City and County Reach Compromise on Cost of Joint Elections

Los Angeles city and county officials Tuesday reached tentative settlement in their dispute over election costs, paving the way for a June public vote on a sweeping city ethics reform package.

The compromise was approved Tuesday by county supervisors in a closed-door meeting. It now goes to the City Council for expected approval.

Under the tentative agreement, the county will withdraw its threat to bar the city from participating in the June 5 county-run election. In return, the city will drop a lawsuit against the county over billing for the 1988 election.

The city and county also agreed to “split the difference” in their dispute over the city’s 1988 bill, Supervisor Ed Edelman said.

The agreement follows a month of intense behind-the-scenes negotiations, including rare face-to-face meetings between members of the City Council and the county board.

Edelman said the supervisors agreed to the settlement “in the interest of harmony.”

“This is not a good time to keep fighting with the city,” he said, pointing out that the county is seeking city approval for development of county-owned land downtown.

At Supervisor Pete Schabarum’s urging, the board last month voted to block the city from consolidating with the county’s election unless the city agreed in advance to pay its share of the costs and dropped the lawsuit against the county for billing in the 1988 election.

In 1988, the county established a new formula for billing cities for the costs of consolidating elections. The city, whose bill for the November, 1988, election shot up 822%, to $755,654, compared to the November, 1986, fee of $78,223, sued the county last December challenging the statement.

Under the tentative agreement, the city will pay the county $401,129 for the 1988 election, Edelman said.

Schabarum cast the lone vote against the settlement, Edelman said. Schabarum could not be reached for comment, but the San Gabriel Valley supervisor had complained that many small cities paid a higher bill in 1988 but did not file suit.

County Registrar-Recorder Charles Weissburd said that those cities will now be entitled to rebates.

A spokesman for Council President John Ferraro described the chances for council approval of the settlement as “very, very good.”

“It’s a good deal for the city,” Councilman Mike Woo added.

The council has approved placing four measures on the June ballot, including the ethics package. It would ban outside work for elected city officials while increasing the annual pay of council members to $86,157 from $61,157. It would also establish public financing for city campaigns.