This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
As the Palisades fire began, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone appeared before the Board of Supervisors for a previously scheduled discussion on how to spend the first $152 million in property taxes that county voters approved in November for fire protection and emergency response.
Few other local governments could have this type of conversation, Supervisor Janice Hahn told him at the Jan. 7 meeting.
“Our voters will vote to raise their own taxes” to protect themselves and each other, Hahn said, “and that’s not the case in other parts of, probably, the state and it’s certainly not in other parts of the country.”
That’s not entirely true, but as the crisis unfolded in the following days, county leaders enjoyed the appearance of foresight and readiness — even after the Eaton fire practically erased the unincorporated community of Altadena, where the county is the only municipal government.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass had no such luck.
Read more in CalMatters.