COUNCIL MULLS INCREASING TAX FOR 911 SYSTEM.Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer Facing a possible $109 million shortfall on the operation and maintenance of its 911 emergency system over the next 10 years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. raised the prospect on Tuesday of seeking higher
telephone taxes.
With Councilman Joel Wachs Joel Wachs served for several terms as Los Angeles City Councilman for the 2nd district. He was first elected by defeating incumbent James B. Potter. While in office, Wachs chaired the Public Works Committee and vice-chair of the Environmental Quality & Waste Management and Hal Bernson objecting, the council agreed that the Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . , along with other city
agencies, should develop a plan on how to provide more funds for the 911
system - including possible state legislation that could increase the
surcharge for the system without going to voters.
``This is ridiculous,'' Councilman Joel Wachs said. ``We have a surcharge now in the utility users tax. If you want to raise that, all you have to do is go to the voters. This is a way to raise taxes without having to go to the voters. What this really is is a subterfuge sub·ter·fuge n. A deceptive stratagem or device: "the paltry subterfuge of an anonymous signature" Robert Smith Surtees. of (Proposition) 218.'' Los Angeles residents already pay two taxes on their telephone bills. The utility users tax is 10 percent. On top of that, the state levies 0.72 percent on all calls made within California to pay for 911 service. This year, Los Angeles will get $14.2 million from that fund. But the LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. is spending some $24 million a year out of its $1.1 billion budget for communications, officials said. Linda Bunker, commanding officer of the Emergency Command Control Communication System, told the council the surcharge was only one of several options. ``The state money goes for just a portion of what we consider costs for the 911 system,'' Bunker said. ``The state gives the money to the city to cover certain portions, from telephone calls to the dispatch center.'' Among the items not covered not covered Health care adjective Referring to a procedure, test or other health service to which a policy holder or insurance beneficiary is not entitled under the terms of the policy or payment system–eg, Medicare. Cf Covered. by the state fund are police radios and mobile computers, she said. Bunker said the $235 million approved by voters in 1992 to replace the existing system has been committed for the capital program, including the construction of a new emergency communications center An Emergency Communications Center, or ECC, is the nerve center of an area's emergency services. Resources in the field communicate, often via radio, mobile data terminal, or mobile phone, to dispatchers who then effectively manage the emergency resources for the area. downtown. Building the center downtown is expected to cost about $3 million more than at a site in Westchester also considered by the city. There was no estimate on how high a surcharge would be needed. After the meeting, Bunker estimated the funding gap for maintenance and upkeep at $109 million over the next 10 years. ``We don't want to see us get in a position where we let things go and then have to go to the voters again with another big bond issue,'' Bunker said. ``We have ongoing costs to keep the system operating.'' Councilman Hal Bernson objected to seeking legislation allowing the city to impose the surcharge. ``You're waving a red flag when you say surcharge,'' he said. ``I know it's just a study that will come back to us, but these things seem to take on a life of their own and can't be stopped.'' Kris Vosburg of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association helped sponsor Proposition 13, the property tax-cutting initiative in California in 1978 which slashed property taxes by fifty-seven percent and initiated a national tax revolt. It was founded by California republican Howard Jarvis. also questioned the need for the surcharge. ``This is just becoming the No. 1 excuse to reach into the taxpayer's pocket,'' Vosburg said. ``Every time they need more money, they say they need it for police or 911 or the fire department or libraries. They know they get public sympathy for those things.'' |
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