TRASH-FEE HIKE PASSES COUNCIL COMMITTEE VOTE FUNDS TO GO TO POLICE HIRING.Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH Staff Writer The City Council's Budget and Finance Committee gave the first approval Wednesday to raise the residential trash fee by $17 by 2010 in order to pay for an additional 1,000 Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. police officers. After nearly two weeks of hearings, the committee endorsed all of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's $6.7 billion budget proposal, while adding extra money for left-turn-arrow traffic signals, emergency homeless shelter Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people. Usually located in urban neighborhoods, they are similar to emergency shelters. The primary difference is that homeless shelters are usually open to anyone, without regard to the reason for need. beds and neighborhood prosecutors. Even the trash fee, which was expected to be the most controversial item in the budget, was easily approved after council members agreed on a policy that the new revenue must be spent to hire police. Only Councilman Greig Smith Greig Smith is a Los Angeles City Councilman, representing the 12th District, which includes Granada Hills, Northridge and other parts of the Western San Fernando Valley. Smith is also a reserve officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. voted against the trash fee. ``My concern was the speed. Seventeen dollars in a four-year period is a big increase. I'd want to ease people into it more slowly.'' Council members Bernard Parks, Wendy Greuel Wendy Greuel is President Pro Tempore of the Los Angeles City Council representing the 2nd District. Greuel was elected in 2002 to fill the remainder of the term of Councilman Joel Wachs. She was elected in her own right in 2003 and reelected in 2007. , Jose Huizar and Bill Rosendahl all voted for the fee hike. The full City Council will consider the 2006-07 budget Friday. Residents in single-family homes and small apartment complexes now pay $11 a month for trash service. The proposal would raise that fee $7 this year, with additional increases until the monthly bill reaches $28 in 2010. The fee dollars would go into the city's General Fund, prompting some concern that the City Council could dip into money for other projects. Too often the budget process is like a game of ``Hungry Hungry Hippos'' with council members and city leaders gobbling up any spare dollars for pet projects, Greuel said. ``I want to make it crystal clear that the revenue generated by general fund savings must be spent on hiring 1,000 officers first.'' She recommended a new financial policy that all dollars, after obligatory expenses are paid, go toward hiring 650 officers this budget year, and 750 new officers in the following three budget years. The policy would be an ordinance and require 12 council votes to spend the money on other projects. The Mayor's Office said Villaraigosa was pleased with the budget committee's approval and the proposed ordinance that would ensure that the trash fee revenue isn't squandered squan·der tr.v. squan·dered, squan·der·ing, squan·ders 1. To spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate. See Synonyms at waste. 2. . ``Today we're a big step closer to getting the 1,000 additional police officers our city needs,'' said spokesman Joe Ramallo. During the budget hearings, the chief legislative analyst and city administrative officer found an additional $23 million in revenue, thanks to reimbursements from other agencies and extra money generated through fees. That money helped boost the city's reserve fund to $185 million. In addition, the City Council pumped up a few programs with unappropriated un·ap·pro·pri·at·ed adj. 1. Not designated for a specific use. 2. Not possessed by, spoken for, or formally assigned to a particular person or organization. funds. Those included $1.05 million to maintain the 820 emergency shelter beds and $2.2 million for left-turn-arrow traffic signals. The committee also recommended providing positions for six detectives, nine DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. processing staffers and six forensics See computer forensics. specialists to process a backlog of DNA evidence Among the many new tools that science has provided for the analysis of forensic evidence is the powerful and controversial analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, the material that makes up the genetic code of most organisms. and pursue suspects identified through the process. The Police Department would absorb the cost of the positions. kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com (213) 978-0390 |
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