LOCAL ELECTIONS HAWTHORNE : Proponents Fight Hard for Tax Hike to Hire More Police

Hawthorne voters will have to decide this election which they fear more: crime or taxes.

Last June, those who feared higher taxes narrowly won the battle when Proposition D, the Hawthorne property tax for added police, fell 58 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage.

The narrow margin has prompted supporters and opponents of a revised version of the measure to wage even more aggressive campaigns this election.

“It really just comes down to this: Are voters willing to pay a little more to get a substantial increase in police services? Are they willing to contribute a few dollars for a safer community?” Hawthorne Police Chief Stephen Port said.

But George Walter, chairman of the Committee Opposing Proposition D, sees it differently: “The bottom line is the pocketbook. This tax will not end in one year. It’s going to be an ongoing tax. It’s going to circumvent Proposition 13 and give the city a way to raise taxes without giving people a chance to vote on it again.”

The revised measure would raise $2.4 million annually to hire and retain an additional 35 police officers by boosting residential and commercial property taxes. Its assessments could be revised upward after July, 1993, by the City Council.

Supporters, who include the Hawthorne Chamber of Commerce and a majority of the City Council, note that Hawthorne’s rising crime rate has outpaced growth in the Police Department, which now spends about $10.5 million a year to employ about 90 sworn officers and more than 100 other part-time and full-time employees. Hawthorne has one of the highest ratios of crimes per residents and one of the lowest ratios of officers per residents in the South Bay, according to statistics gathered by Hawthorne police.

Last year Hawthorne logged 9.4 crimes per 1,000 residents, while Inglewood officers recorded about eight crimes per 1,000 residents, Gardena recorded 7.2, El Segundo, 6.6 and Torrance, 5.3 during that same period.

While Hawthorne employs 1.4 officers per 1,000 residents, Gardena, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Inglewood and Hermosa Beach have between 1.6 and 2 officers per 1,000 residents, statistics show.

“(Hawthorne) police officers can no longer be proactive,” said Hawthorne Mayor Betty Ainsworth, a supporter of Proposition D. “Crime prevention programs have been sacrificed and (officers) are just running from one 911 call to another.”

Shelley Effler, chairwoman of Citizens Against Crime, which is campaigning in favor of the measure, said proponents have stepped up their canvassing efforts, are running phone banks through the election and will be distributing several mailers in an attempt to win.

“Our door-to-door strategy is going to be different this time,” Effler said. “We’re really going to be walking heavily in those areas we fell short the last time to bring it over the top. We’re also working harder at reaching people, to make sure people are aware of the changes made to this measure.”

In the June balloting, just 7,435 voters cast ballots on Proposition D--about 31% of the 23,373 registered voters. Of those, 4,898 voters, 65.88%, favored the proposal, and 2,537, or 34.12%, opposed it. The measure needed 4,956 votes to pass.

Although there was no organized opposition to the proposal in June, opponents this time are campaigning vigorously against the measure. They organized a political action group and are planning to send out mailers and walk precincts.

Opponents, who include a cross section of business people, retirees, renters and property owners, argue that the measure will mostly hurt low-income renters and businesses. They also contend that the Police Department is not efficiently managing its resources now, that it employs too many unsworn officers and that the city could save money by contracting with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for police services.

“There is no cap for a homeowner,” said Martha Bails, treasurer of the Committee Opposing Proposition D. “The next thing you know (the tax) will be $85 a year, then $100 a year. It will continually increase and will never be removed; therefore, the bad management can continue.”

Proposition D would boost property taxes $55 a year for homeowners and $55 a year per apartment unit. Senior citizens and disabled people who own their homes and earn less than $25,000 a year could apply for exemptions.

Businesses would pay $5.50 per frontage foot with a cap of $5,000, and vacant properties would be assessed $1 per frontage foot, also with a $5,000 cap. Corner lots would be assessed on the shortest side of the property.

The council would not be allowed to adjust the tax rate until July 6, 1993, and would need four of five council members in favor to approve any change.

Although the council could raise the tax annually after that, the rate could not be boosted by more than the previous year’s cost-of-living increase. That rate would be set by the Los Angeles All Urban Consumer Price Index, which provides a local measurement of the national consumer price index.

Supporters say the measure’s narrow defeat in June has rallied hundreds of volunteers to their side in the past few months. “People know the need (for police protection), we just need to get people out there to vote,” Effler said.

But opponents contend many voters are afraid to speak publicly in opposition to the measure out of fear of antagonizing police and members of the City Council.

Said Bails: “No matter what, most people are opposed to taxes.”