Let's See if we can dupe the Taxpayers

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pensions30dec30,0,2127262,full.story?coll=la-home-local

This article is scary as it shows the politicians (whores for votes) have no back bone to stand up to either the taxpaying voters OR the public employee unions so they will let the unions take their campaign to the the voters to see if they can get the poor private sector voters to approve pension plans worth two to three times what their own private sector pensions are worth! And knowing how stupid voters are in approving bonds (they don't cost taxpayers right?!) they will give billions away to very un-deserving public employees. Are Californians as smart as taxpayers in New Jersey that have already caught onto this scam and are fighting for their lives (or their own future retirements) against the greedy union employees retiring at 50?

S.F. is seen as a model of -- restraint?
The city has controlled employee pension costs by putting plans to hike benefits to public votes.

By Evan Halper
LA Times Staff Writer

December 30, 2006

SACRAMENTO — San Diego flirted with bankruptcy. Orange County, still emerging from its mid-'90s cash crisis, moved back toward the brink. And in Fresno County, the grand jury recently declared that public employee retirement costs have that government "facing insurmountable debt in the near future."

Statewide, governments are rattled by the soaring price of public pensions expanded by politicians at the bargaining table and gobbling up an increasing share of taxpayer dollars. But a rare exception has emerged in an unexpected place: San Francisco.

Even as a bulwark of organized labor, the city has kept its pension costs in check while many others are digging deep into their general funds to pay for benefits that taxpayers were assured would cost nothing.

Why is San Francisco different? Politicians there can't give much away; a century-old provision in the City Charter prohibits it. The only group empowered to enhance government benefits is the public, which must sign off on changes in the municipal pension plans at the ballot box.

The provision was unique to San Francisco until last month, when San Diego voters overwhelmingly decided that they too would like a say in such matters. Now the gospel of voter oversight is spreading.

"There is no question that it has been a sobering force for any aggressive or ambitious union seeking to improve benefits," said former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos. "They know they can't rely on the politicians who are anxious to please them. Any proposal ultimately goes to the voters. They are the ultimate bankers."

The city's officials say the rule has helped save San Francisco from itself in recent years. When other governments kept constituents in the dark about their actuarial assumptions — such as an unending stock market boom — as they raised pension benefits in the late 1990s, San Francisco officials had to explain exactly where the money for benefits would come from, and then get voters' permission.

In the last decade, residents there have approved at least four benefit increases — moderate ones.

"If you need to win a majority of voters, you are more careful what you ask for," said Claire Murphy, executive director of the city's retirement fund.

The only proposal voters rejected in that period was a 1996 initiative championed by former Mayor Willie Brown to give him the authority to cut deals with public employee unions on his own — without having to go to the ballot.

Not everyone is a fan of San Francisco's policy.

"Our preference would be to amend the charter so we wouldn't have to have voters involved," said Maria Guillen, regional vice president of Service Employees International Union Local 790 in San Francisco.

Guillen said that, although the public may be sympathetic to police officers and firefighters, getting voters to sign off on retirement benefits for other government workers is another matter. People aren't as eager to rush to the polls to support street sweepers and custodians, she said, and their benefits are falling far behind.

"We don't have the same public relations," she said. "We have a harder route. And these are the workers that do so much to make the city run."

Many pension fund managers also are skeptical.

"I don't think employee compensation issues should be subjected to the politics inevitably injected into any debate that includes a vote of the people," said Keith Brainard, research director for the National Assn. of State Retirement Administrators, "just as you wouldn't want people voting on how much water should be let out of a dam, or what neighborhoods police should patrol at night."

But he also acknowledged that the San Francisco model "looks like it's working."

The city's fund is on target to have more than enough money to pay all of the cash retirement benefits promised to its employees. Orange County and San Diego are short about 30%. That translates into billions of dollars, and residents could be forced to make it up by sacrificing services or enduring tax hikes. Scores of other local government funds also are struggling.

And the state's giant public employee pension plans are short tens of billions of dollars, despite impressive returns for pension funds from the stock market, real estate, venture capital and hedge fund investments in recent years.

Many experts blame politics. Elected officials, they say, want to reward government employees — and endear themselves to the politically powerful unions behind them — but don't want to confront taxpayers about the true cost of increasing benefits.

So they mask the price tag with overly optimistic investment projections and other maneuvers. It isn't until years later, when the higher benefits kick in or the stock market dips, that voters get the picture.

"No one is minding the store," said J. Fred Giertz, a professor of economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Politicians give out the benefit increases to keep the employees happy, and they also keep taxpayers happy because they can do it without raising taxes at that moment. But the burden gets passed on to the future."

Brainard, of the retirement administrators group, says the solution to runaway pension costs is not bringing every contract to the ballot, but bringing more transparency and oversight to the bargaining process.

He points to Georgia, which has strict rules in place to ensure that politicians cannot increase benefits without having the funds to cover the cost. Georgia is one of the few states not facing a large shortfall in its pension funds.

But in San Diego, where lack of disclosure about a multibillion-dollar tab for enhanced public pension benefits led to federal sanctions for securities fraud, voters decided that they wanted to go a step further. Last month, nearly 70% of them cast ballots in favor of putting the San Francisco model in place in their city. All future benefit increases must go through them.

Unions bitterly fought the proposal, saying it would cripple the city's ability to attract quality police officers and firefighters.

"San Diego already has one of the lowest ratios of police officers and firefighters per population in the state," said the ballot argument opposing the measure. "Proposition B will only make that problem worse."

Former San Francisco Mayor Agnos calls such arguments "purely special-interest rhetoric." He said his city has had no problem attracting job applicants.

Now activists hope Orange County will follow suit. One is George Passantino, a senior fellow at the libertarian Reason Foundation.

Passantino sees the irony of looking for solutions in the liberal city that activists such as him love to hate. But there is no denying it, he said: "San Francisco is way ahead of the curve."

evan.halper@latimes.com

*

(INFOBOX BELOW)

Public pension funding

Most of California's large public retirement funds lack enough money to cover benefits promised to government workers. But San Francisco's fund has a surplus.

Retirement plan Surplus/ Percent Value of
shortfall funded assets
(in billions) (in billions)
San Francisco +$0.42 103.8% $11.3
City of San Diego -1.4 68.0 3.6
City of Los Angeles -2.1 77.2 7.2
Orange County -2.3 71.5 5.8
Los Angeles County -5.6 82.8 27.0
California State Tchrs -20.3 87.0 157.0


Sources: National Assn. of State Retirement Administrators, Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System, Orange County Employees Retirement System, San Diego City Employees Retirement System.

Governor creates pension task force

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs an order creating the Public Employee Post-Employment Benefits Commission in his hospital room in Santa Monica on Thursday.

Keith Matheny
The Desert Sun
December 29, 2006
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20061229

As President Bush did with the Iraq Study Group, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is turning to a new assembly of minds for new ideas to address a worsening problem.

The new group's task: find solutions for California's fast-growing, budget-sapping public employee retirement benefit costs.

