Letter Close

l-close/dt1st/mike2nd Valley VOTE Victory The businesses and residents of the San Fernando Valley received good news and a victory recently. Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) attorneys ruled that the petitions for a secession study to be turned in by Valley VOTE will not have to be verified signature by signature, a procedure that could have cost as much as $272,000. The verification process will be done by a 3 percent sampling method, which is used for all state, county and city petitions. In this case, Valley VOTE is being asked to pay for the verification process, which could be $8,000 or more. However, that cost is traditionally borne by the governmental agency, and Valley VOTE expects the same treatment. We hope that LAFCO will start its study of the San Valley Fernando Valley as a separate city as early as next January. RICHARD CLOSE Chairman Valley VOTE