Police Expansion: Yes on 1

Proposition 1 imposes a modest new property tax to pay for a major police expansion, the addition of up to 1,000 new officers to the Los Angeles Police Department, within the next five years.

Everyone who lives in Los Angeles will pay a fair share of the costs and every community will get more officers if two-thirds of the voters approve the special tax on June 4.

The average homeowner will pay less than $5 per month, a bargain, to put more police on patrol. Owners of larger homes on larger lots will pay a little more. Landlords and renters will split the tax levied on apartments. Owners of the largest commercial property will pay the largest amount.

The tax increase would raise $56 million to pay for 710 officers, assigned not to desk jobs but to patrol, traffic or narcotics; 110 sergeants, 180 detectives, 261 civilian support workers, 190 police cars and expenses related to training and benefits. Without the police tax, the city cannot afford any of that.

Mayor Tom Bradley and the Los Angeles City Council did find money for an additional 100 new officers in the current budget. However, the mayor and the majority of the council wisely rejected a larger increase, which would have committed the city to big bills with no foreseeable way to pay at a time when a loss of federal revenue-sharing money is anticipated. They back the special tax.

Opponents of the special tax claim that more police can be hired with the extra revenue anticipated from city taxes next year. Wishful thinking has never paid the bills.

A tax increase, however, is not the only ground for opposition. Leaders of the United Neighborhoods Organization and the South-Central Organizing Committee oppose the new tax, although they want more police, because they do not know how many of the additional officers would be assigned to East Los Angeles and South-Central Los Angeles. The formula used to allocate police forces to various parts of the city is under study because of challenges by, among others, the two community groups. Their opposition is shortsighted. No one knows how any area will benefit if the tax passes. Failure guarantees that no area will get a significant increase of street police.

The mayor, Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, the Police Commission and groups like the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People support the tax. They recognize that the Los Angeles Police Department, at 7,000, is comparatively small. We recommend a Yes vote on Proposition 1.