The new commission Schwarzenegger created will have six members appointed by the governor; three by the Assembly speaker and three by the president pro tem of the state Senate. The Democrats control both the Assembly and Senate. State Sen. Jim Battin, R-La Quinta, applauded the governor's move.

"You've got to sit down and have a realistic conversation," he said. "We cannot continue to operate the way we are. It will eventually bankrupt the state."

The group is to provide to the governor and Legislature by Jan. 1, 2008, a report that:

Identifies the full amount of unfunded post-retirement health care and dental benefits for which California governments are liable. It's estimated at $40 billion to $70 billion;

Evaluate and compare various approaches to address governments' unfunded retiree health care and pension obligations;

Propose a plan for addressing the unfunded obligations.

State Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego, the incoming chairwoman of the Senate Budget Committee, is cautiously optimistic about what may come from the new commission.

"I always get a little nervous when we're forming another commission," she said.

But employee pensions and retiree health care, she said, "is an issue we really need to look at.

"If we get good people and they hear good information, hopefully they will come up with something that they can present to us in the Legislature that we can use intelligently."

Costs dramatically rise
California state employees' pensions went from costing $160 million annually in 2001 to $2.6 billion this year. Unfunded pension liabilities for the California Public Employee Retirement Service, or CalPERS, and the California State Teachers Retirement Service, or CalSTRS, are at $49 billion.

A new accounting rule going into effect next year will require governments to more fully disclose their long-term retiree health care obligations. A state Legislative Analyst's Office report from February estimates that will reveal an unfunded liability of between $40 billion and $70 billion for state workers and their dependants.

The report recommends that the state set aside $6 billion a year, in addition to the $1 billion it currently spends on such costs.

Schwarzenegger, in his January 2005 State of the State address, touted as a cost-saving measure a state constitutional amendment to transition state employee pensions away from traditional, defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans such as 401(k)'s.

That effort was shouted down within a half-year, with critics including public employee unions arguing the reforms would wipe out orphan and widow death benefits for firefighters and police officers, an assertion Schwarzenegger and proponents denied.

Striking a more moderate tone since defeat of his special election measures in 2005, Schwarzenegger is now re-engaging the issue of public employee retirement costs with Democrats and union officials at the table.

"The governor wanted to continue looking at this issue very seriously, and wanted to do it in a bipartisan way," said Adam Mendelsohn, Schwarzenegger's deputy chief of staff for communications.

Union officials Thursday expressed willingness to work toward solutions.

Joe Kerr, president of the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association, noted that to address his department's retiree health care debt, the county contributed an additional $7 million; the union contributed $1 million; and employees agreed to forgo an annual 3 percent cost of living adjustment.

"It comes down to assisting your employer in being around, because if your employer isn't going to be around, it doesn't help employees any," Kerr said.

Though the commission is tasked with considering all options in dealing with the escalating benefits cost, one won't be supported by Schwarzenegger, Mendelsohn said - tax increases.

There's only two paths to take to reduce retiree health care liabilities: contribute more money or reduce the costs by reducing the benefits provided, said Jason Dickerson, the principal fiscal and policy analyst for the state Legislative Analyst's Office.

Both approaches are difficult and have political ramifications, he said.

"There are no easy answers here," he said. "These are difficult changes with a lot of dollars involved both for governments and public employees' families."

The Palm Springs City Council just last week agreed to use about $20 million in bonds to pay for its city's unfunded liabilities.

Riverside County borrowed $400 million through bonds to help pay off its retirement costs.

SOARING COSTS: PAYING FOR PUBLIC RETIREMENTS
The complete story

Alarming numbers
# The skyrocketing costs of retirement benefits for public employees will be a yearlong topic of discussion for a new commission formed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Among the issues causing concern - including some first reported in a Desert Sun investigation published earlier this month:
# State retirement systems for government workers and teachers, CalPERS and CalSTRS, have a combined unfunded pension liability of $49 billion.
# California may owe between $40 billion and $70 billion in promised but currently unfunded long-term retiree health care for state workers. New accounting standards will soon require a full accounting for the long-term debt.
# Coachella Valley cities' pension savings were wiped out when the stock market crashed around 2000. Now they face a collective $51 million unfunded liability.
Cathedral City's population has increased almost 70 percent since 1990. Its emergency fire calls tripled in that time. The cost to run the city fire department jumped almost $1.7 million in the past five years alone.
# Yet the city's number of firefighters has remained virtually unchanged for nearly two decades because the costs of benefits prohibits them from hiring more staff.
# Palm Springs and Cathedral City fire departments often run engines with only two firefighters, instead of the recommended four or five. It can cause delays in responding to emergencies.
Coachella Valley's three school districts have a combined $114.5 million retiree health care liability.

JON COUPAL: Public retirees feast as others pay piper

Article reposted from LA Daily News opinion section 12/26/06
http://www.dailynews.com/theiropinion/ci_4904477

'TIS the season, and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future are about to visit themselves on local governments as retribution for their wastrel ways.

Cities, counties and school districts have provided public employees a perpetual Christmas gift - consisting of lavish pensions and health care benefits - for years. But beginning soon, new guidelines by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board will require full disclosure of these unfunded government liabilities.

Since most California agencies operate on a fiscal year that begins in July, and they are not required to fully report until the end of the fiscal year, sticker shock will not actually hit the fan until 2008. But the tension in some administrative offices already is palpable. When taxpayers see what has been wrought by their elected representatives - and face higher taxes or service reductions to pay for retirement benefits that are often vastly superior to their own - the backlash will be severe.

According to Steve Frates of the Center for Government Analysis, annual health care costs in California for state and local government retirees are expected to total at least $4.5 billion this year. This figure could swell to $31.5 billion by 2019. In January, Frates will release results of a study of the other major unfunded government liability, pensions.

San Diego is the poster child for local elected officials' eagerness to give public-employee unions everything they want - even if they have to bend the law - to advance their own political security. Unrealistic promises to San Diego employees have put the city, known to many as "Enron by the Sea," on the verge of financial collapse.

In Orange County, John Moorlach, newly elected supervisor and former county treasurer, warns that recent generous pension agreements are pushing the county toward its second bankruptcy in a dozen years.

How did governments get themselves and taxpayers into this bind? Public employee unions go all out to elect "their" candidates to office. When it comes time to negotiate pay - the U.S. Census Bureau says California has the highest-paid public employees in the nation - and benefits, the unions have representatives on both sides of the table.

One of the few drawbacks to term limits is that elected officials who make these sweetheart deals will not be around long enough to face the consequences. They can approve these irresponsible deals and lock in union gratitude as they attempt to prolong their careers by seeking higher office.

And the expense to taxpayers will be more than just the cost of benefits. Just wait until government entities try peddling bonds and the rating agencies ask for their Governmental Accounting Standards Board number - or estimated liability. With these mammoth unpaid liabilities, the interest rate to lure bond buyers will be usurious, costing governments - and ultimately taxpayers - billions more.

Things are going to get much worse before they get better, but at least the new accounting rules will force our spendthrift representatives to confront fiscal reality and start working on solutions. Either that, or they will be tossed from office.

Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. Contact him through the organization's Web site, www.hjta.org.

New Federal requirements may be 'wake-up call'

Warning bells tolling for rising health care costs
New Federal requirements may be 'wake-up call'

Keith Matheny and Erica Solvig
The Desert Sun
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061218/NEWS01/612180327

It's the biggest fiscal calamity almost no one saw coming and few are talking about.

It's left Coachella Valley cities and schools owing more than $174 million and wondering how they're ever going to pay it.

It's simply the cost of governments' promises to provide workers and their families with health-care coverage in retirement.

"There is going to be a collective jaw-drop when those numbers are revealed," said George Passantino, senior fellow for The Reason Foundation, a Los Angeles-based think tank .

The issue is coming to the forefront now as the federal Government Accounting Standards Board requires local governments across the country to fully examine what retiree health care will cost them for past, current and future employees.

Until now, governments - including those in the Coachella Valley - merely paid whatever was owed in a given year, paying no heed to potentially staggering expenses just over the horizon.

The new accounting standards are "really going to bring to our attention the problem of paying for these benefits is worse than we thought," said John Graham, director of health care studies for the Pacific Research Institute, a San Francisco-based think tank.

It will be a wake-up call, predicted Kevin McCarthy, finance director for the city of Indian Wells: "(It's) kind of the first slap in the face to cities."

Why costs are soaring
This impending dilemma has been years in the making, the result of several factors:

# Skyrocketing health care costs. State spending for retiree health care increased an average of 17 percent a year for the past five years.

# People living longer. U.S. life expectancy is at an all-time high of 77.6 years.

Because public-sector employees are allowed to retire in their 50s with full benefits, local governments are forced to pay increasing costs for more years per employee than ever before.

# Baby boomers retiring in droves. Several city officials say many of their employees are within a few years of retirement.

# Unbreakable labor contracts. Cities and schools have to make good on what they've promised in contracts with their workers or negotiate a way out. That's a difficult task with employee unions reluctant to give back what they've worked years to achieve.

# Lack of savings. Unlike pre-funded pension plans that use returns on investments to cover long-term costs, cities and schools pay health care bills every year when they come due. This pay-as-you-go method means no money is set aside for the millions of dollars in future costs.

"The public-sector unions, lax oversight and these loosey-goosey accounting rules allowed them to get away with it," Graham said.

"Thank goodness the Government Accounting Standards Board has finally put a stop to it. But it's many years too late."

Now what?
Now that they know what they owe, officials at many valley school districts and cities are only starting to figure out how to pay off the debt.

The new accounting standards don't kick in for many until 2008. And they only require putting the costs on the books; not necessarily funding them.

But bond-raters are expected to penalize governments carrying large debts. That could impact how much a city or school pays to borrow money for infrastructure projects - or their ability to borrow at all.

The 28,000-student Desert Sands Unified School District is already taking action to rein in the cost. They've negotiated with employee unions to reduce expenses, including having teachers work another five years, to age 60, before they get retirement health care.

Assistant Superintendent Charlene Whitlinger told school board members this fall they should begin setting aside $1 million starting this year, and more in subsequent years, to meet the district's 30-year obligation. Borrowing money through bonds remains a possibility.

Palm Springs Unified has banked about $3 million to "start chipping away at this," assistant superintendent Jim Novak said.

It will allow the district to buy some time and see how lenders react to other school districts deep in the red because of healthcare costs.

"This doesn't seem like a lot, but it's probably $3 million more than most other school districts have set aside," he said.

And it's not just the district officials who are trying to curb the costs.

The California Teachers Association has made an effort to help limit the rising costs without having to reduce the benefits to teachers and other school employees.

The union is among the many groups that have teamed up for the California Health Care Coalition, a group of private and public sector employers and workers that are addressing the issue by pooling together to reduce overall health care costs.

"The biggest thing is we want to reduce costs for all," said Tomás Martínez, the association's Rancho Mirage-based regional representative.

"The association, along with employers and school districts, are in this together. It's not one against the other. We're in this together."

Desert Sands board member Amy Ammons, who works as an accountant, said she sees the new requirements to put long-term retiree benefit costs on the books as a good thing.

"The business practice of government used to be, 'We'll push it forward to the future; it will be somebody else's problem; maybe the laws will change and it will go away,'" she said.

"A positive thing about this is it forces government entities to say, 'We have a liability here; we've made a promise.'"

Municipalities now have to fully examine what retiree health care will cost them for past, current and future employees. Indian Wells finance director Kevin McCarthy calls the new federal standards "kind of the first slap in the face to cities." Several factors have led to the $260 million tab Coachella Valley cities and school districts owe.

Did you know?
Most cities pay retirees' health care costs until Medicare kicks in at age 65. After that, most just pay a small, secondary stipend.

Double for the feds
Data released this year by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that for the first time, federal employees' total compensation doubles that of private-sector workers.

Federal workers earned an average of $106,579 in 2005 including benefits, or about twice the average private-sector compensation of $53,289 with benefits included.

The soaring cost of public retirements affects every city and school district in the Coachella Valley. And that means taxpayers like you will be affected, too. Tell us your thoughts or ask our reporters your questions and they'll answer.
Tell us what you think at thedesertsun.com/soaringcosts

PENSION CALCULATOR
How much would your pension be if you worked for one of the Coachella Valley cities?
Check with thedesertsun.com's pension calculator.

Multimedia
How the benefits stack up (PDF 618KB)
Rapid growth strains police, fire departments (PDF 1.4MB)
Video: Pricey promises: Who will pay?

Public Retirements
The complete story

California Noise Laws

California Health and Safety Code

DIVISION 28. NOISE CONTROL ACT

CHAPTER 1. FINDINGS, DECLARATIONS, AND INTENT

46000. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that:

(a) Excessive noise is a serious hazard to the public health and welfare.

(b) Exposure to certain levels of noise can result in physiological, psychological, and economic damage.

(c) There is a continuous and increasing bombardment of noise in the urban, suburban, and rural areas.

(d) Government has not taken the steps necessary to provide for the control, abatement, and prevention of unwanted and hazardous noise.

(e) The State of California has a responsibility to protect the health and welfare of its citizens by the control, prevention, and abatement of noise.

(f) All Californians are entitled to a peaceful and quiet environment without the intrusion of noise which may be hazardous to their health or welfare.

(g) It is the policy of the state to provide an environment for all Californians free from noise that jeopardizes their health or welfare. To that end it is the purpose of this division to establish a means for effective coordination of state activities in noise control and to take such action as will be necessary to achieve the purposes of this section.

46001. No provision of this division or ruling of the Office of Noise Control is a limitation or expansion:

(a) On the power of a city, county, or city and county to adopt and enforce additional regulations, not in conflict therewith, imposing further conditions, restrictions, or limitations.

(b) On the power of any city, county, or city and county to declare, prohibit, and abate nuisances.

(c) On the power of the Attorney General, at the request of the office, the state department, or upon his own motion to bring an action in the name of the people of the State of California to enjoin any pollution or nuisance or to protect the natural resources of the state.

