Don't abolish LAFCo

AT THE JAN . 15 meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors' Budget Committee, Sups. Chris Daly and Sophie Maxwell asked Gloria Young, the board's clerk, to ask the Local Agency Formation Commission whether it needs to continue operations. This isn't the first time board members have made noise about shutting down LAFCo: it came up last May (see "Don't Kill LAFCO," 5/21/03). But it was a bad idea then, and it's a bad idea now.

LAFCos are standard parts of government in many counties, and they typically devote most of their time to issues of land annexation and incorporation. In San Francisco the agency was created four years ago as part of the process of placing on the ballot a measure to create a municipal utility district. But long after the MUD campaign, LAFCo has become the only formal body addressing the public power issue, and if it's shut down, the issue – one of the most pressing concerns facing the city – can more easily slip from the public agenda.

LAFCo has before it a crucial matter: a detailed study by consulting firm R.W. Beck on the feasibility of the city taking over Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s local system. The panel doesn't have in its current budget the entire $600,000 such a study would cost (LAFCo will probably wind up with about half that amount this spring), and in tight-budget times, it's unlikely Mayor Gavin Newsom will allocate the additional funds. But that's no reason to shut it down. In fact, LAFCo members ought to publicly demand the study be fully funded ($600,000 sounds like a lot of money until you realize that public power could save the city several hundred million dollars every single year), and if the mayor balks, the panel can point out that even a small increase in PG&E's franchise fee – now the lowest in the state – would more than pay for that work. And if the mayor still won't respond, LAFCo should negotiate with R.W. Beck and get the best study possible for the money it has.

P.S. If Angela Alioto, Mayor Newsom's advisor on public power, has any real clout in the administration, let her show it now and publicly push Newsom to fund the study. P.P.S. With LAFCo in jeopardy, it's essential that City Controller Ed Harrington complete his study on the economic impacts of high PG&E rates and that City Attorney Dennis Herrera complete his analysis of how the Board of Supervisors can best proceed to bring public power to San Francisco.