PAYING TERROR'S TOLL L.A. SPENDS MILLIONS TO COVER COST OF ALERTS.

Byline: Mariel Garza Staff Writer

Each time Los Angeles kicks into higher terrorism-threat mode - as it did in preparation for this holiday weekend - it comes with a price tag as high as $1.5 million a week.

With the city facing serious financial problems, every dollar has become important to budget hawks. The frequent ``orange'' terror alerts add to the stress since they aren't specifically included in the budget and it's unclear when promised federal money might arrive.

But efforts are under way by one city councilman to plan for the costs in future budgets, which could add fuel to the spat between the council and Mayor James Hahn over projected money problems and hiring police officers.

``It's a new, unfortunate fact of life that periodically the nation will go into a heightened state of alert,'' said Councilman Jack Weiss, the council's point man on terrorism.

Currently, the city pays for these security costs on the fly, tapping into different cash sources.

``To the extent we can, we use a department's existing budget,'' said City Administrative Officer Bill Fujioka. ``Otherwise, we go to reserves.''

Since a lot of the protective effort has focused on the airport and the harbor, those proprietary departments have reimbursed some of the costs.

So far this year, the city has racked up more than $4.1 million in overtime for police officers, Fire Department workers and General Services Department security personnel called into action to work 12-hour shifts around the city and airport during the high security alert periods in February and March.

During that time, costs ranged from about $800,000 to $1.5 million a week, Fujioka said.

That money doesn't include the estimated $100 million the city had already spent to boost security since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Nor does it include the $4.4 million approved in March to buy thousands of gas masks and protective suits for all police and fire personnel. Only a few hundred officers, at most, have been outfitted with the protective suits so far.

The LAPD has warned Fujioka that if the current state of alarm lasts a full month - until June 20 - it would mean another $7 million in costs. In addition, it's very likely that the city and nation will go into high security mode again over the three-day July Fourth weekend.

All this comes during one of the most serious budget crunches the city has faced in recent years, with city leaders bickering over next year's financial picture.

``We have no choice,'' Hahn said last week during the latest high alert, which activated security checkpoints at Los Angeles International Airport and stepped up surveillance of 605 ``hot spots'' across the city.

``We have to make the city safe. ... We can't wait for the federal government to send the money. We have to move forward and we are going to move forward, and we are going to do what we think is necessary to protect the people of the city.''

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has earmarked more than $30 million in grants for Los Angeles, and the city expects to get some of the money allocated to the state as well.

But it's unclear when that money will arrive, particularly since the application forms haven't even been handed out. And when it does arrive, it's also unclear what the city can use it for. Most of it is designated for training and equipment costs, but part of it may be used for personnel overtime costs, the city's biggest expense.

With all the uncertainty, Los Angeles should be building security costs into the city's annual budget, Weiss said.

``I've always said it ought to be a line item in the budget,'' Weiss said. ``There's no questions about it: We have to be even more prudent in planning our future.''

Others disagree.

``Because it's not a planned event, it's very difficult to budget for an emergency of this sort,'' Fujioka said. ``It'd be like trying to budget for an earthquake.''

Unexpected costs are what reserve funds are for, said Police Chief William Bratton.

``These events are certainly unanticipated, and we certainly don't have enough experience with them to anticipate how regularly we'll have them,'' Bratton said.

Still, to a certain degree, Bratton has built in a security cost as part of his recent reorganization by creating a Counter-Terrorism Bureau. Though the bureau has many functions, including bomb squad and surveillance, its very existence indicates that the LAPD expects terrorism to be a continuing threat.

Funding for Bratton's proposed reorganization, however, is in jeopardy in next year's budget, as are other Police Department costs. Currently, the City Council is wrangling with Hahn over Police Department spending.

``The mayor thinks the best way to provide funding for emergency services regarding potential terrorist attacks is funding the Police Department's reorganization,'' said Hahn spokeswoman Julie Wong.

Meanwhile, city officials are settling into the reality of national security alerts - something that did not exist before Sept. 11 - and are developing new procedures, new protocols for reacting and responding to them.

``In the long term, it's not going away,'' said Anna Burton, emergency preparedness coordinator for the city. ``Just like this is earthquake country, this is Los Angeles and we're going to have heat waves, threats, firestorms and floods.''