11-25-1975 - Regular Meeting - Minutes•
ADJOURNED MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF WEST COVINA, CALIFORNIA
NOVEMBER 25, 1975
The adjourned meeting of the City Council was called to order
at 8:00 A.M. by Mayor Ken Chappell at the Carrows Restaurant,
West Covina.
ROLL CALL
Presents City Council:
Mayor Chappell;
Councilmen: Browne, Miller, Tice
Congress:
Congressman Lloyd
J. Giovaniello, Congressional Administrative Assistant
M. O'Donnell, Field Representative
Absents Councilman Shearer
Others Presents G. Aiassa, City Manager
L. Preston, City Clerk
L. Eliot, Controller
G. Salazar, Coordinator, Redevelopment
F. O'Connor, Administrative Analyst
B. Freeman, Reporter, S.G.V.D.T.
M. Ward, Reporter, L.A. Times
Cathy Jones
Mayor Chappell welcomed everyone to the meeting with Congressman
Lloyd and his Staff.
Congressman Lloyd thanked everyone for coming to the meeting, and
for the opportunity to meet with the West Covina City Council.
Congressman Lloyd: If I was to pick one subject you would like
to..hear about, it would be revenue sharing.
Nothing will.pass this year, probably next
year, and it has problems.
A major problem is that most of the people
in the Congress have not served at the local level.. While I do
not advocate it, it has been evident to me that if everyone had
served in the areas of local government, we would do a better job.
General law cities require a balanced budget. Unfortunately, in
Washington, we have not fully learned the lesson. It is a problem
that we face and it contributes mightily to -the problems of our
economics today.
• Revenue sharing will be an issue next year.
Some people feel that to give federal monies to local government is
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CITY COUNCIL
Adjourned Meeting
Congressman Lloyd
November 25, 1975
Page Two
a waste on the basis that all they do is incorporate it into
their own budgets; then,it becomes a necessity. My question is
simple - "What is wrong with that, if that is what they want to
• use -it for?"
I am convinced that the most important
level of government is local government. I have made this speech
on several occasions in Washington. You are closest to the people.
With that recognition and knowledge, I would also emphasize and
underscore your responsibility to the people. It is the toughest
level of government because you meet the emotional impact before
any of the rest of us do. The minute something goes wrong - gutters,
development situations, misunderstanding with the local newspaper,
etc., you take it on the chin much quicker than we do. Once on the
federal level we have a buffer; you are the buffer. This is the
reason I have selected the method of trying to communicate with
the people of the District through such meetings as this. This
is not a report from.me to you, but a report from you to me.
As to revenue sharing, a group of us
from California that are from local government - city, county,
and all new in Washington, feel very much alike with regard to
support. You have no problems as far as my support is concerned
for revenue sharing. If I had any reservations a year ago, I have
none now. If you want to spend the monies in any area, I have no
objection to it. I don't have to tell you, the city councils will
handle it. I am not fearful that the local governments will not
serve well the communities with which they are associated.
• One of the questions I get is, "What
can we do?" If I were to ask for one thing, I would ask that you
approve.one trip for your mayor or a council member to Washington.
You do it for Sacramento, and you should do it for this governmental
level, too. We will effect you more on the big items - money, etc.
I would appreciate it if you would see to it that one of your
elected officials shows up in Washington once a year. This is
absolutely non -partisan. The mayor from the City of Pomona comes
to Washington once a,year and attends breakfasts, special meetings,
etc. On a percentage factor, Pomona is one of the best funded
cities.
I am not going into the philosophy of
federal funds coming in. People are not just coming back to
Washington because it is a jolly place to be; it is important
involvement. It is easy to say, "We are not going to waste the
taxpayers money on a trip to Washington. But, the taxpayers
money is in Washington.
I would.encourage you to give considera-
tion to it. We would be pleased to see you.
Regarding .the New York crisis, I would
like to have you indicate to me how'you feel.
I want to hear from all of you. Just
call Maggie We return our calls within 24 hours. If it is really
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CITY COUNCIL
Adjourned Meeting
Congressman Lloyd
November 25, 1975
Page Three
a crisis, they will call me from the Floor, Committee, or whatever.
That is really my report from Washington.
What can I do to help you do your job better?
Mr. Eliot: I would like to ask about the CETA Program.
I have heard a serious rumor that some
congressional people do not feel that the
cities are fully qualified to administer the Program; therefore,
Congress is not going to give.the monies to cities again, but to
non-profit organizations.
The impact of CETA is almost as big as
revenue sharing. From a financial point of view, we would have to
lay—off everyone employed under CETA. The financial crunch is
more severe than with PEP.
