2 Councilmen Seek Ways to Fund Secession Studies

Reaching across the city, council members backing cityhood studies for the San Fernando Valley and the harbor area joined forces Tuesday to formally request that the city identify funds to help pay for the work.

Councilmen Joel Wachs of Studio City and Rudy Svorinich Jr. of San Pedro moved that city officials report on the cost of potential studies of secession for the Valley, harbor, Eastside and Westside, and report on potential funding sources.

Svorinich and Wachs said the city should pay part of the cost of cityhood studies, including one triggered last week when Valley secessionists turned in more than 132,000 valid signatures seeking a review by the Local Agency Formation Commission of the economic impact of a municipal breakup.

Wachs signed the Valley petition seeking the study, but he said he wants to see the results before taking a position on Valley cityhood. He said the city, county and state should all pay for a share of the study, which is estimated to cost $1.8 million to $2.6 million just for the Valley secession issue.

Most council members are undecided, and some, including council members Richard Alatorre, Rita Walters and Laura Chick, oppose city funding.

“I’m trying to figure out where the dollars are to deliver all of the services that the people of my district and the rest of the city need and deserve,” Chick said. “I don’t see that we have millions of dollars in city taxpayer money at this point in time to be spent on a study.”