Council Ends Bid to Work Around Tax Proposition : San Fernando: Officials consider enacting an emergency measure on the eve of a vote on an initiative that could require voter approval to raise levies.

Faced with substantial public opposition, the San Fernando City Council on Monday rejected a proposal to authorize itself to enact emergency taxes on utilities and cable television service, a defensive move before today’s balloting on a constitutional amendment restricting tax increases.

About 50 angry opponents of the proposal crowded City Hall as council members considered the utility users tax, introduced to protect the city from the possible effects of Proposition 136. The ballot measure would eliminate the ability of local officials to raise taxes without voters’ approval.

The audience cheered the measure’s defeat. “You’re damned if you do. You’re damned if you don’t. I’d rather be damned later than today,” said Councilman Jose Hernandez.

The ordinance, rejected on a 4-1 vote, would have established a framework enabling the council to quickly and easily enact emergency taxes on gas, water, electricity and telephone and cable TV service--without asking the voters--in case of a severe economic slowdown.

If the council had acted before the proposition passed, the new tax authority would not fall under its restrictions. The measure involved two ordinances: The first would have authorized the new taxes, the second would have immediately suspended them but reserved the council’s power to reimpose them in an emergency.

City officials had said any such taxes would not be permanent and would only be implemented as a last resort before cutting municipal services. Public hearings and a council vote would have been required before any new taxes could be implemented.

City officials had said they did not envision actually imposing any new fees in the foreseeable future and called the utility users tax a “safety net” that would guarantee that municipal services such as police protection would not be cut if the city were to fall on tough economic times.

“I hope I don’t have to come back and say ‘I told you so,’ ” said Councilman Doude Wysbeek, who cast the sole vote for the proposal, referring to predictions that the tax limit could cause cuts in essential city services.

Like their counterparts in a number of Southern California cities--including West Hollywood and Compton--San Fernando city officials were racing to approve new municipal taxes before voters statewide decide Proposition 136, which would take the issue out of the hands of cities and counties completely.

Proposition 136, which would take effect at midnight if approved, would prohibit a city or county from enacting a new general-purpose tax or increasing an existing one unless a majority of voters approved. A new or increased special-purpose tax--to pay for increased police protection, for instance--could not be enacted without two-thirds voter approval.

A memo by city Finance Director Michael J. Moon said the utility tax was not designed as a “long-range revenue source, only as a stopgap measure.” City Administrator Mary Strenn said the taxes would be implemented only if the city were faced with a sudden, severe revenue shortage--for example, if a large retailer moved or went out of business, reducing the city’s sales tax revenues.

The swiftness with which city officials placed the matter on the agenda prompted criticism from San Fernando residents who accused the council of trying to sneak the ordinance through at the last minute.

Angry residents launched a flurry of petition drives opposing it, gathering 1,185 signatures, which council members said was a key factor in their decision.

“This preempts our vote on Proposition 136 and circumvents our right for the people to vote on future taxes,” said Florine Dickey, who has lived in San Fernando for 36 years. “It think it’s sneaky. This should have been on the agenda a long time ago.”

City officials denied that they purposely waited until the last minute to discuss the ordinance, saying it took two months to research the issue and draft the proposed measure.