County Delays Decision on Secession Study Cost

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has put off a decision on whether to help pay for a study of Valley secession until January, when officials expect to have an estimate of what such a study would cost.

Valley VOTE, the group spearheading efforts to put the secession question before Los Angeles voters, had asked supervisors to pony up $500,000 toward the cost of a study, which it said would cost about $1 million.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich submitted a motion calling for the $500,000 appropriation, and Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky offered a compromise motion under which the county would pay up to $333,000.

But Larry Calemine, director of the agency charged with studying the feasibility and costs of secession and possible incorporation of a new city in the Valley, said no such estimate has been developed.

Instead, he said, that agency--a county-funded body called the Local Agency Formation Commission--is expected to vote on setting up a preliminary investigation to assess costs of a formal secession study.

Results of the preliminary inquiry, called a scoping study, are expected to be ready in mid-January.

Jeff Brain, president of Valley VOTE, had urged supervisors to appropriate funds even though a formal estimate on study costs had not yet been made.

By coming forward with money now, Brain said, the county would send a message to the city and county that the city should also provide funding.

But Meiling Dai, a Sunland resident and member of the city Mobile Home Task Force, to refrain.

“This motion is unfair and unethical, because it forces county residents who are opposed to secession to pay for it,” Dai said. “County taxes should only go to pay for needed services.”

Led by Supervisor Don Knabe, whose district includes the San Pedro-Wilmington area, where another secession drive is underway, the board voted to delay a decision on helping to pay for the study until a scoping report is completed.

Under state law, the county is not required to fund such a study, but secession supporters say the cost would probably be too high for either the Local Agency Formation Commission or private donors to underwrite without assistance.