Hawthorne Council Places Police Tax Measure on Ballot

The Hawthorne City Council has voted unanimously to place a measure on the June ballot that would increase property taxes to pay for hiring 40 additional police officers and five other Police Department employees.

The tax measure, proposed Monday by Police Chief Stephen Port, would raise about $2.7 million a year beginning in January, 1991, city officials said.

If the special tax is approved by two-thirds of the voters, owners of single-family houses and condominiums would be assessed $55 a year. Owners of multifamily developments with two or more units would pay $79 a year. Business owners would pay $5.50 per foot on the frontal width of their property.

If the measure is approved, police Capt. Richard Prentice said, it would take the city about two years to recruit, train and hire the 40 officers.

Last month, Port held five public meetings to discuss the need for more officers and to take residents’ suggestions on how to assess the special tax.

Two years ago, Hawthorne voters overwhelmingly rejected a measure to raise taxes to hire 19 more officers. But Port has predicted that voters will approve the new measure because the need for police has grown. He noted that the number of serious crimes in the city rose 19.5% last year.