An article by Tony Barboza in the Los Angeles Times for March 6, 2009 ("Enclave Cherishes Its Independence," p. A12), prompts me to write about the maps of cities in our various California counties. Take a good look and you will find pockmarks all over.
The reason is that we have allowed city boundaries to develop in a way that allows areas to be excluded, in some cases surrounded, by cities. Sometimes this was because they were poor and the cities did not want responsibility for providing services to areas which did not produce tax revenue adequate to cover the cost of providing services. In other cases the residents of an area were suspicious of the intentions of a city. Developers often wanted to be outside city boundaries because they felt they had a better chance to build if they worked with county planners.
However, what has happened is that folks looking at the short-term have failed to consider what might happen in the long-term. Enclaves attract people who want no part of city policing, or who do not want to be held to neighborhood standards. I understand this attitude, and sympathize with people who feel this way, but wonder if these enclaves should then be forgotten, as most of them have been.
There was a time when an enclave might enjoy lower taxes if they stayed outside a city, but with the one percent tax limitation this argument no longer applies.
Do we really want to have these neighborhoods left out?
Do we really want to live in a place next to an enclave, with different planning, different services perhaps at a significantly lower level, and different policiing, often based on a sheriff's station miles away with the added cost of mileage and communications?
The situation is not as bad as it has been in the past. The enclaves are being annexed gradually. However, the situation ought to demand more attention than it has.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Where Cities Fail in Los Angeles County
Few citizens have any understanding of what councilmembers do other than attend social events, talk with the media, and council meetings.
If a councilmember is hardworking, the job involves attending many meetings at the county, state and even national level. One of the ways I served during my terms as a mayor was to attend the monthly meetings of the City Selection Committee, which chose different council members to represent the cities on such boards as the Air Quality Management District.
In 1993 the City Selection Committee needed to fill a vacancy on the AQMD board, and Nell Soto of the Pomona City Council let us know she would like to be selected. I don't recall anyone else being interested. I was certainly busy enough teaching full time (to earn a living) and serving on the council, taking my turns as mayor and participating on various committees.
It seemed that Nell would be appointed right away.
However, the process took ten months because three cities led by Bob Bartlett argued that Nell was not qualified, and refused to vote for her. She had the support of at least 60% of the mayors, but a two-thirds approval was required, and the simple fact was that usually a third of the mayors did not even show up at the monthly meetings. For nine months we were a few votes shy of electing Nell Soto to the ACMD board. During that time Bob Bartlett never explained why he opposed Nell, or why he felt she was not qualified. Bob Bartlett did not run for the seat, or get anyone else to run.
One evening we found ourselves one vote away from having the two-thirds and we agreed to stay until we could get one more mayor to show up. Someone had John Ferraro's number. Neither he as the president of the Los Angeles City Council (and the Mayor's alternate) or the Mayor of Los Angeles ever attended the meetings, but that night John Ferraro agreed to get up, get dressed, and attend our meeting.
Nell Soto got the job she wanted, led the charge to clean up the perchlorates poisoning the groundwater of the San Gabriel Valley, and later served in the state assembly and the state senate. She died February 26, 2009, at the age of 82.
Sadly, our cities went without any representation on the AQMD board for almost a year because a few mayors did not see the point in taking their time to make the system work.
If a councilmember is hardworking, the job involves attending many meetings at the county, state and even national level. One of the ways I served during my terms as a mayor was to attend the monthly meetings of the City Selection Committee, which chose different council members to represent the cities on such boards as the Air Quality Management District.
In 1993 the City Selection Committee needed to fill a vacancy on the AQMD board, and Nell Soto of the Pomona City Council let us know she would like to be selected. I don't recall anyone else being interested. I was certainly busy enough teaching full time (to earn a living) and serving on the council, taking my turns as mayor and participating on various committees.
It seemed that Nell would be appointed right away.
However, the process took ten months because three cities led by Bob Bartlett argued that Nell was not qualified, and refused to vote for her. She had the support of at least 60% of the mayors, but a two-thirds approval was required, and the simple fact was that usually a third of the mayors did not even show up at the monthly meetings. For nine months we were a few votes shy of electing Nell Soto to the ACMD board. During that time Bob Bartlett never explained why he opposed Nell, or why he felt she was not qualified. Bob Bartlett did not run for the seat, or get anyone else to run.