(d) On the power of a state agency in the enforcement or administration of any provision of law which it is specifically permitted or required to enforce or administer.

(e) On the right of any person to maintain at any time any appropriate action for relief against any private nuisance as defined in the Civil Code or for relief against any noise pollution.

46002. Nothing in this division shall be construed as giving the Office of Noise Control authority or responsibility for adopting or enforcing noise-emission standards for any product for which a regulation has been, or could be, prescribed or promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Noise Control Act of 1972.

CHAPTER 2. SHORT TITLE

46010. This division shall be known and may be cited as the California Noise Control Act of 1973.

CHAPTER 3. DEFINITIONS

46020. Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions set forth in this chapter govern the construction of the words used in this division.

46021. "Local agency" means and includes every local agency, including a county, city, whether general law or chartered, city and county, school district, municipal corporation, district, political subdivision, or any board, commission or agency thereof, or other local public agency.

46022. "Noise" means and includes excessive undesirable sound, including that produced by persons, pets and livestock, industrial equipment, construction, motor vehicles, boats, aircraft, home appliances, electric motors, combustion engines, and any other noise-producing objects.

46023. "Office" means the Office of Noise Control.

46024. "Public agency" means and includes every state agency and every local agency.

46025. "State agency" means and includes every state office, officer, department, division, bureau, board, council, commission, or other state agency.

CHAPTER 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE

46040. There is within the state department an Office of Noise Control.

CHAPTER 5. DUTIES OF THE OFFICE

46050. The office shall, in order to protect health and well-being establish and maintain a program on noise control, including but not limited to:

(a) Determining the psychological and physical health effects of noise.

(b) Determining the physiological effects of noise upon plant and animal life.

(c) Monitoring noise.

(d) Collecting and disseminating authoritative information on adverse effects of noise and of means for its control.

(e) Developing, in cooperation with local governments, model ordinances for urban, suburban, and rural environments.

(f) Providing assistance to local governmental entities engaged in developing and implementing noise abatement procedures.

(g) Developing criteria and guidelines for use in setting standards for human exposure to noise.

(h) Developing standards for the use of noise-producing objects in California.

(i) Developing criteria for submission to the Legislature so that state agencies may require noise control in equipment purchased for state use.

46050.1. Notwithstanding Section 65040.2 of the Government Code, the office shall adopt, in coordination with the Office of Planning and Research and each state department and agency as it deems appropriate, guidelines for the preparation and content of noise elements as required by Section 65302 of the Government Code.

In adding Section 39850.1 to the Health and Safety Code, which was the predecessor to this section, and amending Section 65302 of the Government Code by Chapter 1124 of the Statutes of 1975, it was the intent of the Legislature to ensure, insofar as possible, that new and periodically revised noise elements in local governments' general plans be more standardized, comprehensive, and utilitarian than they had been previously.

However, the Legislature also recognized that some cities and counties had already adopted noise elements pursuant to the existing Section 65302 of the Government Code and that others had received extensions on the due date of their noise element until September 20, 1975. Those cities and counties were not required to resubmit new noise elements consistent with Section 65302 of the Government Code, or to recognize guidelines adopted pursuant to this section, but are required, upon initial and periodic revision of the noise element, to comply with Section 65302 of the Government Code and to recognize those guidelines.

The requirement that the office adopt guidelines for the preparation and content of noise elements shall be inoperative during the 1993-94 fiscal year.

CHAPTER 6. ASSISTANCE TO LOCAL AGENCIES

46060. It is the purpose of this chapter to encourage the enactment and enforcement of local ordinances in those areas which are most properly the responsibility of local government. It is further the purpose to insure that the state is of maximum assistance to local agencies in the discharge of those responsibilities, furnishing technical and legal expertise to assist local agencies in the enactment and enforcement of meaningful and technically sufficient noise abatement measures.

46061. The office shall provide technical assistance to local agencies in combating noise pollution. Such assistance shall include but not be limited to:

(a) Advice concerning methods of noise abatement and control.

(b) Advice on training of noise control personnel.

(c) Advice on selection and operation of noise abatement equipment.

46062. The office shall provide assistance to local agencies in the preparation of model ordinances to control and abate noise. Such ordinances shall be developed in consultation with the Attorney General and with representatives of local agencies, including the County Supervisors Association of California and the League of California Cities. Any local agency which adopts any noise control ordinance shall promptly furnish a copy to the office.

CHAPTER 7. COORDINATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL ACTIVITIES

46070. The director shall promote coordination of the programs of all state agencies relating to noise research, abatement, prevention, and control. Each state agency shall, upon request, furnish to the director such information as he may reasonably require to determine the nature, scope, and results of the noise research and noise control programs of the agency.

46071. On the basis of regular consultation with appropriate state agencies, the director shall compile and publish, from time to time, a report on the status and progress of state activities relating to noise research and noise control. This report shall describe the noise programs of each state agency and assess the contributions of those programs to the state's overall efforts to control noise.

46072. In any case where any state agency is carrying out or sponsoring any activity resulting in noise which the director determines amounts to a public nuisance or is otherwise objectionable, such agency shall consult with the director to determine possible means of abating such noise. This section does not apply to any action of a private person for which a license, permit, or other entitlement for use is required to be issued by a state agency.

46073. The Legislature authorizes and directs that all state agencies shall, to the fullest extent consistent with existing authority, administer the programs within their control in such a manner as to further the policy declared in Section 46000. This section shall not be construed to limit or expand the authority of any state agency to issue or deny a license, permit, or other entitlement for use.

46074. Each state agency authorized to adopt regulations in the area of noise control shall in the manner specified in subdivision (c) of Section 11423 of the Government Code give notice to and invite the comments of the office concerning any proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation in the area of noise control.

46075. In accordance with the provisions of Section 11426 of the Government Code or other applicable law, the office may petition any public agency for the adoption of regulations or other measures otherwise within the authority of that public agency in the area of noise control.

46076. The Office of Noise Control shall maintain a program to insure that all state agencies are advised of available federal assistance and funds for noise control programs. The office may, at the request of individual agencies, act for them for the following purposes:

(a) Applying for federal funds which may be made available to the states for noise control programs or related research as a result of the Noise Control Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-574) or any other federal program or law.

(b) Receiving technical assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency to facilitate the development and enforcement of state noise standards and model noise legislation.

46077. The office shall maintain a program to ensure coordinated state and federal noise control programs including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) The study of federal noise regulations proposed for adoption pursuant to the Noise Control Act of 1972.

(b) The preparation of comments, evaluations, objections or the use of any other means to ensure that the federal government considers existing California noise control statutes and regulations prior to the adoption of regulations in order to prevent the adoption of federal noise regulations weaker than existing state standards.

CHAPTER 8. RESEARCH AND PUBLIC INFORMATION

46080. In furtherance of his responsibilities under this division and to complement, as necessary, the noise research programs of federal agencies and of other state agencies, the director is authorized to:

(a) Conduct research, and finance research by contract with other public and private bodies, on the effects, measurement, and control of noise, including but not limited to:

(1) Investigation of the psychological and physiological effects of noise on humans and the effects of noise on domestic animals, wildlife, and property, and determination of acceptable levels of noise on the basis of such effects.

