City Council Factions Compromise on Quake Funds for Seniors : Recovery: Agreement ends for now a dispute between Valley and South L.A. lawmakers over how to disburse disaster money--equally or based on severity of damage.

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved a last-minute compromise to distribute quake funding for senior citizens, narrowly averting a turf battle that had been brewing between lawmakers from the San Fernando Valley and those from South Los Angeles.

But Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, who represents Hollywood and surrounding areas, still blasted her colleagues for two recent instances of divisive arguments over earthquake funds.

“I’m increasingly disturbed by the notion that there has to be a ‘we’ and ‘they’ in our disaster recovery plan,” she said. “I think that shows a real failure of leadership.”

A clash over allocation of $2.2 million in federal grants had loomed ever since last week when three Valley council members, acting as the council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Earthquake Recovery, recommended increasing funding for Valley seniors and slashing funds for South Los Angeles communities.

The move angered South Los Angeles lawmakers, who said seniors in those communities need help recovering from the quake even though their neighborhoods did not suffer the heaviest damage.

On the recommendation of Councilman Joel Wachs, the council voted 11 to 1 for a compromise plan that boosts the funding for both the Valley and South Los Angeles with surplus dollars intended for use during the second year of the grant program.

“I am really hopeful that this will balance the recognition that the Valley has great needs and the recognition that there are seniors in need throughout the city,” said Wachs, who represents parts of the northeast Valley.

Under the program, grants will be used to help relocate seniors from damaged homes, fund repairs and provide legal assistance and transportation, among other services.

The council’s compromise was good news for Evelyn Knight, the executive director of the People-Coordinated Multipurpose Senior Center in the Crenshaw district. Under the compromise motion, her center gets $140,000 instead of the $75,000 that was proposed by the earthquake recovery panel.

She said some of the money will pay staff to help senior citizens apply for federal and state emergency assistance. “We have a lot of people who are frail and unable to get through the various bureaucracies,” she said after the meeting.

Although a full-blown turf war was avoided at Wednesday’s council meeting, some bickering broke out, making it the second time in so many months that Valley and South Los Angeles council members have clashed over quake funds.

Councilman Hal Bernson, whose Northridge-based district was hit hardest in the quake, cast the sole dissenting vote, arguing that the money should be distributed based on severity of damage.

Producing a chart that lists the amount of quake damage in each council district, Bernson argued that the compromise plan gives South Los Angeles areas more money than they deserve.

“We are not trying to play one end of the city against the other end of the city as Mr. Wachs has portrayed,” he said. “We are trying to address dollars to where the damage took place.”

The previous squabble over quake funding was ignited last month when Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who represents parts of South Los Angeles, led a move to cut the Valley’s share of $47 million in housing funds. Instead, he recommended, funding should be increased for low-income housing citywide.

Ridley-Thomas angered Valley lawmakers when he engineered the switch while three Valley council members were absent. At a subsequent meeting, and in the presence of the Valley members, the council reversed itself and restored the full Valley allocation.

The latest controversy over senior grants began when a committee led by Councilwoman Rita Walters approved an allocation plan that set aside about a quarter of the $2.2 million for four senior services centers in South and South-Central Los Angeles. Walters represents parts of downtown and South-Central Los Angeles. The rest of the funding was earmarked for the Valley, under Walters plan.

When the proposal was forwarded to the earthquake recovery committee, Valley Council members Bernson, Richard Alarcon and Laura Chick voted to increase by more than $100,000 the funding to Valley senior services agencies and slash nearly $200,000 from senior centers in South Los Angeles.

Wachs’ compromise restored the cuts proposed for South Los Angeles and kept intact the increases suggested for the Valley. The additional money was drawn from $1.8 million in unallocated dollars set aside for the program’s second year.

Supporters of the compromise said it is fair because it disburses the money more evenly and they lauded it for derailing a major funding feud.

Councilman Mike Hernandez, who represents part of East Los Angeles, said seniors in his district have not received their fair share of city services for more than 20 years and should get a portion of the funding even though quake damage was not extensive there.

“I’m still looking forward to the day when every Angeleno is treated the same,” he said.

Ridley-Thomas said that he supported the compromise for now.