EDITORIAL SQUISHY FIGURES THE LAPD NEEDS TO OFFER AN HONEST ACCOUNTING OF ITS PROPOSED TAX INCREASE.

WHEN Los Angeles police officials first started pushing the half-percent sales-tax measure earlier this year, they declared that the $160 million a year it would bring in would pay for hiring 1,800 more cops.

But now that it's just two months until voters decide whether to endorse the sales tax, the word is that, really, the Los Angeles Police Department will only be able to hire 1,260 officers.

So what gives?

It's no mystery how much it costs to hire one new cop, so why the shifting numbers?

When it comes to spending the public's money, it never seems to be clear up front how much things will cost, or how much value government can get. When it comes to expenditures, such as the proposed new Parker Center, the price starts as something reasonable and keeps climbing.

If officials want to get the public behind a project - and keep it there - they must have hard numbers, not the squishy figures that only serve to fuel mistrust.