SECESSION ASSET DIVISION SOUGHT VALLEY VOTE TO MEET WITH LAFCO.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

San Fernando Valley secessionists plan today to ask the county agency studying cityhood to overrule parts of a consultants' proposal that many fear would otherwise kill their movement next year at the polls.

Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment will ask the Local Agency Formation Commission to draft a plan for divvying up the city's assets and transfering employees, as was originally expected in the proposal.

Valley VOTE believes a new Valley city needs to stand on its own and provide services to residents by directly acquiring Los Angeles assets - the report released Friday said L.A. would keep the assets and provide services initially, then the new Valley city could negotiate either with Los Angeles or with other entities for service.

``What we need to do now is change the emphasis from contracting initially for services to have the (Valley) city operating as a separate city,'' said Valley VOTE chairman Richard Close.

Close noted that the draft report is open to modifications and that Valley VOTE agrees with its central conclusion that a Valley city would be financially viable on its own.

The consultants said they would be open to reworking the proposal if requested by LAFCO, which meets this morning.

``The reason why assets were not allocated in our proposal is because it's not necessary to do that in order for our proposal to work,'' said Keith Curry, managing director of Public Financial Management. ``But that doesn't mean LAFCO can't direct us to allocate assets. And we're going to invite them to do that (today).''

When the report was issued last Friday, its recommendations caught those on both sides of the issue by surprise.

Previously secessionists and city officials had been working under the assumption that a plan for splitting up the city's assets would go before voters in November 2002.

Several LAFCO commissioners said they were surprised as well, and questioned why the consultants and LAFCO Executive Director Larry Calemine didn't give some indication or seek their opinion before the report was issued.

``I would think at least there should have been a little discussion,'' said LAFCO Commissioner Cindy Miscikowski, a Los Angeles City Councilwoman. ``When we were at the last LAFCO meeting, there was a lot of discussion about when the report would be out and how it would be delivered. If the executive director knew at that time, he should've made some allusion to it, that it would be taking a turn in course.''

The consultants recommended a plan for a new Valley city that would entail having Los Angeles continue providing services to the Valley and owning the assets, like libraries and police stations, as well as employees for at least three years.

After that, the new city's officials would have to decide whether to negotiate with Los Angeles to continue service or seek contracts with other organizations.

Curry said the new direction was decided collaboratively between representatives of his firm and LAFCO's staff. He said questions about informing the commission, or Valley VOTE and city officials, should be directed to Calemine.

Calemine has not responded to repeated requests for comment since the report was issued Friday.

LAFCO commissioner and county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said the report shouldn't be surprising, because many of its findings were in line with earlier studies.

The commission's task now is to take the report, Valley VOTE's proposal, the city's responses and earlier studies, and see how they can all be synthesized together.

``If we intend to get this on the ballot in November 2002 in any meaningful way we're not going to resolve every last issue,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``There's going to have to be a lot of issues left to the newly elected government of the San Fernando Valley if this is approved. Not every decision should be made ahead of time.''

LAFCO is meeting this morning at 9 a.m. at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 W. Temple St., downtown Los Angeles.

LAFCO is holding a public hearing Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Los Angeles Valley College, Monarch Hall, 5800 Fulton Ave., Valley Glen.