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LA Sheriff |
LA County |
LA Mayor / City |
LAPD Commission |
Asking
the Public for Help
a 1/2 cent Countywide sales tax for public safety
"Los Angeles County Public Safety and Homeland Security Sales
Tax" initiative
All together now ...
Momentum is building for the 1/2 cent Countywide sales tax initiative
first proposed by Sheriff Lee Baca. The LAPD Police Commission and
LA City Mayor James Hahn have decided to support getting the issue
before the voters. The LA City Council is expected to follow suit.
Petitions are circulating around the County, requesting to put the
"Los Angeles County Public Safety and Homeland Security Sales
Tax" initiative on the ballot in November. Over 170,000 registered
voters' signatures are required.
Once it's there, it still requires a super-majority (over 66%) vote
to be ratified and go into effect.
Los Angeles
Police Commission President David S. Cunningham, III, stated, "Compared
to other large cities, Los Angeles has a dangerously low percentage
of officers to residents. We have been lucky because the Department
has been effective in using its limited resources, but we just can't
continue this trend. We must hire more officers, and Sheriff Baca's
proposal will help us achieve the goal of increased public safety
in the City of Los Angeles."
The Los Angeles Police Commissioners unanimously supported Sheriff
Lee Baca's tax proposal, which if passed, would result in $168 million
in increased revenue for the Los Angeles Police Department. In the
past months, the Police Commission has been reviewing options to
develop public safety funding due to the shortage of funding from
the State of California.
Sheriff Baca's initiative, which is slated for the November ballot,
will not alleviate all LAPD budget issues, but it will greatly assist
in hiring much-needed officers for the City of Los Angeles.
In addition, the other smaller incorporated Cities throughout the
County will receive a proportional amount of public safety dedicated
tax revenues if the measure passes, as will the County Sheriff (roughly
1/3 each).
Law enforcement will use the bulk of the money it will get from
the sales tax to hire thousands of police officers, perhaps 1,200
(or more) of them for LAPD alone.
Although public safety issues are on the top of virtually everyone's
list of priorities, not everyone will feel inclined to run to the
voting boot to support it.
An Editorial in the Daily News concluded with, "... until local
officials start showing us a consistent pattern of wise spending
and good leadership, asking taxpayers to cough up millions more
is sure to be one tough sell."
But LA Community Policing supports the initiative and believes that
having the community participate by accepting a 1/2 cent sales tax
is just one way the residents of LA County can help themselves get
more police officers on the streets.
Sheriff Baca says, "It's better to pay a half cent than be
half safe," and points out it will cost the average consumer
about $6 a month or $50 a year.
Below you'll find the resolution passed by the LAPD Police Commission
along with statements from Sheriff Baca supporting the "Los
Angeles County Public Safety and Homeland Security Sales Tax"
initiative.
Finally, we've provided a website where you can go to see even more
information.
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A RESOLUTION OF THE LOS ANGELES POLICE COMMISSION
IN SUPPORT OF
THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY
AND HOMELAND SECURITY SALES TAX
WHEREAS,
the state budget crisis has resulted in significant reductions
of public safety services, and
WHEREAS, it is prudent to ensure that public safety
tax dollars remain in our local communities; and
WHEREAS, the Los Angeles County Sheriff has proposed
the Los Angeles County Public Safety and Homeland Security
Sales Tax initiative, a countywide sales tax increase of one
half cent to strengthen public safety, homeland security,
and local anti-terrorism efforts throughout Los Angeles County;
and
WHEREAS, this funding would focus on additional personnel
for law enforcement, local anti-terrorism, homeland security,
intelligence gathering, "first response" capabilities to extraordinary
emergencies, communications and specialized equipment for
law enforcement personnel through Los Angeles County, including
independent cities; and support resources required for regional
and countywide "Mutua1-Aid" effectiveness, expansion of inter-agency
coordination and standardized training for public safety services;
and
WHEREAS, the plan would generate approximately $500
million annually, and would be dedicated to law enforcement,
homeland security, and local anti-terrorism efforts throughout
Los Angeles County; and
WHEREAS, five percent of the revenue will be allocated
to the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, who performs Countywide
duties required by law, including jail services, court security,
investigations, judicial protection, and coordination of Emergency/Disaster
Operations for the County; and
WHEREAS, the remaining revenue shall be distributed
to the unincorporated area and every city within Los Angeles
County, and shall augment law enforcement, homeland security,
and local anti-terrorism efforts, with a minimum allocation
of $500,000 to each jurisdiction, with the remaining funds
equally distributed based on population percentage; and
WHEREAS, the City of Los Angeles, specifically the
Los Angeles Police Department, would receive approximately
$168 million annually under the proposed formula:
NOW, THEREFORE, the Board of Police Commissioners resolves
as follows:
Section 1. That the Los Angeles Police Commission supports
the passage of the Los Angeles County Public Safety and Homeland
Security Sales Tax Initiative for the November 2004 election.
Section 2. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon
its adoption by the Los Angeles Police Commission and the
Board Secretary shall certify the vote adopting this resolution.
.
