Department Will Increase In Size Through An Increase In Trash Collection Fees

In order to fund the expansion of the Los Angeles Police Department by approximately 1,000 officers by 2010, the City Council, on Tuesday, unanimously approved the mayor’s plan to raise trash collection fees.  The 1,000-officer build-up begins with the hiring of 650 new officers, to replace retiring officers, for fiscal year 2006/2007.  This sets in motion a five-year hiring plan to reach the mayor’s goal of bringing the Department to its highest sworn strength in history at 10,200 officers.

Stating that Los Angeles is one of the most under-policed large cities in the country, Chief Bratton, since his appointment in October 2002, has struggled to win funding for additional officers.  “The LAPD is far too small to carry out its mission in every neighborhood of the City.  It has never been realistically and correctly sized to succeed in making and maintaining a safe city – everywhere – through lawful and respectful policing.”

The most officers employed by the Department was in 1998, when it hit its record of just over 9,800 officers.

Comments

[Atwater Village Newbie]

So what will the city do when it needs to hire more trash collectors?

[B&W; Op]

As a city resident and owner of my own home, I understand very well what any increase in taxes does to my budget. Let's not play the word games the mayor and the city council did by calling this tax increase a "fee increase."

Why should I, a home owner, finance the increase in number of officers for the whole city, while businesses and apartment owners don't pay anything extra??? Businesses and apartment buildings probably generate more calls for police service than single family homes do, yet they get their police service subsidized by home owners.

This blatant tax increase without a vote of the people will be remembered at the next election.

[Westside Resident]

This is fantastic news. LA seriously needs more police offiers, and I applaud the Mayor for being creative in finding the funds to expand LAPD.

The service level gap between LAPD and other agencies, like the Beverly Hills Police Department, needs to narrow, and this is a step in the right direction.

Good news!

[David Hoag]

I agree with "B&W Op." The trash fee scam is an illegal parcel tax increase in violation of state law. The money raised is not guaranteed to go to the police department. So this is just a scam to levy an illegal tax, and if anyone opposes it, the police issue can be trotted out as a bogus rationale.

The tax increase has nothing to do with funding the police. The revenue is just dumped into the general fund. If the City Council wants to fund more police hiring, there are existing funds to do that. They need to cut the wasteful spending in the budget and fund the police.

And it's not just homeowners who will be shafted by this illegal tax increase. Anyone who rents a house or an apartment in a small complex will also be forced to pay this new, illegal tax.

Don't buy the trash tax scam. It's illegal and violates the California Constitution. Parcel tax increase like this must be approved by the voters. The City Council knows that, and they flatly ignored the law.

[curious]

How many of these 1000 new police officers will end up in administrative jobs? Why not civilianize the admin jobs currently held by P-2's, P-3's, and Sgt's and put more officers back out on patrol where they are really needed?

[M]

This is all BS,more taxes for Home Owners,that is all. 1000 new Officer's? How many of them will be doing paper work,and how many will be actually on the streets?

Property Taxes are paying for the salery of Officer's.How many Officer's do own a home and just pay their own salery? Now they are suppose to pay more for their trash?

The Mayor needs to get into touch with reality, maybe instead of planting 1000+ trees (forgot the actual number), which Homeowner's once again have to take care of,watering and cutting back (since noone seems to work for that Dept.),not even being asked if we want them once again at the same place where trees have been removed and some Homeowners paid for the removal of the stumbs (after two years waiting),he should use that money to fund LAPD.
The Mayor has no clue on how regular people do live.He has money!

This is just an attempt to make the public feel good.

[Afrikana]

Ladies and Gentlemen the mayor is feeble minded! Los Angeles will not become a Police City like Uncle Bratton (Former New York Police Chief) would like it to be. The issue is simple, more jobs more education more resources creates better people which in turn creates better communities. Lets look at the facts more police more crime, more crime more jails. More jails more more criminals, fewer citizens, get my drift. The propose of the police is to protect and serve not to govern which an increased force will do. Taxes are poorly disguised way to generate revenue but who will you recruit? Criminals, especially since we now have police at all of our Los Angeles schools. Open your eyes and see whats really going on and solve the issue instead of putting makeup on it. As a former
bureau of sanitation employee I believe money generated should go to that department. Los Angeles has about 4.1 million people, the call center only has 38 operators to take request for trash, illegal dumping ,wastewater and hazardous material and storm water calls. Give the money where it is needed, in addition the district yards are lacking in drivers, these people arent getting any raises, why? The citizens of Los Angeles should be responsible for micro policing of their neighborhoods, if you dont agree then we should stop crime by combating it with education, jobs, resources, and respect. Mayor if you stop being a advocate for what is wrong you will have a longer political career.

[curious]

echoing david Hoag. Dont forget about the many positions of officers only investigating other officers. How many more bad guys could LAPD put in jail if they werent so busy chasing their own tails. I wonder what the results would be if there was an audit of all the investigations, surveilences, and integrety stings where no misconduct was found. In other words all those man hours were wasted on unnecessary "wich hunts".

[Jack T.]

This new trash tax is built on a web of lies. The mayor and the city council have been spinning the big lie that this hike in taxes will lead to 1,000 new police officers. The truth is -- it will lead to only 350 new police officers.

The city budget presently has funding for 9,850 police officers. Once the trash tax is fully in place, the police force will be funded at 10,200 slots. 10,200 minus 9,850 is 350, not 1,000.

Curiously missing in the hype about the trash "fee" was any mention of the nearly 40 percent increase in city council and staff salaries approved in this same budget. The trash tax isn't funding more police. It's funding the highest paid city council in America and their first-class trips and $8,000-a-night hotel suites.

Like the car tax which brought down Gray David, this new trash tax was a gigantic blunder on the city council's part. Once homeowners and renters realize they're paying $50 more with each DWP bill to pay for the city council's lavish waste, the sleeping masses will awake and political heads will roll.

You can fool all of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all the time.

[Pete Malloy]

Trash revenue for more cops, eh? I see where this is going. "1 Adam 12, 1 Adam 12, Garbage Pick up, 123 So. Main St. See the man with a recyclable can."

Why not look at how the other 20 muni. P.D.'s in the county do things. I know Big Blue is the best and all, but Redondo Bch, Pasadena, Azusa P.D.'s are doing something right. Create a Community Service Officer (civilan) position to work the desk, work a U-boat (report) car, etc. Use Jailers to transport from Divisions to jail's. These and other simple changes will free up officers and allow them to handle the more serious calls, like Trash Can Patrol.

[Wayne Anderson]

Even the normally far-left-of-center, anti-property rights 'LA Weekly' called this exactly what it was -- a trash tax. "First it was billed as a way to hire 1,000 new cops. Then it wasn’t. Then it was again. Confused? Not surprising. The wordplay surrounding the fee increase was part of the city’s pirouette around Proposition 218," states the article.

Full piece is here: http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/the-cop-tax/13602/

[Jerry G.]

Why call it a trash fee if it's for more police? Why not call is a police fee? I'll tell you why. Because it's easier to raise existing fees than it is to implement new fees. This is just another dishonest tax.

Show up at the meeting on the 25th and say NO!