SAN FERNANDO : Yaroslavsky Meets With Latino Group

In his first formal meeting with San Fernando Valley-based Latino leaders, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky on Thursday outlined Los Angeles County’s grim budget picture and fielded questions on topics ranging from affirmative action to lagging health services.

“We have a big problem,” Yaroslavsky told an audience of about 40 people in San Fernando. “The county is spending $1 billion more than it’s been taking in. That’s the problem.

“It’s not very complicated, really. The county has been using a credit card. That credit has a limit and we’re very near it.”

The meeting was hosted by the San Fernando Valley chapter of the Mexican American Political Assn., a national group that promotes Latino activism in politics, education and civil rights.

Yaroslavsky criticized the temporary fixes he said were used to balance earlier county budgets, saying a combination of program cuts, tax increases and restructuring how government does business will be necessary to address the area’s fiscal problems.

“Each year we wait to get our financial house in order the more painful the solution is,” Yaroslavsky said. “There are other supervisors and I hope you let them know there is life after tax increases.”

MAPA officials and other community leaders questioned Yaroslavsky’s stance on affirmative action and expressed an interest in having Latinos participate on both his staff and on supervisor-appointed boards.

“This is the most diverse district in the United States,” Yaroslavsky said. “If there’s any place that affirmative action makes sense, it’s here. And it makes sense in a lot of other places, too.”

Yaroslavsky also acknowledged concerns that, even before recently proposed budget cuts to area medical centers, better health services are necessary in the San Fernando Valley.