LOS ANGELES : Bernardi Blasts Council for Session on Spending

Retired Los Angeles City Councilman Ernani Bernardi returned to City Hall on Monday to accuse his former colleagues of violating the state’s public meeting law by discussing the spending limit for the city Community Redevelopment Agency in closed session.

“People are entitled to a public hearing,” Bernardi told a council committee. “Every time you create a redevelopment project, you automatically impose a tax on the people of that community.”

Bernardi, who served on the council for 32 years before retiring June 30, is fighting a proposal to increase the $750-million limit on spending in the redevelopment agency’s Central Business District. He argues that redevelopment takes too much money from basic city services such as police and fire protection.

City officials said the issue of spending in the Central Business District will not be settled for several months.

They said it was appropriate to hold the initial discussion behind closed doors, because Bernardi has threatened to sue the city if it tries to raise the spending limit. The public meeting law permits public officials to meet in private, in some cases, to discuss pending litigation.