Congressman Lloyd: I don't see it as having nearly the
problem that revenue sharing does. This
is a philosophical area; CETA is easy to
justify under the employment laws. It would be for cities to
receive the funds; no fault there.
Mr. Aiassas What can we.send you 'to help you support
the stand?
Congressman Lloyds Every time you send a.letter, I forward
it to the appropriate committee and that
is good. Congressmen send all corres-
pondence where it belongs.
(Congressman Lloyd introduced his Staff.)
Councilman Browne: Regarding CETA, we should write a letter
outlining our exact projects and what is
done with the money in our City?
Congressman Lloyd: That would be good.
Mr. Salazar: What is the feeling for the CDA Grant?
This is also a form of revenue sharing.
Although it is a three year program, as
of now I don't know what the possibilities are for extending it
for next year.
Congressman Lloyds The first phase went in on schedule.
Since nothing has come in to the contrary,
we have to assume that the second phase
will be on time. We need to know very shortly what your feelings
were from the handling of the first phase. I have not run into
any cities in the District that had a bad time.
Mr. Salazar: No, we didn't either.
• in hot water?
Is the program
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Adjourned Meeting
Congressman Lloyd
November 25, 1975
Page Four
Ccngressman Lloyd: No. No foreseen problems.
I have so far not had the tour of the
• Fashion Plaza. We are going to try to have the opportunity by
Christmas. I am delighted with what I see. The traffic patterns
have improved. The Fashion Plaza is a credit to the City. You
have created a certain amount of envy.
Mr. Aiassa: When will you be in town next?
Congressman Lloyds December 12th through the 20th.
Mr. Aiassa: We'll make sure you have the grand tour.
Councilman Tice: What about the budget deficit this year?
Congressman Lloyd: It will probably be about $72 billion.
I am sure you are aware that some of the
budget is discretionary and some mandatory. For example, the
Defense Budget, I believe it is for $103 billion, and of that
$31 billion is discretionary. I think it can be cut._
One of the reasons why we are in deficit
is that up until this year the Congress had no budgetary process.
The Administrative branch operated the budget. We have changed
that this year; the Congress has its own Budget Committee. This
has been, probably, one of the sources of irritation between the
• Administrative branch and the Congress. The White House no longer
dictates the budgetary process. Now that we have our own, I think
that we will see a rolling back. But we will need a period of
time to establish a balanced budget. There was no way to have
balanced the budget this year considering the tax rebates and
various programs.
I would like to see more monies go into
technology and science and space. I think the most critical item
we face is a shortage of petroleum. Don't fool yourselves that
we aren't in serious trouble with that. The tip of the iceberg is
showing, but the underneath is melting away rapidly. I maintain
that we should investigate all possible sources of energy.
There is a program investigating entering
the water for useable energy available to us. Some feel that we
should go full bore on nuclear power; it is a technology instantly
available to us. I voted for very strict requirements on strip
mining, coal mining, and I am willing to back off and say, "Let
us go forward at a rapid rate."
It is imperative that we take ourselves
out of the world market. If not, 5 years and they will own us.
It is bad. It don't pass. It is a very serious situation.
It is very serious to Southern California
• as it pertains to our transportation system. We are absolutely
dependent upon the freeways and automobiles; we must make our
adjustments in that area.
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Congressman Lloyd
November 25, 1975
Page Five
But, as to a mass transit system...
Come to Washington and take a look at one of the most "boon-
danggling" systems ever come to man. They are proposing that
• in L.A. The demands have increased and they are already running
out of money; it has consumed billions of dollars. To apply the
same principle to L.A., it would cost 10 to 20 Mimes that much.
It would bankrupt the nation to put it into L.A.
Councilman Brownes In what areas do you receive the most
opposition to nuclear power?.
Congressman Lloyd: That is two -fold. People are concerned
that the waste production will be
unmanageable. At the present moment,
this production must be stored. But this objection presumes that
our technology will not go any further on the use of the production.
The United States is not exclusive in the nuclear power area.
Europe is two to three years ahead of us already.
The other -concern is that a thereto -nuclear
device can be made out of the production. If you have the technol-
ogy, you would be far better off just going to steel one. I don't
think that is very valid.
Another thing is in the area of genetics.
Some people are concerned that there will be a mutation of man.
In each case, my response is, "It is
reasonable and we must solve the problem." I have asked these
• people if, in 1959, they were able to project man on the moon in
1969. If not, they do not understand the capability of the science
in our nation today. For every one person in science who warns
against going forward, there are 100 persons that say we must go
forward.
