HAHN'S PLAN FOR MORE COPS VOTED DOWN.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

Defying Mayor James Hahn, the Los Angeles City Council tentatively approved a budget Monday that postpones plans to hire more police officers because of concerns about the city's long-term financial health.

The 11-4 vote would be enough to beat a threatened mayoral veto, and forced Hahn to shift ground and look for a compromise that would mean cuts elsewhere in the budget to pay for 320 extra cops and to reorganize the LAPD.

Despite intense pressure and fiery rhetoric from Hahn and Police Chief William Bratton, council members said they were worried about driving the city into a fiscal crisis like that now experienced by the state government. Hahn's $5.1 billion budget is balanced for 2003-04 but could lead to deficits of $170 million to $300 million in 2004-05.

``I don't want you to be in a position six months from now deciding which library, which park (has to be closed) and which staffers have to get laid off because we've overhired or because we've gone too far,'' said Councilman Nick Pacheco, chairman of the budget committee, which recommended the plan.

``I just want to make sure we're doing a balanced approach in this whole picture.''

The council plan sets aside about $69 million from Hahn's budget in a reserve that could be used by the Los Angeles Police Department later if the city's long-term financial picture improves.

The mayor needs six votes to prevent a veto override, meaning he has to recruit two more council members to his side if the four negative votes remain steadfast.

``We're disappointed,'' said Deputy Mayor Matt Middlebrook.

``But there was clearly some interest in trying to work out a compromise. So the mayor wants to spend the next few days talking to council members to see if there's some middle ground, to see if we can still get some resources to the Police Department as he's proposed.''

Among those who could be open to negotiations with Hahn are Councilwomen Jan Perry and Wendy Greuel, who jointly offered a compromise motion to keep $25 million in the budget out of the $69 million in cuts - preserving most of the mayor's public safety plans except for $8 million for new police cars.

Their motion was sent to committee - essentially killing it in a polite way - by a 9-6 vote. Hahn's four supporters - Hal Bernson, Tom LaBonge, Janice Hahn and Dennis Zine - backed the Greuel-Perry proposal.

Monday's vote was not the council's final word on the budget.

City officials have to draw up in formal terms the council's multiple actions and amendments approved Monday and bring them back in final form for an official vote, expected either Friday or May 27. Then Hahn has a right to line-item veto any changes the council made from his proposal. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

The rhetoric from the mayor and council members Monday was turned down a notch from last week when the two sides engaged in sharp name calling.

``We're a family,'' James Hahn said at an event earlier in the day.

``Families have squabbles from time to time. The key thing, I think, is that everyone cares about this city and wants to move this city forward. I look at it just as any other family - once in a while harsh words are spoken, and the next day though we've all got to work together and live together.''

Still, Hahn did not personally appear before the council, despite his staff originally saying he planned to address the council directly.

Middlebrook said Council President Alex Padilla ``disinvited'' the mayor to appear, telling him it was the council's chance to talk about the budget.

Padilla denied it, saying he never spoke with the mayor.

Middlebrook showed the Daily News a text-pager message from a Padilla staffer to a Hahn staffer Friday afternoon stating: ``With regard to the mayor coming into budget committee on Monday - this is the council's opportunity to debate. The mayor has had ample time to speak on the budget.''

But Padilla dismissed what he called a ``staff-to-staff'' communication, saying he never personally heard from Hahn.

``My door's always open for the mayor,'' Padilla said.

In the end, Hahn's chief of staff, Tim McOsker, did appear before the council to answer questions and indicated that the mayor supported the Perry-Greuel compromise.

Hahn's budget also includes a plan to raise the monthly trash collection equipment fee to $10, from $6, an increase the council supports as well. The charge is paid by homeowners and small apartment units that are part of the city's trash collection and recycling program. Businesses and larger apartment buildings, which are exempt from the program, don't have to pay the fee.

City officials estimate that it costs the city about $35 a month per household to provide trash collection, leaving the rest to be paid from the general fund as it has in the past.

Other fee hikes include raising the cost of zoo admission by 75 cents and golf fees by $5, roughly 20 percent.

HOW THEY VOTED

The Los Angeles City Council gave preliminary approval Monday to a budget plan that postpones Mayor James Hahn's public safety hiring proposal. Here is how the 11-4 vote broke down:

Hal Bernson: No

Ruth Galanter: Yes

Eric Garcetti: Yes

Wendy Greuel: Yes

Janice Hahn: No

Nate Holden: Yes

Tom LaBonge: No

Cindy Miscikowski: Yes

Nick Pacheco: Yes

Alex Padilla: Yes

Bernard C. Parks: Yes

Jan Perry: Yes

Ed Reyes: Yes

Jack Weiss: Yes

Dennis Zine: No

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HOW THEY VOTED (see text)