A Wake-Up Call From the Valley

Earlier this week, Gov. Pete Wilson signed legislation that will probably have the greatest impact on the city of Los Angeles since Proposition 13.

The new law eliminates the City Council’s ability to stop a division of the city.

There is general agreement that Los Angeles must be restructured. Currently there are two charter reform commissions working to do that. It has yet to be seen whether either will be successful.

One commission was appointed by the City Council, which will determine whether any of its recommendations should be placed on the ballot for voter approval. The second commission is dominated by candidates supported by the city’s municipal unions. Many of them are more concerned about maintaining the status quo, if not increasing the power of the municipal unions, than restructuring the city.

The principal reason why Valley residents and business leaders have been working to allow the San Fernando Valley to become a separate city is local control. Local government needs to be local.

In Los Angeles, people have to take a day off from work to speak at a council meeting. If they live in the Valley, they have to travel hours to attend the meeting, then wait several more hours to be heard for three minutes. During those three minutes, council members may talk on the phone, do crossword puzzles or chat with their colleagues.

Because each council member represents more than 230,000 residents and has a small staff, little gets accomplished by the council offices. When a constituent calls with a problem, many council offices merely give them the telephone number of a city department. When a resident or business calls a city department, they get excuses, not solutions. They are shuffled from one person to another. They receive promises that are not fulfilled. They become very frustrated.

Part of the problem is that the city departments are protected by arcane Civil Service rules that make it almost impossible to terminate a city employee except in the most egregious situations.

Valley residents also believe that the Valley is not receiving its fair share.

A good example is the lack of a rapid transit plan for the San Fernando Valley. Valley residents and businesses have contributed more than $1.3 billion through sales taxes for a rapid transit system that we were promised would service communities across the Valley. Now we are being told that there just isn’t enough money. The most the Valley will get is a stub in North Hollywood.

No wonder people are frustrated.

The Valley receives fewer police officers than other areas of the city. Less money is being spent on roads and infrastructure. The Van Nuys City Hall is only partially occupied and has been fenced since the 1994 Northridge earthquake. City employees have been transferred downtown, far from the people they are to serve. Why should residents and business owners have to go downtown to meet with city employees?

There are benefits of the city partially financing DreamWorks construction and there are possible benefits of financing a sports arena in downtown Los Angeles.

But the first priority to Valley residents and businesses is for a safe, clean city. Social programs and subsidized business ventures are important, but only after all basic needs have been fulfilled.

Secession is already occurring in Los Angeles. Residents and businesses are moving outside the city limits. Businesses can easily move from, for instance, North Hollywood to Burbank and pay less for business taxes, less in utility taxes and have a safer and cleaner community. Why should they remain in Los Angeles?

The new law that makes it easier for communities to divide should be a wake-up call for city councils all over. Residents now can do more than merely complain about a problem. They can take action.

It will not be easy for the Valley to become a separate city. More than 120,000 signatures need to be collected from registered voters in the Valley. The Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) will evaluate the proposal to determine if it is economically feasible and can be structured in a financially neutral manner.

If LAFCO approves the formation of a new city, the proposal would have to be voted on by the entire city.

It is time for local government to become local and serve the needs of its residents and businesses. Perhaps the City Council still does have a veto power over secession. Maybe it can convince Los Angeles residents that the city can be as responsive as nearby smaller communities.