The Issue of Local Officials Attending League Conference

The recent press commentary criticizing Orange County elected officials for attending the League of California Cities annual conference in San Francisco at taxpayers’ expense is unwarranted (“City Officials to Be Out in Force at S.F. Meeting,” Oct. 10).

Newly elected officials quickly learn they know very little about the legal, financial and legislative details of municipal government. They need to be exposed to an enormous amount of written material and shared practical experience if they are to become effective, productive political leaders in their communities. The league conference provides them with information on the process of governing, their legal responsibilities and limitations, and an understanding of the impacts of Sacramento legislation.

The conference is a valuable resource for all locally elected officials to meet with their counterparts throughout California. We discuss and exchange ideas on widely disparate issues, such as how to direct more money from Sacramento to the local communities and the prevention of police abuse. Officials at this year’s conference participated in workshops on financing capital-improvement projects, understanding Environmental Quality Act reviews, and harnessing neighborhood resources, to name a few.

As a private citizen, I may have no great need to understand all the intricacies of funding a capital-improvement project. As an elected official, I have a responsibility to understand.

Locally elected officials are basically volunteers. They receive small remuneration for the many hours they devote to their communities. Most sacrifice time and personal income from their regular careers as business people, professionals, technicians, etc., to attend this conference. The taxpayers’ investment in air fare ($78 in the case of Irvine officials) and hotel rooms is returned many times in the form of more knowledgeable and better-prepared elected officials.

SALLY ANNE SHERIDAN. Sally Anne Sheridan is president of the Orange County Division of the League of California Cities and mayor of Irvine.