About nuclear power being a danger to our
health, I talked to a man in science from England who worked in the
coal mines. He asked me if I had ever seen a mine explosion, or
black lung. In comparison, numbers of people have died as a result
of the mines, and it has never been challenged.
Councilman Tice:Maybe if more of the delegates in Washington
had local experience, some of the material
and legislation wouldn't come out in the
form it does.
Councilman Browne$ Washington is listening to the major points
of view - those who speak out the loudest.
Any time that you enter into any type of
industry, you are going to find a hazardous area. We are expending
huge sums of money in the area of exploration. We should take some
of that money to enlighten the people on the proven methods.
Congressman Lloyds I think that the major problem is one of
• interpersonal impact. Somehow nuclear power
has come to symbolize the awesome power of
nuclear war.
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Congressman Lloyd
Councilman Brownes All of the nations are ready to go into
nuclear war.
• Councilman Tices Don't underestimate solar power.
Congressman Lloyds I think solar power is the power of
the future, but we need an interim power.
The state-of-the-art can only move so fast.
Mr. Eliots What about the Comprehensive Energy Bill?
Congressman Lloyd: It should be out by Christmas. We will
either extend it or pass it. It will be
on the Floor by the 2nd or 3rd of December.
Energy and New York will be done before the
first of the year.
Councilman Tices What is the feeling on solid waste matter?
Congressman Lloyds There will be federal monies for that.
Very much so.
Councilman Brownes What about thepostalservice? I admire
your stand on consolidation.
Congressman Lloyds We are going to have to review the role of
the Post'Office. In all probability, we
will have to admit that if it continues to
,operate as it is currently operating, it will not operate at a
. profit.
Mailing services are profitable. But they
operate in dense areas, not rural areas which is where you take a
fantastic beating. Now we allow five days for a letter from
Washington to California. I know for a fact that even ten years
ago, you could mail a letter in Washington and you would get it
here on the next day. There is a real problem with the Post Office.
UPS'has practically taken over parcel post, but they are in the
areas of density where the profit is.
I have introduced a Bill called the
Self-Distruct Bill. I think it has been very necessary. It
probably came about as a result of my serving on a Council. I
remember the agencies. We, who had been elected, would be gone,
and the agencies would still be there. My Bill calls for agencies
to go out of existence within three years unless Congress requests
their continuance.
Mr. Aiassas Take,for instance, the mail delivered
without a person's name "Occupant"
That is junk mail. In rural areas maybe
a postman goes one hundred miles just to deliver that.
Congressman Lloyds
Write a letter on that.
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Congressman Lloyd
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Page Seven
Councilman Browne: The im-nact of the postal service has
been terrific. Businesses receive
certain percentage discounts if invoices
are paid within a specific period of time. When you run a large
or small business, you are dependent upon factors such as this.
Today, you can mail the invoice in time, but it doesn't always
get to its destination in time. When you lodge a complaint with
the Post Office, it is,like going into the back room and talking
to the wall. Their attitude is that we are subservient to them.
We should get it back under control.
Congressman Lloyd: I agree.
Mr. Aiassa: On the issue of hand guns. Is -the
federal government going to handle it,
or let the states handle it?
Congressman Lloyd: It is a local issue, and a very emotional
issue. The right to bear arms is a basic
constitutional right, and we don't want
to give it up.
I would be supportive of the following:
Registration of guns, set standards of manufacture, a waiting period
of anywhere from 10 to 30'days, and demonstration at an appropriate
place of the owner's basic knowledge of the weapon.
protect individual's
strictly enforced in
Councilman Tice:
Congressman Lloyds
Councilman Browne,
Congressman Lloyd:
Laws such as the Sullivan Law exist to
rights, but they are not uniformly or
many areas,
room for discussion when
What about EPA and OSHA?
I voted against them. Bureaucratic
nonsense.
How does GSA operate back there?
We use it as a method of control for
some of the agencies. I find that agency
rules and regulations melt away and make
GSA enters the picture.
There is a Bill that might require GSA
audit of IRS. The present investigation of the IRS is revealing
many things, as has the investigation of the CIA. Investigation of
the CIA has been good and bad. Good in that it has proven that
all agencies are responsible; and, bad because we have probably
destroyed intelligence for a period of time to come.
I would like to thank you for this
opportunity, and I wish each of you a warm and hospitable Thanks-
giving. I hope we meet again,quicker than this. And, I hope to
see you in Washington.
ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 A.M.
until December 8, 1975, 7:30 P.M.
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