Drive Launched to Raise Taxes for More Police

The morning after his family was robbed for the second time, San Diego City Councilman Bob Filner called Wednesday for a $50 million-a-year tax increase to pay for the hiring of more police.

Standing in front of a 9th Avenue parking lot that is partly barricaded with barbed wire and is in Filner’s 8th District, the councilman was joined by a large group of downtown businessmen, storekeepers and residents willing to pay more taxes if the money will provide more uniformed police officers.

Filner knows about the results of crime firsthand. A few weeks ago, his car was stolen, and, two days ago, Christmas presents were snatched from the trunk of his wife’s car.

‘Tired of Being Victims’

“We’re all tired of being victims,” he said. “We’re all sick and tired of having this happen. And the fact is that more police officers is the first step we all ought to take.”

Other downtown residents and property owners echoed his sentiments.

“My children don’t go outside the gate unless I’m with them,” said Juliette Mondot, a young mother living downtown. “I’m very protective. I go out and very sweetly ask the crack smokers not to smoke here because I’m trying to raise children.”

She calls the police to report crimes at least once a week, she said, and on weekends it can take an officer up to 90 minutes to respond.

“We have a hard time making ends meet, but we’re willing to pay more money to have better protection,” she said. “We’ve reluctantly come to the conclusion that that’s what it’s going to take.”

Filner announced his campaign for a “Safe Neighborhoods in San Diego” after the Police Department earlier this month won a favorable response from the council’s Public Services and Safety Committee for raising the police manpower ranks to two sworn officers for every 1,000 city residents.

There are now only 1.62 sworn officers per 1,000--making San Diego, the seventh-largest city in the nation, ninth among the nation’s top cities in the number of officers per capita.

The city manager and the Police Department are examining various financial packages to raise the money, and they are expected to report to the City Council in March on how best to pay for 440 more sworn officers and 140 civilian employees.

The department has 2,447 employees and a yearly budget of $128 million.

Filner said a minimum of $50 million will be needed each year to add the positions, and that the money can be raised through the sale of general obligation bonds or a property-tax increase, both of which require approval by two-thirds of voters.

Under a property-tax increase, for instance, an owner of a home assessed at $100,000 would pay $34 more in 1991, and up to $87 in 1993. In 1994, the increase would drop to $69, and from then on would continue to decrease as the total value of the city’s assessed property increased, Filner said.

“It’s going to cost money, but we have to do it,” he said.

“Crime has gotten ahead of us. Drug dealing and prostitution and car prowls are just endemic in downtown and other neighborhoods in San Diego. And yet, when we put police patrols in this area, the business owners and the residents see an immediate improvement. The simple fact is we need more police officers.”

More of Everything

Officer Jim Filley of the police Gaslamp storefront office said there are now 12 foot patrol officers walking the downtown beat Monday through Friday. But he said 25 more officers are needed to properly police the area.

And he said it is more than just extra uniformed officers that are required by the law enforcement network.

“You need more jails, and then you need more deputies,” he said. “You need more court clerks and you need more judges. You need more courtrooms, you need more cars, you need more batons, you need more guns. You need more everything.”

Downtown business people and residents said criminals have been slowly encroaching on their doorways, storefronts, parking lots and front lawns. They said drug dealers meet on street corners, transients sleep on sidewalks and homes, shops and cars are routinely burglarized.

Jo Ann Dreben said her 9th Avenue art gallery has been broken into several times.

“I always felt pretty safe in this neighborhood,” she said. “But lately, right in our alcove, they actually do crack deals. We’ve had dead bodies found outside our gallery. I personally feel very frightened.”

Martha Chatelain, an artist whose cars have been vandalized, said drug dealers and other undesirables leave the area only when they see a walking policeman or patrol car cruise by. “Frankly, I think I would be willing as a citizen to pay the extra money to have the police protection,” she said. “I mean, it’s like paying insurance.”

Debbie Kenton, a downtown real estate manager, said property owners refuse to be driven out by crime. But, she said, “I’ve had tenants move out because of crime, and because their customers won’t come downtown any longer.”