(2) Development of improved methods and standards for measurement and monitoring of noise.

(3) Determination of the most effective and practicable means of controlling noise generation, transmission, and reception.

(b) Coordinate with and become knowledgeable concerning the noise research programs of other governmental entities including the federal government.

(c) Disseminate to the public information on the effects of noise, acceptable noise levels, and techniques for noise measurement and control.


CALIFORNIA CODES
VEHICLE CODE SECTION 27000-27007

27007. No driver of a vehicle shall operate, or permit the operation of, any sound amplification system which can be heard outside the vehicle from 50 or more feet when the vehicle is being operated upon a highway, unless that system is being operated to request assistance or warn of a hazardous situation.

This section does not apply to authorized emergency vehicles or vehicles operated by gas, electric, communications, or water utilities. This section does not apply to the sound systems of vehicles used for advertising, or in parades, political or other special events, except that the use of sound systems on those vehicles may be prohibited by a local authority by ordinance or resolution.

California Land Use Compatibility Noise Guidelines LAND USE CATEGORY -- Residential - Low Density, Single-Family, Duplex , Mobile Homes
Normally Acceptable	Conditionally Acceptable	Normally Unacceptable	Clearly Unacceptable
50-60 dBA	55-70 dBA	70-75 dBA	75-85 dBA
Source: California Land Use Compatibility Noise Guidelines - Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL*)

Ambient noise: background or existing noise level. The composite of noise from all sources near and far in a given environment, exclusive of occasional and transient intrusive noise.

CNEL (Community Noise Equivalent Level): a noise measurement scale applied over a 24-hour period to all noise events received at the measurement point. It is weighted more heavily for evening and night periods in order to account for the lower tolerance of individuals to noise during those periods.

EIR: environmental impact report, a requirement of CEQA.

EIS: environmental impact statement, a requirement of NEPA.

EPA: federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

California public employees gain generous benefits while public sleeps

By JIM BOREN
The special interests usually have their way when the public doesn't pay attention to policy decisions on issues that seem arcane to most taxpayers. Quite simply, the ones paying the bills get ripped off because government bores them.

Then they wake up one day to find they've been funding political giveaways for years, and that's threatening their favorite programs. Elementary school music is being cut; a fire station is being closed; a program for seniors is being eliminated. Now they're mad, but often it's too late.

click here to read rest of article

what happens when cars block street sweepers

When Lakewood allows cars to park on the street on street sweeping day and ALL streets are not swept once a week in Lakewood this is what happens to our beaches. Photo from Long Beach Press Telegram.


Long Beach Press Telegram
The effluent society
Article Launched:12/11/2006

Vegetation hangs from a guy wire connected to a 700-foot trash boom in the mouth of the Los Angeles River in Long Beach on Monday. Approximately 150 tons of trash, including yard clippings, cans of motor oil, tires and a wide variety of refuse was collected from the river after heavy rains over the weekend flushed out the storm sewers of the Los Angeles Basin.

Darryl M. Sexton, Long Beach health officer, has issued a public health advisory for city beaches. Residents are urged not to swim in local waters for at least 72 hours after the last rainfall.

After rainfall of a tenth of an inch or more, storm drain runoff and rivers can contain bacteria from animal waste, litter, fertilizers and decomposing vegetation.

Exposure to contaminated water can lead to flu-like symptoms, gastrointestinal illnesses, skin rashes and eye infections.

More information about water quality in Long Beach is available at www.longbeach.gov/health or by calling (562) 570-4199.

Scott Smeltzer / Press-Telegram

minutes/agendas

Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 10:52:01 -0800
To: TSRR@msn.com (Todd Rogers, City Council), DHayward@lakewoodcity.org (Denise Hayward, City Clerk), BBrammer@lakewoodcity.org (Bob Brammer city webmaster)
From: "www.LAAG.us | Lakewood Accountability Action Group"
Subject: minutes/agendas


As of 12/11 the last meeting minutes are 10/24. The last agenda is 11/14? [http://www.lakewoodcity.org/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=49] Whats up? Not posting this stuff timely is like not having it up at all. There should be an on line archive as well on line that is searchable by date or keyword [http://www.lakewoodcity.org/search/default.asp] and a date on the website as to the time period when one can expect agendas an minutes to be posted (i.e. "Agendas are posted 3 working days before the meeting" and "minutes are posted no later than 10 working days after the meeting"). When this material is delayed time limits and other issues pass without people knowing about them. For as much as Lakewood touts eGovernment I still dont see much transparency.



Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 11:48:16 -0800
To: "Denise Hayward" ,"Bob Brammer" ,
From: "www.LAAG.us | Lakewood Accountability Action Group"
Subject: Re: minutes/agendas
Cc: "Howard Chambers"

At 11:18 AM 12/11/2006, Denise Hayward wrote:
My apologies to you and others who depend on the website for agenda information. I was distracted last week with the closing of the nomination period for our March election and posted the agenda everywhere except on the website. I have just finished copying it there, so it is now available. Sorry for the inconvenience.

As a note, the minutes on the website are always the most recently approved set and currently, that was from the end of October. The City Council is scheduled to approve the November 14th minutes at their meeting on December 12. They will be up on the website later this week.

Denise Hayward, City Clerk

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks. Which brings me to my next point about searchability and archiving that I brought up. I'd like Bob to address that.

Also, as we have discussed I see no reason why all "public hearing or comment" materials, resolutions and proposed ordinances cannot be put up on the site as soon as they are proposed. All this stuff is in electronic format already and I am sure Civica software has push button posting for stuff like that. Also hosting is cheap. many of these hosts like godaddy.com are offering gigabites of storage for pennies a day. These materials would have to be archived, be searchable and have some page on the site where one could browse them by subject or date proposed or passed. Right now there is no one location for this info.

Status of All requests for San Gabriel River bikeway repairs

South St. Entrance

11/25/05 LADPW (Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Works) notified by email:

1. The entrance to the river at south St. (south bound) has very badly broken pavement due to roots. The roots need to be cut out with the pavement and it needs to be repaved. The paving needs to be done so it is smooth for a 1/2 inch wide bike tire not a 3/4 ton pickup.

Status: Tree and roots removed and repaved entrance 10/06

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Problems between Carson and wardlow

3/7/05 LADPW notified by email:

Serious root incursions just south of the wal mart parking lot (about 1/2 way between Carson and wardlow). The roots need to be cut out with the pavement and it needs to be repaved. This entire section (between carson and wardlow) is going to
have to be rePAVED due to all the ruts and holes. There really are too many to patch properly. "slurry seal" will NOT fix it but only conceal all the grooves, divots and other bad sections like happened years before. It is almost impossible to ride that section with a skinny tire road bike (the majority of the bikes on the trail) as it rattles you so much. I am also concerned that someone will hit a dip/rut in that section wrong and will take a spill. The bumps are so bad they can knock the bars out of your hands.

Status: Roots fixed in 2006 but numerous cracks still exist. County fixes some and leave others. Section between Carson and Wardlow to be totally repaved in July 2007 per the county's email in Nov 06. We are working on the details of that paving now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bridge at confluence of Coyote Creek and SG River

3/7/05 LADPW notified by email:
3. The bridge at the coyote creek confluence has a huge gap (6-8") on the west side and is rather bumpy on the east side. Over the years the west side gap has increased and the metal and rubber used to fill it have been torn or worn away. I bent a
wheel going over this gap. People are trying, unsuccessfully, to fill it with dirt and scraps of wood as they know it is a problem. As you have to make a 90 degree turn at either end of the bridge it is only a matter of time before someone (likely
an older person or child) is going to get their wheel sideways on these gaps and go down hard. What needs to be done is to remove the metal gap filler there now and replace it with a large piece of wood, flush with the concrete and bolted down. I
am sure your maintenance people can figure something out (or better yet get an engineer to look at it). The point is it needs to be sturdy and slip resistant as bikes have to turn as they go over it.


6/13/06 email to LADPW:
As for Item 3 they tried to fix the west side bridge transition but they did not bolt the board down and someone stole it within a day or two. Then they tamped some asphalt in the gap which was great for a few weeks but as they did not prep the
gap right (by removing the old tin) and as the gap flexes too much, the asphalt is now a bigger hazard as it is all broken up and we are right back where we started a year ago. They need to take out all the existing hardware (at both ends) and BOLT DOWN some new steel non skid transition plates on both ends of that bridge. That could last 50 years if done PROPERLY. The point is it needs to be sturdy and slip resistant as bikes have to turn as they go over it. Again when "skinny tired"
(contact patch of a tire is about the diameter of a nickel) road bikes have to turn at each end of that bridge these transitions are critical that the transition is smooth.

12/6/06 Status:
Not fixed. West side transition still bad due to very shoddy asphalt fill which lasted about 2 months

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

section between the 405 fwy and the 22 fwy

3/7/05 LADPW notified by email:
4. The section between the 405 and the 22 is horrible and the shoddy patching is making it worse. Again slurry seal will not fix it. It needs about a 2" think layer of pavement (after the potholed and ruts are filled). I don't think this has been
paved (not slurry sealed) in over 30 years. I have not seen a road in this area as bad as that section of bike path. And road bikes need much smoother pavement that cars to be ridden safely.

12/6/06 Status: Still no resolution as the county, Long Beach and Seal beach cannot agree on who must fix this section. No reply from Long Beach yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
bridges south of south street

3/7/05 LADPW notified by email:
5. At most bridges south of south street there are large areas of sand about 200 feet either side of these bridges. Or in the ares just north of del amo, large accumulations of pine needles which are very dangerous for bikes as they are slippery especially when negotiating that very dark and dangerous tunnel approach. The sand can be eliminated by bi-monthly sweeping or trenching or sandbagging the areas where the sand washes in from.

Status: Sand issues are better but trail still not being swept weekly; that is clear to see. Problem areas not being focused on. The pavement directly under the bridges at Wardlow and Spring are still very rough as of 12/06.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

under crossings at wardlow and spring

3/7/05 LADPW (Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Works) notified by email:

6. The under crossings at wardlow and spring are also very rough. Wardlow is also very sandy, especially after a rain. They need to be repaved between the sections of the new concrete path that was installed a few years ago on the approaches to these undercrossings. The worst is at the spring st under crossing. The entire portion under the bridge. The others are all bad (with sand) too Del Amo, carson, wardlow, willow. Now that the rain is gone I guess we dont have to worry about sandbagging the areas where the sand comes from I never could figure out why the county did not smooth out the pavement under the Wardlow, Spring and Willow undercrossings after making all those nice improvements to the trail (approaches) using concrete. (only of course after someone was killed at willow going north due to silly approach ramp). People that work for the county need to understand that 23mm bike tires
are not like car tires. Small pavement imperfections can be very dangerous, especially for all the old people that ride that trail. Just read the caltrans manual on class one bike path imperfections. The streets in this area are smoother than the bike path!!

Response by LADPW or work done:

Some sand swept. As of 11/06 no other improvements.

Status: No further response from county

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Del Amo Tunnel

6/13/06 LADPW notified by email:
Another safety area is that bridge under DelAmo. Very dark. Need warning signs for people to yell going in. Also lots of water, slippery sand buildup and horse waste in it. Needs to be cleaned once a week. Transitions and gate openings could be
better north and south bound. Also the pine tree at the north end should be take out as it drops tons over slippery pine needles. Again if swept weekly not a problems but there is no budget for that apparently. 1/4 inch of fine sand is treacherous for road bikes and can easily lead to a loss of control at almost any speed, even going straight let alone turning.

Status: County finished installing and hooking up lights in tunnel as of 1/15/07. Trees removed 11/26/06.

Now Looking at fixing approaches from north and south into the tunnel as of 11/06. The County has not given LAAG a date for when the drawings will be done, when it will go out to bid or when work will commence. We assume summer 2007 but not sure at this point as it took 6 months just to get some lights in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Motorcycles Used on the Trail
LADPW notified by email 1/22/07

Last week two full sized motorcycles wizzed past me at very high speed on the trail (near the 405) and scared the hell out of me. I think they are using it for racing. This is about the 10th time this has happened and of course the LASD never catches anyone. You need to get those signs back up again that tell people essentially "no motorized devices" can be used on the trail. About a year ago there was just such a metal sign at the south st. entrance on a 9ft tall pole that was so tall you could not see it as you entered. Now I think the whole sign is gone. I have not seen others. They need to be posted on both sides of the truck entrance gates at all entrances. Attach them to the chain link fences so they are at user eye height.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bridges at 405 Fwy

Caltrans notified that fences down and homeless people living inside bridges (entering into earthquake retrofit access pannels on the underside of freeway bridges)

11/06 Status: Took about 4 months for Caltrans to find the problem even with pictures we sent them. Fixed the problem but not well like we told them to and yes once again the fence has been cut and vandals are back under the freeway 12/06.

General Maint. Issues:

I think the problem on the trail maint. is twofold: (1) the people that do the work are not very conscientious and/or (2) there is either no inspection of their finished work or the people that think the work was done don't ride road bikes over it so they really don't understand the safety problem to begin with as they just ride in cars or trucks with huge tires. Quite frankly the roadway pavement of the streets in that area are nicer to ride on than the bike path! But bikers don't like the street due to stop lights, dangerous divers (cell phone gabbers) and car exhaust fumes.

Nov. 25 2005 email to LA County Dept of Pub. Works and City of Long Beach re San Gabriel River trail safety issues

Gentlemen:

As a frequent user of the SGR bike path I feel that it is important to bring to the City and County's attention some very serious maintenance (safety) problems on the trail.

1. The entrance to the river at south St. (south bound) has very badly broken pavement due to roots. The roots need to be cut out with the pavement and it needs to be repaved. The paving needs to be done so it is smooth for a 1/2 inch wide bike tire not a 3/4 ton pickup.

