Police Bonds: Yes on Prop. 2

Forty Los Angeles Police detectives work out of the North Hollywood police station, sharing a work area not much larger than a two-car garage. City voters can eliminate this overcrowding and help the Police Department modernize other facilities by approving city Bond Proposition 2 on the April 11 municipal ballot.

The proposition, which requires approval by two-thirds of the voters, would allow the city to issue $176 million worth of general obligation bonds. That money would be used to expand and modernize 18 existing police stations and the LAPD’s communications center, which handles all 911-emergency calls. The money also would help build two new police stations in Van Nuys and the Mid-Wilshire area, and to construct new training facilities at the police academy.

Ever since the passage of Proposition 13’s property-tax limits in 1978, Los Angeles and other cities have been put in the difficult position of having to choose between funding vital services, like those provided by the police, and municipal amenities like libraries and parks. But it is getting harder to find city expenses to cut in order to pay for more police. That’s why city officials have leaned heavily on bond indebtedness to pay for capital improvements like new police stations.

City budget analysts estimate that the property taxes on the average home would increase approximately $15.35 if Bond Proposition 2 is approved. Given the continued public demand for more and better police services, that would be money well invested. We recommend a Yes vote on Los Angeles Proposition 2.