One evening we found ourselves one vote away from having the two-thirds and we agreed to stay until we could get one more mayor to show up. Someone had John Ferraro's number. Neither he as the president of the Los Angeles City Council (and the Mayor's alternate) or the Mayor of Los Angeles ever attended the meetings, but that night John Ferraro agreed to get up, get dressed, and attend our meeting.
Nell Soto got the job she wanted, led the charge to clean up the perchlorates poisoning the groundwater of the San Gabriel Valley, and later served in the state assembly and the state senate. She died February 26, 2009, at the age of 82.
Sadly, our cities went without any representation on the AQMD board for almost a year because a few mayors did not see the point in taking their time to make the system work.
Huge Impersonal Government
One of the best attributes of a smaller government is the esprit de corps which the staff enjoys. I have seen this in the formation of the City of Santa Clarita. We started to form our government on Dec. 16, 1987, the day after incorporation. The Council had hired a city manager and borrowed a room with a couple of old desks and phones. At first the manager and a local lady who knew a lot of people were the only staff.
We had a city of 110,000-plus population to run, but enjoyed a smooth transition while we contracted with the County of Los Angeles for services we were not prepared to provide. A month later we moved into a storefront with ten desks, and six months after that we occupied the third floor of an office building, which we bought later.
Why the quick expansion? It was cheaper to hire the staff, rent the space and buy the equipment to provide services than to contract with the county.
I served on the city council for three terms, from the date of incorporation until my retirement at the end of a term in 1998, and as we grew I reveled in the spirit of our growing staff. It was huge for me because I had been teaching in the Los Angeles City Schools since 1963, and I can recall only one pleasant contact with district staff outside of the schools in which I taught.
Through the process of incorporating Santa Clarita I had many dealings with the county. Yes, those who took the time to talk with me were pleasant, helpful, and often candid. However, the phone contacts were very frustrating, as the people who answered the phones seldom knew how to help or to whom I should talk.
I've been retired for over ten years, so most of our local city staff see me as just another citizen. However, when I call the city I still enjoy the spirit of helpfulness that goes with the ability to respond easily to questions. Our organization is small enough (even though our population is now about 180,000) that staff members know their way around, and how to solve problems.
It is just not that way in a county of ten million people, larger in population than 60% of the countries of the world.
When I think of how I felt as a teacher in the LAUSD, and as a public servant in Santa Clarita, I am sure that county employees would really take pride in, and enjoy working for, smaller counties.
County supervisors and many others in government wonder about the growing lack of civility exhibited by their constituents. There is a solution. We need simply to start working to put a more personal face on county organization.
We had a city of 110,000-plus population to run, but enjoyed a smooth transition while we contracted with the County of Los Angeles for services we were not prepared to provide. A month later we moved into a storefront with ten desks, and six months after that we occupied the third floor of an office building, which we bought later.
Why the quick expansion? It was cheaper to hire the staff, rent the space and buy the equipment to provide services than to contract with the county.
I served on the city council for three terms, from the date of incorporation until my retirement at the end of a term in 1998, and as we grew I reveled in the spirit of our growing staff. It was huge for me because I had been teaching in the Los Angeles City Schools since 1963, and I can recall only one pleasant contact with district staff outside of the schools in which I taught.
Through the process of incorporating Santa Clarita I had many dealings with the county. Yes, those who took the time to talk with me were pleasant, helpful, and often candid. However, the phone contacts were very frustrating, as the people who answered the phones seldom knew how to help or to whom I should talk.
I've been retired for over ten years, so most of our local city staff see me as just another citizen. However, when I call the city I still enjoy the spirit of helpfulness that goes with the ability to respond easily to questions. Our organization is small enough (even though our population is now about 180,000) that staff members know their way around, and how to solve problems.
It is just not that way in a county of ten million people, larger in population than 60% of the countries of the world.
When I think of how I felt as a teacher in the LAUSD, and as a public servant in Santa Clarita, I am sure that county employees would really take pride in, and enjoy working for, smaller counties.
County supervisors and many others in government wonder about the growing lack of civility exhibited by their constituents. There is a solution. We need simply to start working to put a more personal face on county organization.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
