HAVE YOU BEEN LIED TO?™
THE LIE:
"Secession is a Gamble, ‘Round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows.’"
WRONG!
By Robert Colaco, Volunteer National Chairman of Citizens For A Better America ®.
The opposition to secession makes it sound like it was chance that these measures ended up on your ballot. When in fact the opposite is true. Secession is not a random act but the result of years of detailed work done by the Los Angeles County, Local
Agency Formation Commission (LALAFCO). Their mission is, "To encourage the orderly development and reorganization of Local Governmental Agencies, essential to the social, fiscal, and economic well-being of the State," (LALAFCO.org). In addition there
were years of work before that developing the idea and gathering signatures so that secession for The San Fernando Valley and Hollywood would qualify to even be considered as a ballot measure.
It was LALAFCO’s job to decide if secession was fiscally feasible for communities like the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood and San Pedro who were seeking to form their own cities and to seceed from the one they were in. If fact they decided against
putting San Pedro on the ballot this election, stating "that the Harbor Area is not fiscally viable as it stands. However, on May 22, 2002 a supplemental report was issued the further explored some alternatives that would perhaps move the Harbor Area
closer to being fiscally viable," (LALAFCO.org).
This commission is, "Established by state law (Cortese/Knox-Hertzberg Act of 2000) to discourage urban sprawl and encourage the orderly formation and development of local government agencies, the Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission
(LAFCO) is a regulatory agency with county-wide jurisdiction," (LALAFCO.org).
"LAFCO is responsible for coordinating logical and timely changes in local governmental boundaries, including annexations and detachments of territory, incorporations of cities, formations of special districts, and consolidations, mergers, and
dissolutions of districts, as well as reviewing ways to reorganize, simplify, and streamline governmental structure. In 1994, LAFCOs were given the authority to initiate proposals involving district consolidation, dissolution, establishment of subsidiary
districts, mergers, and reorganizations (combinations of the above jurisdictional changes). In addition, LAFCO is responsible for reviewing contractual service agreements between property owners and service providers," (LALAFCO.org).
This commission has operated as an impartial arbitor to decide this entire process. On "June 29, 1999 Governor Davis signed the State Budget Bill which appropriated $1,800,000.00 to fund 80% of LAFCO’s estimated cost of preparing a comprehensive
fiscal analysis for the San Fernando Valley proposal," (LALAFCO.org). This money plus funds supplied by the County of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles was how deciding all these complex matters was paid for.
LALAFCO has listened to both sides. They have listened to the City of Los Angeles and they have listened to those wanting cityhood. It was their job to decide how the assets were to be divided. They’ve had to check the math to see if figures presented
were true and accurate. They have had to decide whether the claims made by the City of Los Angeles were true and whether what the Cityhood supporters were demanding was fair.
In the end the LALAFCO comissioners were the ones who decided how the resourses now owned by the City of Los Angeles would be taken over by the new cities formed by secession. They decided how the transfer of power would take place. They determined
the transfer of police stations, fire stations, parks and other city owned properties and if there was a sufficent tax base to support those enities once the new city was completly free from the City of Los Angeles. When you review their many decision
you can see that they have acted in a fair and impartial way with due deligence.
One such decision was the transfer of power from one elected body to another. You would think from the ad campaine that there is no organized transfer of power, but that is simply not true. In fact there is a very detailed plan for the transfer of
power. For example if secession is secessful for the San Fernando Valley on November 5th those folks elected to city council seats and the mayoral seat do not take office until July 1, 2003. For those eight months after the election the San Fernando
Valley will still remain under the control of the City of Los Angeles. On July 1st the new city is incorporated and the police stations, fire stations other city owned buildings and parks as well as the Van Nuys Airport become the property of the new
city. The personal that work in those facilities and their contracts and those contractual respondsibilities are transfered to the new city. Also all the laws that are in place, stay in place and can not come up for discussion until 120 days, four
months, after the city is incorporated. That means that no changes takes place until almost a year later. You can see that this is a well thought out and detailed transfer of power.
This has not been either a simple or inexpense endevor and there is no way it has been just a random spin of the rollett wheel.?
—###—
If you would like to be removed from our Commentary and News Release List™, please let us know in writing, send an e-mail to RemoveMe@CFABA.org. If you use this story we would appreciate you sending
us a copy. Or, if you would like to receive Releases instantaneously send an e-mail to AddMe@CFABA.org! Thank you!
© copyright 2002 Citizens For A Better America ® (CFABA.org)
Publisher of the Have You Been Lied To? ™ Flyer
Robert Colaco, National Chairman, Founder.
F.E.C. ID #C00278333
Site Directory
