Aug. 21--Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson on Friday introduced a motion that could grant Mayor Eric Garcetti wide authority to negotiate a deal with Olympic officials to host the 2024 Summer Games.
The motion authorizes Garcetti and Wesson to sign a legally binding agreement with the U.S. Olympic Committee as part of the city's pursuit of the Games, which are estimated to cost $4.1 billion and which the mayor has said would be guaranteed against financial overruns by L.A. taxpayers.
Wesson's motion, which the council could vote on as soon as next week, is a crucial step forward in the city's wooing of Olympic officials. Although the IOC will not select a host city until 2017, the joinder agreement raises questions about how much influence the city's legislative body will have over the Olympic bid's progress.
The agreement, called a joinder, appears to limit further legislative action before the city would possibly enter into a contract with the International Olympic Committee two years from now. It states that no "legislative, rule-making or administrative action, referendum or other electoral action" is required after the joinder is signed for the city to enter into a contract with the IOC.
However, a companion document to the agreement -- not included in the paperwork provided to the council but shared with The Times by senior mayoral aide Jeff Millman -- states that the final IOC contract "will require formal adoption by the Los Angeles City Council."
Wesson's resolution in support of the joinder also states that the council, as well as the mayor, "must review and approve" the ultimate contract. The joinder also states that the city can make no assurances about the appearance of a ballot initiative affecting the Olympic agreement.
Wesson said in an interview Friday that he did not see the joinder as a blank check for the mayor's office to pursue the Games, but as the beginning of the council's involvement in what has so far been a largely behind-the-scenes bid effort.
"We want to make sure that this is thoroughly vetted," he said. "I think going forward we have the opportunity to put together a pretty tight deal."
Unless the city attorney advises against it, Wesson said, he anticipated that documents detailing the financial projections for a 2024 Olympics in L.A. would be made public before the council votes. Wesson said he expects to review those documents, which the mayor's office has so far refused to disclose, later today.
"I don't see how you can keep them not" public, Wesson said. "This is very important, and this could be an opportunity to build community trust."
Despite the prestige and publicity that come with hosting the Olympic Games, concerns about the event's financial implications have come to the forefront for American cities contemplating hosting the event.
Boston, the U.S. Olympic Committee's first choice of bidder for the 2024 Games, backed out after Mayor Marty Walsh said he was unwilling to agree to the IOC's demand that a host city guarantee it will pay for any financial overruns.
Garcetti says he is willing to provide such a financial backstop, although he insists it will not be necessary.
He and sports executive Casey Wasserman, who has collaborated with his office on preparing the 2024 bid, say the overall budget for hosting the Games in L.A. would be $4.5 billion, including a $400 million contingency fund for excess costs or revenue shortfalls. They predict a $150 million surplus from the event.
Wesson declined to say whether he agreed with the mayor's willingness to provide a guarantee for cost overruns, saying he would have to further study the issue. However, he said that L.A. was in a "much stronger position" to negotiate favorable terms with both the U.S. and International Olympic Committee after Boston's withdrawal.
"I see the opportunity for additional protections" for the city, he said.
UPDATE
2:30 p.m.: This post has been updated with additional details from the City Council motion and a new document provided by a senior aide to the mayor.
The post was originally published at 12:17 p.m.