2. Again serious root incursions just south of the wal mart parking lot (about 1/2 way between Carson and wardlow). The roots need to be cut out with the pavement and it needs to be repaved. This entire section (between carson and wardlow) is going to have to be rePAVED due to all the ruts and holes. There really are too many to patch properly. "slurry seal" will NOT fix it but only conceal all the grooves, divots and other bad sections like happened years before. It is almost impossible to ride that section with a skinny tire road bike (the majority of the bikes on the trail) as it rattles you so much. I am also concerned that someone will hit a dip/rut in that section wrong and will take a spill. The bumps are so bad they can knock the bars out of your hands.

3. The bridge at the coyote creek confluence has a huge gap (6-8") on the west side and is rather bumpy on the east side. Over the years the west side gap has increased and the metal and rubber used to fill it have been torn or worn away. I bent a wheel going over this gap. People are trying, unsuccessfully, to fill it with dirt and scraps of wood as they know it is a problem. As you have to make a 90 degree turn at either end of the bridge it is only a matter of time before someone (likely an older person or child) is going to get their wheel sideways on these gaps and go down hard. What needs to be done is to remove the metal gap filler there now and replace it with a large piece of wood, flush with the concrete and bolted down. I am sure your maintenance people can figure something out (or better yet get an engineer to look at it). The point is it needs to be sturdy and slip resistant as bikes have to turn as they go over it.

4. The section between the 405 and the 22 is horrible and the shoddy patching is making it worse. Again slurry seal will not fix it. It needs about a 2" think layer of pavement (after the potholed and ruts are filled). I don't think this has been paved (not slurry sealed) in over 30 years. I have not seen a road in this area as bad as that section of bike path. And road bikes need much smoother pavement that cars to be ridden safely.

5. At most bridges south of south street there are large areas of sand about 200 feet either side of these bridges. Or in the ares just north of del amo, large accumulations of pine needles which are very dangerous for bikes as they are slippery especially when negotiating that very dark and dangerous tunnel approach. The sand can be eliminated by bi-monthly sweeping or trenching or sandbagging the areas where the sand washes in from.

6. The under crossings at wardlow and spring are also very rough. Wardlow is also very sandy, especially after a rain. They need to be repaved between the sections of the new concrete path that was installed a few years ago on the approaches to these undercrossings.

There are many other safety problems with the trail that need to be addressed but these need to be fixed right away.

I don't like to have to mention this but the many parts of the trail (not just the flagrant conditions above) do not even come close to meeting the cal trans standards for a class I bikeway. In particular note the yellow highlighted sections in the attached caltrans manual for bike paths. www.dot.ca.gov/hq/oppd/hdm/pdf/chp1000.pdf

Finally, these conditions should be fixed immediately as they are a safety hazard. I have been waiting for the county and or city to see the problem as their crews drive over and past them weekly. But of course no one "notices" these problems. I assume it is because they just don't care, are too lazy to report the problem, or are just ignorant of the needs of cyclists. It cannot be a money issue (read below). Tell Mr. Knabe to spend a few dollars on his district.

Or better yet get some federal funding:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LocalPrograms/
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LocalPrograms/bta/PDFs/BTA04-05.pdf
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/TransEnhAct/Eligibility.html>


Supervisors Can Play Santa All Year
Each county board member has about $1 million a year to spend without oversight.

By Sue Fox
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

November 28, 2004

A baseball field in Topanga, pockmarked with gopher holes, got some.

So did a Latino arts center in East Los Angeles, an opera association that stages Broadway musicals at the Downey Theatre and an economic alliance that tries to attract businesses to the Antelope Valley.

Each year, organizations throughout Los Angeles County quietly collect hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars, all dispersed by individual county supervisors without public notice or a public vote.

Over the last five years, the supervisors have steered more than $11 million to projects close to their hearts, such as the planned Mexican American cultural center and the shimmering Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles.

Smaller donations have rained down on theater troupes and orchestras, soccer leagues and anti-gang programs, libraries, clinics, schools and a smattering of holiday parades.

The five supervisors each get about $1 million a year in discretionary funds to hand out as they see fit, winning thanks from appreciative constituents and cementing their political images with money provided by county taxpayers.

Supervisors and many community groups say these funds help "bridge the gap" in scarce funding for worthy cultural, educational and recreational programs that otherwise might be overlooked. In a county with a $17.9-billion budget that flows mainly to required health, welfare and public safety programs, they welcome the flexibility over what amounts to no more than .03% of the budget.

But the practice allows supervisors to give public money to their favored causes without the usual safeguards. Supervisors in Los Angeles County have much greater power over such spending than their counterparts in some other large urban counties.

The grants are made with no oversight from the full Board of Supervisors and no input from the general public. And the supervisors have no formal process for notifying community groups that grants are available, for deciding how to award them, or for following up to make sure the money was spent as intended.

The supervisors continue to distribute the cash, moreover, even as they have sliced millions from spending on the county's primary responsibilities, such as public hospitals and jails.

"It seems unfair, because it's an unchecked fund that the public is not aware of," said Jaime Regalado, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles. "But for the politicians, it provides some leeway for them to use public money for their pet projects and pet constituency groups. Of course, all politicians like to grin before the cameras and cut ribbons and hand over big checks."

The Board of Supervisors started the grant program in 1990 to streamline the budget process, which often bogged down with last-minute requests from supervisors seeking money for their districts.

The supervisors each get about $3 million annually to pay their staff and office expenses, but they never use that much, leaving them about $1 million each to dole out.

If they don't spend it, the cash rolls over into the next year.

For thrifty supervisors, that can mean one fat piggy bank.

In 2002, for example, Supervisors Gloria Molina and Zev Yaroslavsky had stockpiled more than $7 million apiece.

County documents obtained by The Times detail each supervisor's discretionary spending patterns ­ and hint at their priorities ­ between 1999 and 2004. The county only retains detailed financial records for five years.

Molina used most of her discretionary money to begin transforming a 19th-century complex of crumbling brick buildings near Olvera Street into La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, a $70-million Mexican American center.

Calling it a "lifelong dream" destined to become one of the county's cultural jewels, Molina gave the center's foundation, which she controls, $7 million from her discretionary fund.

(Molina's project, unlike most funded with discretionary money, was approved by a vote of the Board of Supervisors because she moved the cash into a capital projects fund until she was ready to proceed.)

Each year, Yaroslavsky gives about $400,000 to community groups and saves the rest for big projects, such as $2.6 million to build a child care facility in Van Nuys, $1 million for Disney Hall and $930,000 to help expand the Santa Monica Courthouse.

Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, by contrast, favored smaller donations, often to groups in dire straits. In May, she gave $250,000 to Ability First, formerly known as the Crippled Children's Society, to help renovate a rundown swimming pool in Inglewood used by disabled children and elderly people.

"She was very kind in finding some money from the county," said Steve Rosenthal, the public relations director for Ability First. "A lot of the kids have trouble walking and moving their bodies outside the pool, so the pool gives them an opportunity to learn movements."

