Bellflower and Lakewood Cities Comparison. Essay Sample.

Bellflower is a city located in the county of Los Angeles and is situated in a metropolitan location. The town was founded in the year 1906, and it later underwent incorporation in the year 1957. As per the census conducted in the year 2010, the city had a total population of 76,616. The city is considered as one of the most densely populated areas in America being ranked at position 25 with cities being ranked with having 50,000 residents and above.

Historical facts

Bellflower city was founded in 1906, and it had initially been named as Somerset at a time when there was the establishment of a post office(LA County, 2017). However, later the post office officially declined the naming of the town as Somerset since there was another town in Colorado which had a similar name. The name bellflower is derived from a typical plant which was grown by the residents in the early years referred to as the belle fleur apple(LA County, 2017). The town had initial inhabitants consisting of the Dutch, the Japanese as well as the Portuguese who started with the growth of apples and later indulged into dairy farming until the world war II which led to the loss of property and threatening cases of annexations.

Geography

According to the state of beareu in the united states, Bellflower city has a total area of 6.2 square miles which is composed mainly of land as well as 0.1 square miles which are covered by water bodies(LA County, 2017). The neighbors to bellflower include Downey which neighbors it to the north, Norwalk as well as Cerritos neighbors it towards the east, the area of Lakewood covers the south while the city of paramount covers it to the west(LA County, 2017).

Politics

According to the indication of the California state legislature, Bellflower is considered to be the 32nd district, and it is currently being represented in the Senate by Tony Mendoza who is a member of the democrat. For the case of California state assembly, they are of Bellflower is considered to be the 58th assembly district and it has itself being presented by Kristina Garcia(LA County, 2017). For the case of the house of representatives, the area is represented by split which occurs in the 38th as well as the 40th regions of the congressional districts.

Budget

The city of Bellflower budget for 2017-2019 was affected after a meet session between the stakeholders in the city council where the members reviewed the budget which was developed by the management and considered the cases of the capital improvement plan(Bellflower, 2017). Below is the budget plan for Bellflower city;

Figure 1: Budget for Bellflower city (Bellflower, 2017).

Despite the area of Bellflower having high GDP, personals have a high allocation in the budget, and this is persistently improving over the previous years(Bellflower, 2017). The cost of operations is standard as well as the capital outlay. However the city is also indebted as in the previous years the requirements have overshadowed the budget thereby resulting in financial restraint(Bellflower, 2017).

LAKEWOOD CITY

Lakewood is considered to be a city located in the county of Los Angeles, and it has an associated population of 80,048 residents as per the statistics of the census conducted in 2010. The area is boarded by bellflower, long beach, Cerritos, cypress as well as the Hawaiian gardens(LA County, 2017). The city is usually referred to as the instant city, and this is because the town transformed dramatically from a field famous for the growth of lima beans to the currently well-formed city in 10 years( 1950-1960).

Geography

From the data from the census bureau of America, Lakewood has an estimated total area of 9.5 square miles of which this 9.4 square miles is the area that is covered by land while the 0.1 square mile is the area that is covered by water bodies(LA County, 2017).

Political structure

The city is controlled by five members who form the city council of the town. In the case of appointment of a mayor, the board selects a member from the group annually, and the member is granted the seat for a year. The council further has a role of appointing the city attorney as well as the manager of the city. The city is torn between the 32nd and the 33rd Senate districts, and the city is noted by being the 63rd assembly district in the case of the California state assembly, and they are as of date being represented by Antony Redon(LA County, 2017). For the instance of the house representatives, the area of Lakewood is associated between the split of the 38th and the 47th case of the congressional districts. The city is represented in the house of representatives by Linda Sanchez as well as Alan Lowenthal (LA County, 2017).

Budget

Lakewood has a finance administration division which is entitled to the role of compiling the budget for the whole city(Lakewood, 2017). The department outlines the budget process, the guidelines as well as assumptions for the specific unit. Below is the budget for Lakewood city;

Figure 2: Budget for Lakewood (Lakewood, 2017).

The city has had a smooth financial statement during the previous fiscal years, and such is prone to improve with coming years(Lakewood, 2017). The city budget management committee has shown sufficient integrity in funds management, and this has raised the credibility and status of Lakewood town.

Comparison of demographics

Bellflower Lakewood

Census 1960 45,909 67126

1970 52334 83025

1980 53441 74511

1990 61815 73557

2000 72878 79345

2010 76616 80048

Table 1; Demographics comparison.

References

LA County. (2017, October). Geography & Statistics - Los Angeles County. Retrieved January 10, 2018, from https://www.lacounty.gov/government/geography-statistics

Lakewood. (2017, July). City of Lakewood, California - Budget. Retrieved January 10, 2018, from http://www.lakewoodcity.org/about/findocs/budget.asp

Bellflower. (2017, April).Operating Budget. Retrieved January 10, 2018, from https://www.bellflower.org/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=30185