L.A. OFFICIALS SAVE ONLY ENOUGH MONEY TO HIRE JUST 5 MORE COPS.

Byline: James Nash Staff Writer

In the three months since they created a special fund to hire more Los Angeles police officers, city officials haven't saved any more money from other spending to increase the $500,000 that started the program.

That's only enough to hire five of the 1,740 new officers the public safety trust fund is supposed to pay for. City officials said it was created to show they are serious about hiring more cops and to help win voter approval of a half-cent sales tax hike that, added to the trust fund, would bring in enough money to meet Chief William Bratton's target of 3,000 more cops.

``Of course we'd like to have $5 million to $10 million in there right now, but I think we're well on our way as council members, and that's the message we want to send to the public,'' said San Fernando Valley Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, architect of the trust fund plan.

``If we're asking the voters to go out and raise taxes, we as a city have to demonstrate our commitment to hire more police by realizing all the efficiencies we can.''

Last October, the City Council backed Greuel's initiative to wring money - they talked about millions of dollars - out of the city's $5 billion budget through efficiencies and to designate the savings to hire police officers. Greuel introduced the proposal shortly before voters narrowly defeated a countywide measure to hire police and sheriff's deputies through a half-cent increase in the sales tax.

Since then, Bratton and Mayor James Hahn have advocated putting a similar tax proposal on the May municipal election ballot for city voters only. It would expand the 9,100-officer Los Angeles Police Department by more than 1,200 officers, and the public safety trust fund is supposed to make up the difference to reach the goal the chief said was needed to make Los Angeles the safest big city in the nation.

Both Bratton and Hahn said the trust fund is no substitute for a major new revenue source that would put the LAPD substantially closer to Bratton's goal of a 13,000-officer force.

``I think people know that public safety is our priority,'' said Hahn, who is running for re-election. ``We're going to try to do everything we can to squeeze those dollars out of the city budget, but those aren't going to get us the numbers we need.''

The first and so far only source of money in the trust fund comes from consolidating city-run toll-free telephone numbers into a single help line. By eliminating more than 100 seldom-used phone numbers over the next year, city government will save an estimated $500,000 annually, officials said.

``Five hundred thousand dollars is five police officers,'' Bratton said. ``I'd like it if I can get them.

``Efficiencies are great, but are they going to generate the $160 million we need every year to get to the level we need? It's nice, but it's nowhere near the amount ... to get to the officers we need.''

Councilman Greig Smith, who has proposed borrowing millions of dollars for police against additional revenue expected from the state, agreed.

``It's a small drop in the bucket, obviously,'' Smith said of the trust fund. ``We're talking about millions of dollars we're going to need in the long term.''

Smith, however, opposes a May sales tax measure, saying Los Angeles shouldn't impose a tax on city businesses as long as the rate outside city limits is lower. Smith also questioned whether the LAPD would be able to hire new officers as quickly as necessary to keep pace with the new revenue stream from a tax hike.

Greuel has identified four other measures that, together, would save or generate as much as $20 million annually, according to information compiled by her office. The proposals are:

--Charge other jurisdictions a fee when their residents are booked in city jails.

--Sell advertising on city vehicles, similar to ads on the sides of Metropolitan Transit Authority buses.

--Automate the process of furnishing fuel for city vehicles.

--Consolidate all city security divisions into a single public safety unit.

Greuel said all of the proposals are either in the process of being implemented or are being discussed by council committees.

But one police activist said elected officials could truly show their commitment to hiring police by eliminating an estimated $8 million a year in waivers for police to patrol special events.

Westside activist Monica Harmon said that as long as the city treasury continues to subsidize events such as the Emmy Awards and the Hollywood Christmas Parade, officials' claims of needing new revenues for the LAPD will ring hollow.

``Get rid of or streamline those special event waivers that are costing us millions,'' Harmon said.

Harmon said she supports Hahn's call for a new sales tax measure, saying the trust fund and Grieg's separate proposal to borrow money to hire police won't generate enough money in the long term.

``All of the proposals have something worthwhile in them that could help, but we need a long-term strategy,'' Harmon said.

Greuel said her trust fund idea was never conceived as a substitute for other revenue sources. But the councilwoman said she hasn't yet decided whether to support a new sales tax measure that would appear on the May 17 ballot. The full City Council must decide by Jan. 26 whether to place such a measure on the ballot.

James Nash, [phone]

james.nash(at)dailynews.com