Bradley Proposes New Tax to Pay for Police : City Hall: Mayor hopes to get on the November ballot a plan to add 1,000 officers. If passed, the measure would cost the average property taxpayer $75 a year.

By LOUIS SAHAGUN

July 7, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Mayor Tom Bradley today was expected to unveil a proposed November ballot initiative calling for a special property tax to raise $100 million for an additional 1,000 police officers.

At a news conference, which Police Chief Willie L. Williams was scheduled to attend, Bradley was to ask the City Council to order drafting of the measure to increase the size of the 7,900-member force, which has one of the lowest officer-to-citizen ratios of any major city.

The initiative, which would require two-thirds voter approval, would cost the owner of an average 1,500-square-foot home about $75 a year, said Councilman Marvin Braude, who assisted the mayor’s office in developing the proposal.

If placed on the ballot, passage is far from assured. In 1981, a similar ballot measure, which would have raised property taxes to increase the department’s authorized strength to 8,500 officers, was defeated by a vote of 58% to 42%.

The mayor also was expected to ask the council to commission a separate ballot initiative to finance a complete overhaul of the city’s emergency communications system, at a cost of at least $235 million.

Changes slated for the communications system include construction of a new emergency facility in the San Fernando Valley, the expansion of the downtown central dispatch center and upgrading of the 911 system, mayor’s spokesman Bill Chandler said.

“The mayor talked with Police Chief Willie Williams and several city officials in late May to lay the groundwork for the proposal to strengthen the Los Angeles Police Department,” Chandler said. “The mayor’s primary concern is to give the LAPD the officers it needs to accomplish the goals set forth by the Christopher Commission and Charter Amendment F.”

The Christopher Commission investigated the Police Department after last year’s beating of Rodney G. King. Charter Amendment F, overwhelmingly passed by city voters last month, mandates a number of department reforms recommended by the commission.

Despite the success of Charter Amendment F, Braude said it would be difficult to gain voter approval for the Bradley proposals.

“I think it will be very hard to sell this to voters . . . but I believe we cannot afford not to do it,” Braude said. “I also think it is a fair and reasonable amount--$75 for the average home, and higher for larger homes, apartment buildings and tall office buildings.”

Braude said the expansion of the force would be funded through the property tax until other revenue sources could be found.

The City Council must act on the proposals by July 15 to get them on the November ballot, said Councilman Mike Hernandez, who will introduce the mayor’s proposal to the City Council on Wednesday.

Hernandez said the proposal will be used as a substitute for a plan he authored a week ago that would have asked voters to fund an additional 2,100 officers with a special assessment district.

“In recent discussions with Bradley and Chief Williams, it became clear that a 10,000-member force without an improved 911 system could create chaos,” Hernandez said.

“We just don’t have any money for that in the city budget,” Hernandez added. “So we’re giving the voters a chance to decide whether they want to provide the resources to deal with crime affecting all our neighborhoods.”

Williams, who was expected to endorse the proposal at this morning’s news conference, could not be reached for comment. But department spokesman Cmdr. Robert Gil welcomed the idea.

“It would fund an additional 1,000 officers,” Gil said, “and anything we can do to get more officers, I support.”