Mayor’s Budget Gives Valley a Hefty Allowance

Mayor Richard Riordan’s proposed $4-billion budget is kind to the San Fernando Valley, with expenditures for a new library in Lake View Terrace, 750 miles of street improvements and continued earthquake repairs.

Still, the budget drew fairly strong criticism from West Valley Councilwoman Laura Chick, who called some of the mayor’s budget projections “play money” and predicted difficult negotiations before the City Council passes a budget for fiscal 1996-97.

“I’m anticipating that this is going to be a very difficult budget and the most difficult to negotiate and arrive at a consensus on than Mayor Riordan has put forward so far,” Chick said.

Riordan said Friday that, just as Assemblywoman Paula Boland’s bill to allow the Valley to secede from the city is making its way through the Legislature, his fiscal plan includes increases in Valley services, such as tree-trimming and a regional city hall.

“The message we want to get to the Valley is, ‘We know you’re there. We know you’ve been ignored for many years . . . We know you deserve much more.’ ”

Councilman Joel Wachs, who represents the southeast Valley, said the motivation behind Riordan’s attention to the Valley is fairly obvious.

“There’s no question that Riordan places a great emphasis on the Valley because it’s such a great source of support for him. Therefore it behooves him to make sure the Valley is not being shortchanged,” Wachs said.

For example, the budget proposal provides that 900 miles of streets citywide be added to the ranks of thoroughfares cleaned by the city. Of those, 750 miles--about 80%--are in the Valley. Of 205 miles of streets to be resurfaced, 88 are in the Valley, and of 3,200 storm drains to be repaired, 1,376 are here.

The proposal includes a plan to trim 80,318 trees next year, with nearly half of the clipping to occur in the Valley.

The mayor has proposed using $1.5 million in federal block grants for continued earthquake recovery programs and $1.6 million to build a 12,500-square-foot library in Lake View Terrace. Additional block-grant money would be used for street lighting improvements in Sun Valley and North Hollywood.

The budget also includes funding to update the community plans in Northridge, Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Sunland and Panorama City. A new community plan will be started for Canoga Park, Winnetka and Woodland Hills together, and another to serve the Reseda and west Van Nuys area. Similar plans, which act as a blueprint for development, will also be funded for Encino and Tarzana, and for Sun Valley.

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Some of the increased services, said Councilman Richard Alarcon, target areas where the Valley has been sorely neglected. For example, Alarcon said his East Valley district has long needed improved street cleaning.

“The San Fernando Valley and its residents and its businesses are going to benefit from some of the allocations in the budget,” said Chick, who praised the mayor’s proposed Valley expenditures even as she criticized other parts of the budget.

Wachs, too, was pleased with the budget’s attention to Valley concerns. “I feel the Valley is going to get its fair share,” he said. “I think the mayor is very conscious of that.”

However, Valley residents are certain to be affected by an across-the-board reduction of 1,070 municipal government jobs throughout the city, including a reduction of sworn personnel in the Fire Department and layoffs or buyouts of more than 200 employees in the departments of Building and Safety and Engineering. While most of the cuts will be made through attrition, about 360 employees will be cut or reassigned, Riordan said.

Chick said the Valley could be adversely affected by the cuts in Building and Safety because that department works to alleviate blight in the form of abandoned or run-down buildings. Other proposed cuts could increase costs to small businesses.

New jobs will be added to offset cuts, according to the budget, but those will be in different areas, and not all of the 360 employees whose positions are affected will be allowed to transfer.

The city will hire 1,200 police officers, which probably will mean a net gain of 700 new officers after attrition. It is not clear, however, how many will be deployed in the Valley.

One major expense next year is associated with the long-awaited closure of the Lopez Canyon Landfill near Lake View Terrace. Even though shutting down the landfill will eliminate 12 jobs and save operating costs, the city expects to spend an extra $5 million next year to send the waste to other locations.

All told, Riordan has proposed $133 million in spending cuts to help offset a potential budget shortfall of $240 million. Among other things, the budget calls for a $12-million reduction in police overtime and eliminates 102 sworn personnel in the Fire Department.

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The mayor said that the rest of the shortfall will be made up from increased revenues, including increased fees for parking tickets, building permits and assessments against airlines at Los Angeles International Airport.

But Chick said she is skeptical that LAX can generate extra revenue for the budget, saying that lawsuits to block assessment increases might prevent the city from collecting it. She also criticized the budget’s reliance on one-time money from grants and ballot measures.

“It’s not real money,” said Chick, whose district includes the West Valley. “In light of what we have seen happen in Orange County, and as we watch Los Angeles County struggle with its budget, we’d better not be putting Band-Aids on for the present and going for a hope and a prayer for the future.”

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