POLICE BONDS IN LIMBO AS DEADLINE APPROACHES.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

Faced with a warning that overcrowding at some LAPD stations is nearing crisis levels, city officials are trying to break a deadlock in talks about placing a police facilities tax measure of at least $208 million on the June ballot.

Sources close to the talks say Mayor Richard Riordan has raised objections that the City Council is not in a strong enough position politically this year to persuade voters to approve either a bond measure or special tax for police facilities.

``There has been a real dissension about how to do this,'' said one high-level city source.

Mayoral spokeswoman Noelia Rodriguez confirmed that the mayor has concerns about the city's ability to fulfill the promises it might make in asking voters to approve additional taxes.

``The mayor's concern would be that whatever is placed before the voters is responsibly financed to make sure what the voters pay for is what they get,'' Rodriguez said. ``Voters have not always gotten what they paid for in the past.''

The city last went to the voters with a police bond two years ago, but the $171 million measure fell short of the two-thirds approval needed, garnering 62.4 percent of the vote.

The opponents who successfully defeated the 1995 measure were able to mount a campaign based on charges that the city could not be trusted to fulfill its promises.

They pointed to the fact that a 1989 voter-approved bond measure had not yielded the sixth San Fernando Valley station that had been promised.

Now the City Council faces a Wednesday deadline whether to put a new police bond on the June ballot, with Councilman Richard Alatorre urging the council to act.

Alatorre and other council members are continuing discussions to see if an agreement can be reached by Wednesday to get something on the ballot in June, according to Hilary Norton, an aide to Alatorre.

``Councilman Alatorre is extremely concerned about the conditions in police stations that the Kosmont study brought up,'' Norton said. ``That's why he is trying to make sure we go ahead with something now.''

Alatorre is arguing that the city needs to act now on a year-old report by consultant Kosmont and Associates that said the city has under invested in its police facilities for the past 30 years, Norton said.

The report suggested that ``only a massive, comprehensive facilities program can entirely remedy existing deficiencies, which include poor building quality, antiquated technology and severe shortages of space.''

However, one source close to the mayor predicted the city would not put a police measure on the ballot. The mayor voiced misgivings about a bond measure last year when the Kosmont report came out, saying he was concerned that the city hasn't made clear to voters what police needs are. He attributed the failure of the June 1995 police bond measure to this lack of clarity.

Some City Council members are prepared to vote to put the bond issue on the ballot even if the mayor objects, although they believe the mayor's support could be helpful to its passage.

Norton said Alatorre is not giving up yet and has called a special joint meeting of his committee and the Public Safety Committee for Tuesday to try to reach an agreement in time.

The proposals being discussed include a $208 million police bond measure that would pay for construction of two additional stations, including a sixth station in the San Fernando Valley.

It also would fund replacement of three other stations, including West Valley, and the bomb squad facilities, according to city analyst Larry Stern.

An alternative plan being examined by the the chief legislative analyst's office would float a larger tax measure that also would pay for new facilities for nonadministrative functions located in Parker Center downtown.

In addition, Councilman Mike Feuer is examining whether a special tax measure could be offered to voters so more support personnel could be hired for the new stations. That would not be possible with general obligation bonds, which can only be used for new construction.

Feuer would like to see a measure that could provide enough revenue to open from four to 15 satellite stations in leased space throughout the city.

Feuer did not return calls for comment, but an aide, Howard Gantman, said Feuer wants to see what the analysts will recommend at Tuesday's meeting.

One budget official said there is some belief that a special tax of up to $400 million is ``doable.''

Kosmont originally proposed a $435 million bond measure for the November 1996 ballot, but city officials balked. The council balked again when a measure was proposed for the April 8 ballot.