A lot of us expected to see immediate results, and my involvement
has shown me that we can’t expect that."
While members of the BID generally agree that some level of
change is essential and will be brought about by a grassroots
movement in the village, they are divided over whether to work
through the established committee system or to use the petition to
oust the executive director and re-organize from the top down.
"Let’s not just put it down on paper and say, ‘I’m pissed off.’"
said Solzer, who has been a member of the board since its
establishment. "It’s another thing to do something about it."
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]