Sales Tax

When I scolded deadbeat Angelenos for blowing off Tuesday's election, some of them had just enough energy to return fire. "I chose not to spit into the wind anymore," wrote Lou. "It is not an embarrassment to shun an embarrassment like L.A. 'government' and L.A. politicians," wrote Loren. Just as I was about to scold them all over again, along came Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who reminded us why there's such raging cynicism in Los Angeles. Let's go back to early February, when Villaraigosa endorsed Measure A. That was the proposal for a half-cent sales-tax increase that would have raised about $200 million a year in a city with a projected annual budget shortfall of roughly that very amount for years to come.

Nearly every week, 70-year-old Barb Johnson hears word of a nearby robbery or car break-in in Vermont Knolls , her neighborhood of modest bungalows just west of the Harbor Freeway in South Los Angeles. So it was alarming, she says, to learn this week that voters had rejected a proposed city sales tax increase that the mayor, the police chief and other civic leaders said was vital to shoring up the Los Angeles Police Department and improving emergency services. "How are we supposed to keep our streets safe if there's no money?"

Two days after Los Angeles voters defeated a sales tax hike that officials had said was vital to reducing the city's budget crisis, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said stronger revenues and an improving economy could cut this year's financial gap by more than half. Villaraigosa, who endorsed the plan to take the sales tax from 9% to 9.5%, said Thursday that he now expects a brighter financial outlook to take a looming deficit from $216 million to a much lower number, possibly less than $100 million, for the fiscal year that starts July 1. "The economy's getting better," he said.

After months of buildup and millions of dollars spent on a blizzard of television ads and mailers, Los Angeles voters went to the polls Tuesday and selected Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel to advance to a mayoral runoff . The long-time City Hall hands don't have any plans to let up the day after the primary. They will be busy on the campaign trail on Wednesday, with Greuel expected to pick up the endorsement of another union representing city workers. Rivals Jan Perry and Kevin James did not offer their concessions Tuesday night.

Two veterans of Los Angeles politics, Councilman Eric Garcetti and Controller Wendy Greuel, pushed ahead of six other candidates in initial election returns Tuesday and appeared to be well-positioned to advance to a May runoff to become the city's next mayor. Former council President Garcetti and his onetime council colleague Greuel broke to a significant lead over Councilwoman Jan Perry, entertainment lawyer Kevin James, former technology executive Emanuel Pleitez and three lesser-known candidates.

A day after voters rejected a tax increase, top Los Angeles officials began preparing a new round of cuts to city services, warning that even the Police Department may not be spared. The sales tax was seen as a last-ditch attempt to help balance the city's budget without more reductions, which already have included slashing 5,300 positions and scaling back services ranging from sidewalk repairs to 911 rescue operations. "Everything has to be put back on the table, from the size of the police force to the restoration of fire services to the paving of our streets," said the city's Chief Administrative Officer Miguel Santana, who said he plans to deliver a menu of potential budget reductions to lawmakers within days.

The half-cent sales tax increase proposal on the March 5 ballot known as Proposition A has been around for a long time in many guises, sometimes as a county tax, sometimes a city tax. Threats and reasons offered by Los Angeles city officials have included, in essence, pass it or risk another riot ; pass it or risk a terrorist attack ; pass it to fight a (nonexistent) surge in crime ; pass it to fund a new gang-prevention department . The only time it actually came before voters, they rejected it. In other instances, county and city officials refused to put it on the ballot in the first place.

A Los Angeles sales tax hike being promoted as vital to preserving public safety and helping end years of budget deficits is drawing support from a narrow majority of likely voters, according to a new USC Price/L.A. Times poll. Fifty-three percent of surveyed voters said they definitely or probably would vote for Proposition A, which is on Tuesday's ballot and would raise $200 million a year by boosting the city's sales tax rate by half a cent to 9.5%, one of the highest in the state.

WASHINGTON - A group of Democratic lawmakers, led by Rep. Linda Sanchez of California  is launching an effort to secure money for gun buybacks, firearms safety campaigns and anti-violence programs from a new tax on handgun purchases. Sanchez unveiled the bill, which would impose a 10% tax on handgun purchases,  Thursday at Los Angeles County Sheriff's headquarters in Monterey Park.  “It is time to give our law enforcement agencies all the necessary resources to prevent gun violence," Sanchez said.

Five of the seven candidates seeking to represent a major portion of South Los Angeles on the City Council said Saturday they oppose the sales tax hike on the March 5 ballot, arguing it would disproportionately harm low-income residents. Appearing at their first candidate forum, the contenders seeking to replace Councilwoman Jan Perry staked out positions on public safety, economic development and Proposition A, which would bring the city's tax rate to 9.5%, among the highest in the state.