A Modest Budgetary Blossoming

For public officials across northern Los Angeles County, spring has seemed the cruelest season for most of the past decade. That’s because the season of wildflowers and clear skies is also the season of municipal budgets. And from mammoth Los Angeles County to the tiniest cities, budget time has been a time of cuts in everything from park hours to hospital beds.

But after eight tight years, local budgets are enjoying a robust economy. So despite a few cuts here and there to keep spending lean, area residents can expect something they haven’t seen in years: modest increases.

What’s it mean? Most people probably won’t even notice the increased spending. But it means that libraries may have a few more books, that parks may offer a few more after-school programs, that much-needed fire stations may finally get built. These are the sorts of services few residents notice--until they get cut.

For instance, residents of unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County--places like Topanga Canyon and parts of the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys--might expect more after-school programs at parks funded by a small boost to the county’s recreation budget. In addition, money to hire city planners responsible for unincorporated areas may improve service to builders and residents alike. And county libraries from Quartz Hill to Agoura Hills stand to gain from a proposed hike in the book budget. At the same time, county hospitals in the Antelope and San Fernando valleys can expect enough money to maintain existing services. Nothing dramatic, but far better than the drastic cuts of the past several years.

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan spent part of last week selling his proposed budget to the San Fernando Valley, saying it includes extra money for street sweeping and repairs, money for a police training center in Granada Hills and money to repair or build at least 11 new libraries. That last promise is at least partially dependent on the passage of library bond measures. By far the best news from the mayor’s budget was an allocation for a new fire station in the northeast Valley--an area where fire service lags behind the rest of the city.

The mayor may face a tough sell in the Valley this year, though, as a momentum gathers to split from Los Angeles. Next month, a group vows to begin circulating petitions that would launch the costly process of dividing Los Angeles. The secession movement is fueled, in part, by a sense that the Valley gets shortchanged by policymakers downtown. Adding to that suspicion this year is a change in the way the mayor’s budget is reported. In the past, Valley expenditures were singled out. Now they are lumped in with the rest. It’s a wise call. The budget sets spending priorities for the entire city, and breaking out numbers for comparison is a divisive penny-for-penny exercise.

For the first time in a long time, spring seems not nearly as cruel.