Offer to Fund Study of Cityhood

At an unannounced summit of state, county and city leaders, San Fernando Valley secessionists Thursday said they will pay as much as $500,000 of the costs of studying cityhood, which have been estimated as high as $3.3 million.

The money would be raised by private donation, and the offer is part of a proposed deal under which the remainder of the cost would be paid for by the state and county.

Richard Close, chairman of the secession group Valley VOTE, said the offer is an attempt to resolve differences with city, county and state officials over the expenses without having to go to court for a protracted legal battle.

“We don’t feel legally or morally we’re obligated to pay for any of this, but in the spirit of compromise, we’ve shown our willingness to come up with some funding,” Close said.

Valley secession is authorized by state law, so the state should pay for most of the cost of analyzing the cityhood proposal, according to Tom Jackson, chairman of the Local Agency Formation Commission and a Huntington Park city councilman.

“The state is mandating what we do so they should pay for what is mandated,” Jackson said in an interview.

County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky agreed that the bulk of the analysis’ cost be borne by the state, with the rest shared by the county, city and Valley VOTE, the applicant for the study.

“What we’re striving to do is have everybody bear a fair share of the burden,” said Yaroslavsky, who was represented at the summit by an aide. Jackson, saying he was not speaking as agency chief, suggested that about 75% to 80% of the remaining study costs be paid for by the state and the other 20% to 25% be covered by the county.

The two-hour closed-door meeting was held at the Renaissance Hotel near Los Angeles International Airport. It was hosted by the state Commission on Local Governance for the 21st Century, an agency created by the state Legislature.

Representatives of Mayor Richard Riordan, an ardent foe of secession, and the City Council attended. Rob Glushon, a Valley VOTE attorney, described the session as “politely contentious.”

The city is willing to provide data, including a list of assets and tax information, that is necessary for the study to determine whether Valley cityhood would be revenue neutral to the two resulting cities, according to mayoral Chief of Staff Kelly Martin and Ron Deaton, the City Council’s chief legislative analyst.

However, Martin and Deaton told the other summit participants that others, not the city, should bear the out-of-pocket costs of analyzing the data provided by the city.

At one point, Deaton suggested the city should put the issue to a vote of residents. Deaton said the call for a vote was not a serious proposal, but was instead an attempt to emphasize that most Los Angeles residents have had no say about whether there should be a secession study.

No final agreement was reached. But commission Chairman Ben Williams said the session was helpful because the various parties staked out positions on who should pay for the study.

That input, and testimony at a May 10 public hearing, will help the state commission recommend a funding plan to the state Legislature.

“To the extent that the parties are showing that in fact they are going to be incurring costs, that’s useful information,” Williams said.

Under Valley VOTE’s proposal the secession group would pay for two of the seven steps of the cityhood application: identifying what data is needed for a study of the impact of cityhood, and preparing the reorganization plan after the study that details which assets and liabilities would go to the Valley and which would go to Los Angeles.

By agreeing to pick up the tab for that part of the process, Valley VOTE would keep control over how the new Valley city would look, said Jeff Brain, the group’s president.

Yaroslavsky and Close said once Valley VOTE identifies what data are needed, LAFCO would request the information for affected government agencies, the city would compile the databases and LAFCO would analyze the data. Valley VOTE would then prepare a reorganization proposal that the city would respond to. LAFCO would prepare the final plan and fiscal analysis for consideration by voters.

The steps that are LAFCO’s responsibility have been estimated to cost about $2.8 million.

State law could allow LAFCO to bill the city for up to 30% of the cost of the analysis, Close maintained.