EDITORIAL FAIRER FUNDING FORMULA.

THE San Fernando Valley's big push for cityhood came up short last year, but there are signs the message of public discontent was heard in City Hall.

The reallocation of federal grants by city officials to help poor people last week showed that the downtown folks understand that the Valley has its ``fair share'' of poverty.

Earlier this year, Mayor James Hahn divvied up $6.8 million in Community Development Block Grants with a mere 9 percent going to the Valley, which accounts for one-third of the city's population and about 30 percent of the city's poor. After sharp criticism from Valley council members, Hahn quickly revised it to 21 percent - still less than a fair slice.

But the new funding formula announced last week makes the Valley's piece of the pie even bigger, with 26 percent of the grants, or $1.8 million, to help Valley residents living in poverty.

Don't think this has happened out of the benevolence of City Hall. It took years of complaints and even the threat of a resident revolt to get those on the other side of the hill to start recognizing that all of the city's neighborhoods deserve equal treatment.