South Bay : State Sues L.A., Harbor Board Over Port Fees

Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren’s office filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Harbor Commission to recover $20 million that the port had paid the city for police and other services provided since 1977.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the State Lands Commission, which oversees trust properties such as the port, also seeks an injunction to keep the port from transferring any more money to city coffers.

For more than two years, city officials from Mayor Richard Riordan to members of the commission have been dueling with a state trust panel over how much money the port should pay for municipal services performed on its property.

The legal spat could set crucial precedents for city finances and port business. City officials say they rely on the port’s revenues as a budget resource, but shippers have insisted that the port’s cash flow, which is fed by their user fees, should be used only for improvements at the harbor.

Riordan, in a statement issued late Wednesday, said, “Challenging these payments is a direct attack on the city’s public safety plan and other vital services. That’s not OK with taxpayers, and it’s not OK with me.”