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City Council approves response to LAFCO on Harbor-area secession; urges further review
Summary
The Los Angeles City Council voted to forward the city's fiscal response on proposed Harbor-area reorganization to the Local Agency Formation Commission while urging LAFCO to address outstanding employee, debt and service questions before any ballot measure.
Councilmember Hahn urged the City Council on Wednesday to forward the city's fiscal response on a proposed Harbor-area secession to the Local Agency Formation Commission while pressing LAFCO to resolve outstanding financial and charter issues before voters decide.
Hahn told the council she had received a 600-page report and recommended sending that report to LAFCO "so that when we all vote on this issue, we have every bit of information we need to decide" whether areas should secede.
The measure the council approved is the city's formal response to LAFCO's initial fiscal analysis and to the applicants' reorganization proposal. Councilmember Misakowski described the report as a "technical" financial response that is neutral on secession and is intended to identify gaps and discrepancies for LAFCO to address in its comprehensive fiscal analysis.
Council members pressed several practical concerns at the meeting: how to divide city employees and debt, whether a new city could sustain services at current levels, and the effect on services such as policing and sewer management. Councilmember Holden said residents "want to at least be given a consideration where they can decide up or down" but warned voters need facts on water, sewer and police response times. Councilmember Zine and others argued the study will show "liabilities" and costs, and urged voters to weigh the full analysis.
The council voted to approve the report and transmit it to LAFCO; the clerk recorded 13 ayes. Council members emphasized the decision to forward the city's response does not resolve the outstanding questions and urged that LAFCO address them as it prepares any ballot placement, which several council members said could be targeted for the November 2002 ballot.
The council record and discussion indicate the vote was to send the city's financial response to LAFCO for inclusion in LAFCO's proceeding and comprehensive fiscal review. Council members and staff repeatedly framed the action as procedural: forwarding a technical analysis, not adopting a decision on secession itself.
Councilmembers also noted related policy work would continue locally: Hahn said she would pursue harbor-area concerns, such as the Port of Los Angeles issues, independently of the secession process.
No formal amendment to the report or additional binding direction to staff was recorded in the council minutes for this item.
