EDITORIAL : NOT SO FAST ON DIAMOND; PUBLIC HEARINGS ARE NEEDED OUTSIDE THE DOWNTOWN AREA.

BEWARE when the government says it's doing something for your benefit but doesn't even bother to ask you what you think of the idea.

That's happening now in what's shaping up as the biggest growth industry in downtown Los Angeles - a $3 billion program to build new offices for local, county, state and federal governments.

The plan is called the ``10-minute diamond'' because the facilities will be concentrated within easy walking distance.

But it takes a lot more than a catchy name to sell this plan to people who aren't part of the downtown special interests or government agencies that stand to gain from it.

Perhaps that's why no public hearings or meetings about the diamond plan have been held outside of the downtown area itself.

Even after downtown property interests and government insiders had been talking about the project for months (mostly among themselves), it remained virtually a secret to the public at large until the Daily News reported details of the huge investment and construction scenario.

The City Council voted 15-0 Wednesday to approve the program, with no council comment or debate.

Next, the plan will go to the county Board of Supervisors for consideration.

It's time to slam the brakes on this diamond heist of public funds until public hearings are held throughout the city and county, including the San Fernando Valley, to reveal just how little public support there is for both the plan itself and the thinking that spawned it.

We strongly suspect that the public will heap abuse on the notion of building a new headquarters for the embattled Los Angeles Unified School District - that's a part of the diamond plan.

We suspect that the public also will say it doesn't favor constructing more city facilities at a time when serious thought is being given to decentralization and perhaps even breaking up Los Angeles.

Supporters of the diamond program say far-flung public hearings are unnecessary because the plan has no effect on outlying areas. We think that argument is badly flawed and also is a reflection of the weaknesses of the plan and the process that led to it.

Another principle behind the plan is the idea of cost savings after local, state and federal governments relocate in closer proximity and eliminate some duplication in services and operations. But after years and years of promises, and billions of dollars in public funds already spent downtown, does anyone really expect improvements to occur?

The public is justified in assuming that this scheme will fall far short of the hoped-for benefits while costing much more than anyone is acknowledging so far.

But unless there is a public outcry, the diamond probably will continue to appeal to bureaucrats and will move forward in the system. Perhaps that is why public officials held no hearings on it outside the downtown area.

And if the government isn't willing to venture out into the communities and neighborhoods to hear what the people have to say about it, then the burden falls upon the people to contact their elected officials to express their justifiable doubts about the diamond heist.