Supervisors Don Knabe and Mike Antonovich also favor small-scale grants. Knabe, in particular, sprinkles dollars far and wide, giving $1,269,876 last year to 266 groups, including $510 to the Lakewood High School football team, $1,650 to the Greater Long Beach chapter of the American Red Cross and $5,250 to the Rio Hondo Symphony.

"My philosophy is, the lifeblood of our county really [is] these community-based organizations, whether it be for domestic violence or healthcare or the arts," Knabe said.

Antonovich said the money keeps small community organizations afloat. "Those groups get lost in the shuffle," he said, "whereas you have big groups that suck up all the money."

The bulk of the discretionary spending went to nonprofit groups or cash-strapped government agencies. Although such entities cannot contribute money to political campaigns, the supervisors benefit indirectly from the goodwill that their support generates.

Lynne Plambeck, a Santa Clarita environmentalist who ran against Antonovich in March and lost, said that the supervisor's donations "absolutely" bolstered his profile during the race.

"He can give it right before the election, so they put it in their newsletter and everyone knows he gave the money," she said. "It would be better to have that money go through a nonpolitical channel."

Sometimes the public recognition can be substantial. After Yaroslavsky kicked in $1 million in public funds to the Walt Disney Concert Hall, "The Office of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky" was emblazoned on the donor wall along with the names of such wealthy philanthropists as Lillian Disney and Eli Broad.

The supervisors have stuck with the discretionary spending practice even through years of lean county budgets.

In 2002, while the five supervisors had a combined $24 million in their accounts, they made deep cuts in the public health system, closing 16 clinics.

This year, while the supervisors used their discretionary funds for music festivals and swimming pools, they placed a measure on the ballot that asked voters to raise the sales tax to help the county hire more sheriff's deputies. Voters said no.

At the same time, however, the supervisors sometimes dip into their discretionary funds to help county agencies.

Antonovich gave more than $700,000 to the Department of Parks and Recreation, with more than $95,000 going to keep Castaic Lake Recreation Area and the Placerita Canyon Nature Center in Newhall open during last year's budget crunch.

Some other large counties also give politicians money to spend in their districts, but require a vote on each grant. That is the case in San Diego County, where each supervisor is allotted $2 million annually; San Bernardino County, where each supervisor gets $200,000 per year; and Riverside County, where supervisors receive money from development fees.

"None of that money can be spent without a vote of the board in public, so that the public has a chance to say we like it or we don't," said David Wert, a San Bernardino County spokesman.

In Cook County, Ill., the second-largest county after Los Angeles, the 17 commissioners have no discretionary funds.

"In my world, if they want to give money to the Boys & Girls Club, that comes out of their political funds," said county spokeswoman Karen Stansig.

In Los Angeles County, individual supervisors have the first and last word about how the money is spent. The system includes a liberal dose of whimsy and happenstance.

There are no official guidelines for awarding grants, said Marie Martinez, the board's fiscal services chief.

Groups receiving county money must sign a contract agreeing to spend the cash as promised and file a financial report, but in practice the county rarely compels them to produce reports. "Usually what they do is they send a thank-you note to the supervisor," Martinez said.

Yaroslavsky suggested that the supervisors should vote on all discretionary spending, and Burke and Knabe believe large grants should be put to a vote.

"If you're talking about giving a million dollars, there should be a public vote," Burke said. "But there should also be an ability to help out in an emergency, if there is an overriding community need. For some of these things, there is not philanthropic support, and I think we have a responsibility."

Antonovich said the system functions well as it is, and Molina did not return calls seeking comment on discretionary spending.

For politicians whose weekly meetings are often a combative mix of berating bureaucrats for poor performance and enduring condemnation from angry residents, the chance to bestow cash on grateful groups is clearly a refreshing change of pace.

"We spend billions on healthcare and criminal justice in this county, and a county like Los Angeles has to be about more than bureaucratic programs," Yaroslavsky said. "It has to be about raising the quality of life."

Yaroslavsky's smaller donations include $70,000 to renovate a shabby baseball field in Topanga, a hillside community in the Santa Monica Mountains.

"I mean, nothing made me happier than to see county money go to something like that, where kids can go to play ball without having to travel 10 miles," Yaroslavsky said. "That's what government is about."

Many community groups with modest budgets and small staffs support the concept of discretionary government funds.

"There aren't too many places that an organization can go and get money quickly without an extensive application process," said Liz Schiller, development director for Pacoima Beautiful, a nonprofit group that strives to clean up the environment.

But she believes there should be more openness, suggesting that supervisors list their grants on their websites. "Then you could see that you can ask for money too," she said. "And you could see whether they are being evenhanded about giving."

Her organization has not requested discretionary money from Yaroslavsky, who represents Pacoima. Instead, said director Marlene Grossman, Yaroslavsky's staff helped her group obtain a private grant worth more than $200,000.

But with the grant expiring, Grossman was thrilled to learn how much discretionary cash Yaroslavsky had. At the end of the fiscal year in June, the supervisors had $14 million. Yaroslavsky alone had more than $4 million.

"Oh my goodness," Grossman said. "I feel so much better."

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Spending by supervisors

Every year, the five Los Angeles County supervisors each get about $1 million to spend on community groups and projects as they see fit. Here are the largest contributions each supervisor made during the last five years:

Gloria Molina (District 1)

Mexican American cultural center: $7,000,000

City of Baldwin Park, upgrades at Shyre Park: $400,000

Eastlake Juvenile Hall, alcohol and drug program: $370,000

AVANCE parent education program in county schools: $248,187

Rowland Unified School District, Nogales library: 107,350

**

Yvonne Brathwaite Burke (District 2)

Ability First, pool for disabled children and the elderly: $250,000

Sheriff's Department, community policing 2001-02: $224,488

Sheriff's Department, community policing 1999-2000: $186,000

Sheriff's Department, community policing 2000-01: $150,187

Los Angeles Eye Institute: $125,000

Los Angeles Air Force Base Regional Alliance: $125,000

**

Zev Yaroslavsky (District 3)

Van Nuys Civic Center Child Care Center: $2,600,000

Walt Disney Concert Hall: $1,000,000

Santa Monica Courthouse expansion: $930,000

Ford Theater Foundation: $250,000

Topanga Community Club ball field: $70,000

**

Don Knabe (District 4)

Parks and Recreation, 2001-02 junior golf program: $135,000

Parks and Recreation, 2002-03 junior golf program: $135,000

Little Company of Mary Hospital Foundation, anti-violence programs: $100,000

Los Angeles Air Force Base Regional Alliance: $100,000

Children's Dental Health Clinic, mobile unit: $100,000

**

Mike Antonovich (District 5)

Parks and Recreation, 2004 Family Music Festival: $140,638

Parks and Recreation, 2003 Family Music Festival: $100,000

Parks and Recreation, 2002 Family Music Festival: $100,000

Glendale Police Department, two officers for schools: $80,000

Parks and Recreation, 2001 Family Music Festival: 75,000

Source: Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors