Panel Backs Firm for Secession Study

A company with experience in secession studies in New York has been ranked No. 1 among four firms competing to conduct the review of whether the San Fernando Valley and Harbor area should become their own cities, officials said Wednesday.

The Local Agency Formation Commission is scheduled Wednesday to consider a report approved by its subcommittee that gave the top ranking to Public Financial Management Inc. with a bid of $1.39 million, and the second-place ranking to DMG-Maximus, based on an evaluation of their proposals and interviews with company principals.

The subcommittee ranked KPMG third and Tama Smith & Associates fourth. One of those firms offered a bid that was $40,000 lower than Public Financial Management but the subcommittee concluded that it was not a complete offer.

“We think this one [Public Financial Management] was the superior proposal,” said County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, a member of the LAFCO subcommittee.

The recommended firm, based in Newport Beach, completed a study of a proposal for part of Long Island, N. Y., to break away from Suffolk County.

The firm impressed the subcommittee by proposing a more macro look at whether cityhood is financially viable for the Valley, Yaroslavsky said. Other firms proposed more detailed and costly analysis, he added.

“I’m satisfied that LAFCO is doing the best possible job to get the best possible consultant to do a fair and equitable job,” said City Councilman Hal Bernson, another subcommittee member.