Secession Study

I read about the county’s draft report estimating that the cost of studying Valley secession would be approximately $8.1 million. Although the county was supposed to estimate the cost of studying a possible secession by the Valley, it unilaterally chose to also include the costs of secession by other communities, thereby artificially inflating the cost of the study and delaying the study’s results. It appears logically appealing to say that officials are trying to make efficient use of limited resources by doing it “all at once” but this is not what they are supposed to be analyzing.

Such delaying and inflating tactics may be expected but they must be recognized for what they are--needless waste. If this is the kind of analytical information we can expect from the county, their efforts should be suspect before they begin. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to have a court-appointed board using an outside (non-California) firm to impartially analyze the costs.

WAYNE BOTTOMLEY

Sherman Oaks