Bringing in the ninth chief executive in 10 years, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is scheduled to announce he is appointing First Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner to serve as interim general manager of the Department of Water and Power.
Beutner, who will continue with his responsibilities overseeing a dozen city agencies involved with economic development, will take over for David Freeman, whose six-month term expired last week. Coming in on the heels of the controversy over an energy rate increase, Beutner said the mayor is charging him with several tasks in the utility’s relationship with residents and the City Council.
Also on Beutner’s agenda is beginning to develop more transparency on what the DWP does and how it does it as well as develop a plan to install a ratepayer advocacte. Villaraigosa has said he believes the job should be within the office of Controller Wendy Greuel, while others believe it should be a completely independent post.
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