The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to create a 15-member public health commission, avoiding the cost of a referendum that had qualified for the November ballot.

The idea for a city public health commission came from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which had gathered enough signatures to allow voters to decide the issue. Once the signatures were certified, the city council had the option of creating the commission, or placing it on the November ballot.

City Councilman Paul Koretz, 5th District, said he believes it was likely that voters would have approved the measure, and the city would have been stuck with paying for the referendum. According to media reports, the cost could have been more than $4 million.

“I don’t mind the concept of us taking a good look at public health, and I don’t mind a commission giving it a closer look. I certainly didn’t see enough wrong with it to put it on the ballot, because it would have cost millions of dollars,” Koretz said. “It’s not a bad idea, and we would have been crazy to waste money by putting it on the ballot.”

The commission will be comprised of 15 members, each selected by one of the 15 council members. According to the AHF’s proposal, the commission will publish an annual health services plan on the health needs and goals of the city. The city council would also be required to address an annual health services plan created by the commission at a public meeting.

“The city of Los Angeles is taking charge of its health services and moving to control its own destiny with regard to the health and welfare of its citizens through the creation of this L.A. City Health Commission,” AHF president Michael Weinstein said. “The commission presents a golden opportunity for increased accountability and input to city officials and residents regarding health services provided to the city. For many, the status quo was simply not working.”

AHF submitted more than 100,000 signatures from registered voters supporting a ballot measure on the new commission. Koretz said it appears the new commission would be fairly cost neutral, with the primary cost to the city likely being a salary for a staff member to coordinate the commission’s affairs. The details have yet to be worked out, he added.

Weinstein said the new commission will make a difference in how the city receives health services and responds to health crises. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health currently provides health services in Los Angeles, as well as 84 of the other 88 cities in the county.

“This could and should be a partnership that improves health outcomes while better targeting and deploying health services to city residents,” Weinstein said. “We thank the city council for recognizing the need for, and importance of, creating such a city health commission.”