EDITORIAL BUDGET THUGS TAX DOLLARS AS A WEAPON IN THE BATTLE OF SECESSION.

A Los Angeles City Council committee is giving San Fernando Valley residents 120 million more reasons to think seriously about secession.

Last week, the council's Finance and Budget Committee toyed with the idea of reducing or deferring some $120 million in city spending, pending a Valley secession vote that is likely to take place on Nov. 5.

The proposed cuts and deferrals would include $58.6 million for ongoing programs and $60 million in construction projects such as libraries, parks, asbestos removal from city buildings and completion of work on the Van Nuys Civic Center. Even equipment purchases for city firefighters and police officers could be deferred.

The stated purpose of the proposal is ``to give the city some reserves in preparation for secession'' - a prudent, noble-sounding claim.

And a completely dishonest one at that.

Whether the Valley should secede from Los Angeles remains an open question that can't be answered fairly until the Local Agency Formation Commission spells out the terms for a breakup. But if there's one thing we do know about secession, it's this:

The city of Los Angeles would in no way suffer financially as a result of Valley independence.

State law guarantees that in the event of secession, L.A. will be kept financially whole. That's why LAFCO has conducted extensive studies on the fiscal impact of a breakup on the remaining city. And that's why an independent Valley could expect to pay $5 million in annual alimony payments to the remaining L.A.

So if City Hall's budget makers have nothing to fear from secession, why are they frantically sounding the alarms and making threats about slashing programs?

The answer is a cheap, dirty-but-often-successful form of politics that city leaders have long practiced: Scare tactics.

For secession to succeed, it needs to win not only the approval of Valley residents but also a majority of votes throughout the city, including the Valley. L.A. leaders, no doubt, realize that grim forecasts of economic woe - even if unfounded - might be sufficient to scare a fair number of Angelenos living outside the Valley into voting no.

The doom-and-gloom might also intimidate some Vals, too.

It's a safe bet that any city funding for the Valley that's deferred until Nov. 5 would be canceled outright if secession were to pass. What the Finance and Budget Committee is proposing is a repugnant form of political hostage-taking - vote down secession or you'll never see your tax money again.

To his credit, Mayor James Hahn has said through a spokesman that he won't support making any spending contingent on a secession vote. But elsewhere in City Hall, the idea seems to have currency, and as L.A. leaders struggle to make the city budget look balanced, ripping off the Valley might seem a tempting answer.

It wouldn't be the first time. That's the sort of bullying that drove Valley residents to seek secession in the first place.