SIMI VALLEY, THOUSAND OAKS : 2 Cities Represented at National Meeting

Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks are spending $18,400 to send representatives to the National League of Cities Conference in Washington this weekend.

Seven Simi Valley officials and six from Thousand Oaks left Friday for the four-day conference, which begins today. The annual conference draws hundreds of city officials from around the country.

Simi Valley will spend $8,400 on the trip, while Thousand Oaks has budgeted about $10,000, officials said. The money covers hotel, meals and travel expenses.

Simi Valley Councilman Bill Davis said the conference provides city officials an opportunity to meet directly with their federal representatives and to push for the city’s share of funds and programs.

“People always question you about this,” Davis said of the expenses incurred by the trip. “But there are a lot of issues that can be ironed out much better this way than to go through other channels.”

Davis and MaryJane Lazz, assistant city manager of Thousand Oaks, said officials from their cities plan to meet with Congressman Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) as well as representatives from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Officials from other cities in the county, including Oxnard and Ventura, said they usually don’t attend the conference because of the expense involved.

Lauraine Brekke, assistant city manager of Ventura, said council members from her city prefer to attend the California League of Cities Conference in the fall.