Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa proposed Wednesday steadily raising residential trash fees to what by 2009 would amount to a 155% increase over the $11 customers now pay each month.
The mayor would devote all of the resulting revenue to hiring 1,053 more police officers by 2010 -- a bold goal that Villaraigosa said was critical to keeping a lid on the city's crime rate and attracting more tourists and businesses to Los Angeles.
In a lengthy interview, with popular Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton at his side, Villaraigosa made his case for hiking a fee that the city has heavily subsidized; residents currently pay one of the lowest rates in Los Angeles County. Monthly residential rates for homeowners would go from $11 now to $18 starting with the new fiscal year in July, then to $22 the next year, $26 the next and finally to $28.
Those living in apartment buildings with four or fewer units currently pay a $7.27 monthly fee and would face an increase similar to homeowners', although the mayor's office did not supply the exact numbers.
The mayor acknowledged that getting the increase approved by the City Council -- and accepted by residents -- is likely to be a battle that would require him to trade on not only his but Bratton's political capital. Recent declines in the city's crime rate have been widely attributed to various Bratton initiatives.
The timing, however, may be right for Villaraigosa. Free garbage pickup was preserved in Los Angeles for decades because it was largely a city of homeowners who had political clout and ties to City Hall. These days, almost 60% of residents are apartment-dwellers living in denser areas where crime tends to be higher. And renters in buildings with more than four units would be spared the higher fees.
Even if the city gets more money to hire police officers, finding enough men and women who want to join the force poses a different challenge.
In fiscal year 2004-05, the city had 5,545 people apply to become officers, but only 381 of those actually made it. This year, the city set aside enough money to hire 720 officers, but expects to find only 607.
The city has graduated a full Police Academy class only once in the last nine years, and that was in 1997. The starting annual salary for officers in Los Angeles is about $51,000, and Villaraigosa and Bratton conceded that they would probably have to institute hiring bonuses or increase pay to make the job more attractive.
