Motion would instruct City Attorney Mike Feuer to report to the council within 10 days on whether Controller Ron Galperin could legally suspend Ridley-Thomas’ pay.
Ridley-Thomas sued the city and Galperin last month, seeking a ruling to strike down the decision as unlawful, along with attorneys’ fees.
Chelsea Lucktenberg, Galperin’s acting director of communications, declined comment, citing matters related to pending litigation.“Although we are prepared to demonstrate in court that the controller had no legal basis for his actions, it would be far better for the council to rectify this abuse of authority and immediately restore Councilmember Ridley-Thomas’s compensation,” Nix-Hines said in a statement.
Last week, Council Members Paul Krekorian and Gil Cedillo signed onto a motion requesting the city attorney to report back within 30 days on the controller’s legal authority on suspending the pay of a city employee, along with the council’s options if it disagrees with a decision made by the controller.
Krekorian’s motion claims that if such an ability is within the controller’s purview, “there is real risk that a future controller might stop paying public employees” if the employee doesn’t conform to the controller’s subjective view of what their “duty” should be. A spokesperson for Galperin said at the time that the city charter allows the controller to stop salary payments when a public employee is “not devoting their time to their duties,” according to Krekorian’s motion.Herb Wesson, who was appointed to act as Ridley-Thomas’ temporary replacement, was blocked from representing the district after Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Strobel issued a temporary restraining order on July 19 preventing Wesson from performing any council functions.