Los Angeles County is LATE on Delivering East Los Angeles Report

A County motion for an East LA Report was due to the public August 21

• Edmundo Cuevas
• (916) 319-2052

Sacramento, CA(Wednesday, August 28, 2024) - Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (AD-52, Los Angeles) issued the following statement regarding Los Angeles County being late on delivering an East Los Angeles report:

"It is disappointing that a report due on August 21, 2024, commissioned by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (BOS) to its own Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on East Los Angeles is now more than a week late. At this time, no public notice has been given on a new date for the publication of the report. In direct communications with the office of the CEO, my office was informed that they have asked the BOS for more time because, 'the complexity of such a comprehensive report and the involvement of multiple stakeholders, the timeline for completion is still being determined.' The office of the CEO also confirmed that the County does not have data readily available related to the community of East Los Angeles as it does not isolate revenues for the region, meaning the County does not separately track data on tax revenues, property taxes, investments, or department costs specifically for East Los Angeles. With a population of nearly 120,000 residents, whatever tax revenues East Los Angeles produces are completely unknown and simply go into the County's general fund to be used at the County's discretion.

East Los Angeles is the largest unincorporated area not only in Los Angeles County, but in the United States. The conversation is no longer about the bill I am authoring for the community, AB2986, but rather, what is the responsibility of the BOS to the community of East Los Angeles. How do you tell a community that it does not have a tax base to incorporate into a city or become a special district with local elected leadership if data is not separately tracked nor readily available? In the weeks to come, the County must work with community residents who are simply asking for the basics. Residents want to know where and how their tax dollars are being spent and what they can do to improve their community. The residents of East Los Angeles deserve a public notice as to when the report that was commissioned by the BOS over 120 days ago will be made available."

Background:

On April 23, 2024, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors made a motion (below) tasking the County CEO to produce a report related to East Los Angeles that would be due 120 days from that date. That date would have been August 21, 2024.

2. Direct the Chief Executive Office - Municipal and Unincorporated Area Services to engage LA LAFCO, labor partners, and relevant County Departments to report back in 120 days in writing including:

a. Consultant and County costs related to the past two East LA incorporation studies with estimated projected cost in 2024;

b. Impacts and diversions to other resources and studies under LA LAFCO purview;

c. Impacts and diversions to other resources, studies, and programs under County purview;

d. Summary of findings from last two incorporation studies;

e. Summary and breakdown of existing revenues (Federal, State, and local sources) and projection of revenues as an incorporated City, with a comparison of investments in capital projects, programs, and municipal services over the last ten years; and

f. Analysis and feasibility of East LA fiscal viability as a City or Special District.

3. Direct the Chief Executive Office - Municipal and Unincorporated Area Services to report back in 120 days in writing on the feasibility of forming a Municipal Advisory Council (MAC), a local Town Council, or a Coordinating Council that could represent comprehensive interests of the entire East LA community with associated cost, timeline, and structure similar to other unincorporated area town councils within the County unincorporated areas.

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About Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo:

Assemblywoman Carrillo was elected to serve in the State Assembly in December 2017. She represents the 52nd Assembly District, which includes East Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles, and South Glendale. She serves on the Assembly Committees on Appropriations, Emergency Management, Health, Labor and Employment, and the Joint Committee on Climate Change Policies. She also serves as the Chair of the Select Committee on Latina Inequities, Vice Chair of the Legislative Progressive Caucus, Commissioner for the California Film Commission, Commissioner for the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, and Member of the California Cultural and Historical Endowment Board.