$166-Million Plan Also Includes New Station : Santa Monica Budget Adds Police

Santa Monica officials, in an effort to beef up law enforcement, want to build a $12-million police station and add a dozen officers to the city’s 150-member police force.

The proposals are part of a $166-million budget being delivered to members of the Santa Monica City Council this week. Under the budget, spending for the 1989-90 fiscal year is expected to rise by 5.8%--or $8.5 million--over the previous year.

Members of the City Council will review the proposed budget in study sessions on May 31 and June 1, with a public hearing scheduled for June 27. The final budget would be voted on after that hearing.

Projected income for the year is estimated at $149.9 million, and expenditures are put at $154.5 million, plus an additional $12 million for the police station that will be part of a supplemental budget added later.

City Manager John Jalili said the city has a healthy balance in its general fund that will more than cover the difference between projected income and expenses.

Jalili estimated that general fund reserves by the end of 1990 will be left at $4.5 million, which he said was the “minimum prudent” balance.

Most of the $12 million allocated for the new police station would be financed with bond proceeds, Jalili said.

The station would be built on what is now a parking lot, just east of the wing of City Hall where the Santa Monica Police Department is housed. The project will include subterranean parking to make up for the spaces lost when the station is built, Jalili said.

The budget also includes about $1 million for 12 additional officers--including a sergeant and one community service officer. Police officials have been lobbying for added staff in anticipation of increased crime as the city grows. Police have reported new crime outbreaks at the Santa Monica Pier and among the city’s homeless population.

Other big-ticket items on the budget include a half-million-dollar traffic management plan and a $300,000-environmental program that includes stepped-up monitoring of hazardous-waste collection.

The city also plans to spend $230,000 on child care, $100,000 to keep the public library open on Sunday, and $50,000 on removal of graffiti and trash from city alleys.

The city is also allocating $60,000 for its new Public Electronic Network, an innovative computer system that allows Santa Monica residents to sign on to their personal computers and retrieve public documents, information on city events and City Council agendas.

Most of the city’s income comes from property, sales and business license taxes. Additional revenue will come from increased parking meter rates and increases in the city’s utility-users tax.