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From
Sheriff Leroy Baca to the Police Commission:
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SHERIFF LEE BACA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Subject:
Los Angeles County Public Safety and Homeland Security Sales
Tax Initiative
Public safety and law enforcement are vulnerable to an ever-changing
fiscal climate in Los Angeles County and in Sacramento. In
these tough economic times, we must not sacrifice the safety
of our streets, neighborhoods, schools or businesses by slicing
the budgets that fund the uniformed officers and deputies
who protect our communities. Without a strong law enforcement
presence countywide, our schools and parks become unsafe,
businesses falter, and virtually all other government services
suffer negative consequences.
Now is the time to make a decisive commitment to fund public
safety in your city and in our county. To do this, I need
your help. I respectfully ask for you to join me in supporting
my November ballot initiative to create a steady, dedicated
source of public safety funding.
To protect law enforcement from the constant state of flux
in local and state budgets, I have authored a November ballot
measure that creates a dedicated and sustainable source of
revenue earmarked exclusively for law enforcement. My proposal
to increase the Los Angeles County sales tax by a half-cent
and dedicate all of these resources to fund homeland security
and public safety in every Los Angeles County city will prevent
the County and the State from future raids on this vital public
service. Equally important, this dedicated revenue source
will ensure that monies earmarked for public safety are used
exclusively for public safety and homeland security. This
proposed ballot measure will generate approximately $500 million
annually for law enforcement throughout Los Angeles County.
I need your help to pass this initiative.
For your review, I have enclosed a copy of the initiative,
an estimate of the annual allocation of funds by city, a proponent's
statement, which I authored and other informational material
referencing this initiative.
To qualify for the November 2004 ballot, we must collect 171,000
qualified signatures by June 2004, which means we have to
actually collect about 350,000 signatures to be safe. With
your leadership and support, we can ensure that our public
safety and homeland security needs are funded and our safety
will never be compromised in Los Angeles County.
If you have any questions about Los Angeles County Public
Safety and Homeland Security Sales Tax Initiative ID #1251810,
or if you would like to have someone speak with you about
the initiative, please contact me at (323) 337-0227.
Sincerely,
LEROY D. BACA
Sheriff
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LOS ANGELES COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY
AND HOMELAND SECURITY SALES TAX INITIATIVE
Written Statement for Initiative
by Sheriff Leroy D. Baca
PURPOSE
OF INITIATIVE:
The State budget crisis has resulted in significant reductions
of public safety services, Unfortunately, the situation appears
to be worsening with legislators orchestrating a tax increase
to address the State's financial woes, While I am not excited
about the prospect of raising taxes, I feel it is prudent
to ensure that public safety tax dollars remain in our local
communities, Therefore, I am proposing a Countywide sales
tax increase to strengthen public safety, homeland security,
and local anti-terrorism efforts throughout Los Angeles County,
This proposed half -cent sales tax increase would provide
a stable funding source for local law enforcement, with an
emphasis on the following areas:
Additional personnel for law enforcement, local anti-terrorism,
homeland security, intelligence gathering, and "first response"
capabilities to extraordinary emergencies.
Communications and specialized equipment for law enforcement
personnel throughout Los Angeles County, including independent
cities: and support resources required for Regional and Countywide
"Mutual-Aid" effectiveness.
Expansion of inter-agency coordination and standardized training
for public safety services, local anti-terrorism, homeland
security, intelligence gathering, and "first response" capabilities
(Emergency Operations Center-EOC/Terrorism Early Warning).
USE OF REVENUES:
The plan would generate approximately $500 million annually,
and would be dedicated to law enforcement, homeland security,
and local anti-terrorism efforts throughout Los Angeles County.
To ensure these funds are equitably distributed throughout
the County and to independent cities, the allocation structure
and use of funds shall be as follows:
Five percent of the revenue will be allocated to the Sheriff
of Los Angeles County, who performs Countywide duties required
by law, including jail services, court security, investigations,
judicial protection, and coordination of Emergency/Disaster
Operations for the County.
The remaining revenue shall be distributed to the unincorporated
area and every city within Los Angeles County, and shall augment
law enforcement, homeland security, and local anti-terrorism
efforts, with a minimum allocation of $500,000 to each jurisdiction,
with the remaining funds equally distributed based on population
percentage. The allocation amount shall not exceed a city's
total public safety budget.
SUMMARY:
Public Safety is the first priority of local government, and
it is critical that we invest in our future right now. The
Los Angeles County Public Safety and Homeland Security Sales
Tax Initiative provides the stable funding desperately needed
to strengthen public safety, homeland security, and local
anti -terrorism efforts throughout the County. This measure
also guarantees that local financial resources will not be
redirected to other public services. The brave men and women
who protect and serve our communities deserve the proper resources,
and-we deserve the highest level of public safety. I strongly
urge your support of this initiative.
.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more information please visit:
www.SheriffLeeBaca.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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If you
wish to assist the Sheriff in collecting signatures for the
LA
County Public Safety and Homeland Security Sales Tax
initiative
please call:
Steve
Whitmore
323 / 337-0227
and arrange to go by the offices at:
320 N. Larchmont Blvd.
(cross street is Beverly)
You will
be provided with original official petitions, T-shirts, brochures
and posters and get instructions on how to return them for
counting.
NOTE: Any registered voter in the county can sign the petitions.
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