A Thanks to Bernson for Reversal on CRA

We would like to congratulate Councilman Hal Bernson for having the fortitude to reverse his opinion, in public, as to the wisdom of allowing the CRA to operate in his 12th District. Many of us, his constituents, had written to him and the City Council warning them that the CRA has its own idea of what should be done with our money.

We warned that the CRA was uncontrolled and uncontrollable. Councilman Bernson’s committee had worked long and hard to forge a plan that would not have had most of the ills of other CRA plans. It soon became evident that the CRA was bent on emasculating the plan before it was voted into operation. When he saw that he could not control the CRA, Mr. Bernson realized that we were right and withdrew his support of the plan for the CRA administration of the Earthquake Recovery Plan for the 12th District. Thank you, Councilman Bernson, for heeding our warning.

As it is presently set up, the CRA is a cancer in our state. It is trying to spread its blight. It has the power to incur bonded indebtedness without voter consent and does so with no control of supervision from any other body. It has used this power and uses these funds for whatever purpose, without control or supervision.

The CRA uses tax money that should be used for the usual public services--police, fire, schools and so on. Tax-increment funding of the CRA is an attempt, so far successful, by the state Legislature to circumvent the voter’s rejection of bonded indebtedness in past elections. This law needs to be repealed. The Los Angeles County Grand Jury report for 1993-94 makes this need very evident. It lists many abuses by the CRA of its power.

As the voters made abundantly clear last election, what we need and want is cost cutting in government spending at all levels, not increased taxes and not increased bonded indebtedness.

JEROME E. SMITH

NORMA J. SMITH

Chatsworth