BUDGET FOR L.A. IS LEAN SPENDING PLAN DOES BOOST LAPD, ANTI-GANG PROJECTS.

Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH

Staff Writer

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveiled a $6.78 billion city budget Thursday that boosts funding for police officers and gang programs but cuts or maintains street resurfacing, tree trimming and other key services.

The second fiscal plan since Villaraigosa became mayor includes no new taxes or job cuts, but it includes few new or expanded programs. In fact, most of the city's 39 departments will see their budgets increase by less than 5 percent.

By raising fees and squeezing out as much as $50 million in savings, Villaraigosa said, he was able to maintain most services while narrowing the deficit and banking more money for a rainy day.

"For the first time, we're living like grown-ups," he said in an interview.

"We only grew spending by 2 percent. We haven't done that very often. This is a tough budget year. We would like to have done more but we have to face the reality of tough budgets."

The budget reflects officials' concerns that a cooling real-estate market will result in reduced revenue from property and documentary transfer taxes.

Budget officials also worry that court decisions could force the city to rescind a utility-user tax worth $275 million and a DWP water revenue transfer worth $32 million.

In addition, negotiations are beginning with the powerful labor unions that represent 13,000 city workers. Daylong walkouts by one of the unions last year sparked concern that labor unrest could spread if demands for a pay hike are unmet.

More police

The mayor said his budget includes money for employee raises, but he refused to say how much.

If the budget is approved by the City Council, the Los Angeles Police Department will get the largest increase, with an additional $52 million generated from higher trash fees designed to fund the hiring of 780 new officers.

The trash fee, which applies to single-family homes and small apartments served by the Bureau of Sanitation, will jump to $22 per month beginning July 1.

Because the LAPD was able to hire 80 more officers than planned last year, the city moved up the third phase of the trash fee increase to Jan. 1, when customers will pay $26 per month.

"By the end of the year, we will have the highest number of LAPD in the department's history," said Villaraigosa.

With roughly 9,500 officers on the force now, the recruitment drive this year and next will raise the force to 10,000 officers -- after retirements and departures.

The mayor also boosted the LAPD's overtime budget by $11 million -- addressing a long-standing complaint by Chief William Bratton that the city consistently under-funds the sworn overtime budget, forcing the department to scramble for money.

"In terms of what we have to work with, this is a good-news budget for the Los Angeles Police Department," Bratton said.

Reducing deficit

The mayor also proposes putting $187 million in the city's reserve fund and cutting the city's $231 million deficit to $93 million.

And the mayor is devoting $168 million to gang intervention and prevention programs -- a 10 percent increase over last year.

Still in the midst of a building boom, the Planning Department will see a $4 million spending increase under Villaraigosa's plan, and the Building and Safety Department a $3 million increase. The funding will help cover the cost of additional inspectors and planners to review projects.

But some fees will increase. Hillside homeowners, for example, would see a 200 percent hike in fees paid to city crews for brush clearance. Developers also would see a hike in entitlement-processing fees.

Some other departments face cuts, including a 1 percent trim at the Transportation Department and a 4 percent slicing at the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, which effectively means neighborhood councils will have to spend their own money for printing and photocopying expenses.

Some key city services would take heftier hits, particularly the Bureau of Street Services, which would lose $18 million, or nearly 11 percent of its budget.

With the cuts, the city will resurface 25 fewer miles of street compared with last year but will cover an extra 100 miles with slurry seal that is designed to extend the life of a street by five years.

Tree-trimming hit

The department also will trim fewer street trees next year, pushing back the tree-trim schedule. Currently, most trees get pruned once every nine years; the cutback will push the it back to once every 10 years.

Street Services General Manager William Robertson said he worked with the Mayor's Office on the budget and is prepared to cut this year in anticipation of next year, when the city gets more gas tax and state bond money for roads.

"We're in this preservation mode -- save what we can until next year," Robertson said.

"The reality is that we have major problems with our street system and with our sidewalks. If we want to reduce the backlog for sidewalk repair from 83 to 10 years, it's going to take big bucks.

"The city is never going to have that money. That's the reality."

Last year, City Council members Greig Smith and Tony Cardenas proposed a $1 billion bond to pave the backlog of damaged streets, but the measure was pushed back because of a crowded November ballot.

Smith said Thursday that he was disappointed the street-services budget was cut because streets, trees and sidewalks are the services requested most by his North Valley constituents.

Still, he supported the mayor's decision to trim the budget because it includes increased funding for gang-intervention and prevention programs.

"I think all of us would agree right now that that's more important than probably street maintenance," said Smith.

"There are critical moments in history where we either give up or we fight them, and we're at that moment now."

The City Council will begin considering the budget next week in a series of hearings with department heads.

The mayor is expected to sign the final budget next month.

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Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joins in a stretch-and-dance class Thursday at the Jim Gilliam Recreation Center in Los Angeles before his news conference on the city budget.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer