LA County, City Fight for Federal Funds

The city of Diamond Bar and Los Angeles County are fighting to retain federal funds used for service programs and development projects.

For 2011-2012, the city has planned to use money from the federal community development block grant program to fund its four senior programs, make public works improvements, and fund the Diamond Bar YMCA's Childcare and Day Camp.

At the beginning of the year, the city was expecting to receive a total of $383,691 from the federal program that could face cuts of up to 62 percent, according to county reports.

The city and county are asking residents to sign and send petitions by today, June 30, to a county campaign to save the community development block grant program.

In the county's petition letter, officials said the cuts would come at a particularly difficult time.

"This reduction comes at a time when the need for CDBG funded services is greater than ever, especially in Los Angeles County, which has an unemployment rate of over 12 percent -- significantly higher than the national unemployment rate of 9 percent."

According to a county website created in support of the petition, funding for the programs has decreased approximately 31 percent over the past 10 years.

County officials are urging to keep the federal funding level for this program equal with 2010-2011, at around $4 billion.

Mark Muro of the Washington-based Brookings Institution told the Los Angeles Times that the federal grant program is among the most useful for cities.

"While everyone is going to have to make sacrifices, CDBG remains maybe the single most important, flexible funding that cities receive that they can use to bolster their economies," Muro said.

According to another Los Angeles Times report, Rep. Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar) opposed an earlier proposal by President George W. Bush to cut funding for community development block grants.