CITY HALL ROUNDUP : Confidentially, we wouldn’t dream of sharing this police secret.

JUST THE FAX: The Torrance Police Department, historically tight-lipped, apparently has unveiled a new open-door policy. Heck, they’re even sending confidential information to people who never requested it.

How else to explain the follow-up letter we received last week, informing us that the facsimile transmittal outlining the arrest of some small-time burglar was not meant for Los Angeles Times employees. But, of course, they did so in a warm, almost cuddly way.

“Please be aware that this document contains confidential information and you are hereby instructed to destroy the subject document immediately,” the letter concluded.

For the record, let it be known that the 11-page fax outlined the arrest of a man who was charged with stealing a $49.95 electric drill from Sears. We shudder to think what might have happened if the fax had contained something more important.

Still, we want to assure Torrance’s finest that your secret is safe with us.

THEY MADE IT. THEY ATE IT: Well, it’s official. Almost. The record for the world’s biggest burrito belongs to Wilmington--unless someone else this year builds a burrito longer than the 2,219-foot colossus constructed last weekend on Avalon Boulevard.

That’s right. Two thousand, two hundred, nineteen feet and nine inches long. A burrito that took 1,000 people to make. A burrito made from 5,200 tortillas, 760 pounds of beans, 250 pounds of bacon and 156 pounds of cheese.

“For sure, we broke the record,” said Abelardo de la Pena, president of the Wilmington Coordinating Council, which co-sponsored the burrito-building event with the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce.

Officially, De la Pena said, Wilmington’s Big Burrito will not qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records until Dec. 31--when the compendium of records is updated. The current record--1,597 feet 9 inches--was set in June of last year by the town of Newton, Kan.

In case you’re wondering, after they finished the burrito in Wilmington, they cut it into six-inch pieces and sold it. About $1,500 was raised for local scholarships.

DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT: Privilege certainly has its rewards. People in Inglewood now can use not only their credit cards to shop, they can present them when it comes time to pay for those nagging traffic tickets.

City residents soon will be allowed to pay a host of fines and payments--be they parking tickets, ambulance bills or fees for recreation programs--with their credit cards.

Imperial Bank will process the payments at a cost to the city of 16 cents per transaction, plus a 2.26% processing fee. On an $85 parking fine, the city would pay the bank a total of $2.08.

Gordon Fraser, city revenue manager, said officials think that people will pay their fines and bills more willingly and promptly if extended the convenience of credit cards, especially if faced with a night in the slammer.

SHOOT ‘EM UP: Jan Cruikshank’s no Calamity Jane. And El Segundo is hardly Dodge City. But the National Rifle Assn. came gunning for the city councilwoman recently and by the time it left town, she was defeated for reelection.

Five months ago, Cruikshank was elected to the council in a special election. And that race, against Michael Robbins and others, got pretty rough. So rough, in fact, that Cruikshank’s campaign sent out a leaflet that took aim at the tactics of Robbins, who’s known around town as an ardent opponent of gun control.

“No gunslingers. No mudslingers,” it said.

When Cruikshank and Robbins faced off again in last week’s election, the NRA sent notices to its 247 members in El Segundo, urging them to oppose Cruikshank. And when the results were in, she was out.

Though Cruikshank said she does not favor gun control, Robbins said she once distributed literature that “indicated” just the opposite.

For his part, however, Robbins declined to say if he is an NRA member. “I don’t really think that’s relevant,” he said.

LAST WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Hermosa Beach: The City Council named Robert Essertier as mayor and Councilman Albert Wiemans as mayor pro tem. Essertier replaces Councilwoman Kathleen Midstokke.

Hawthorne: The City Council scheduled a public hearing for April 27 on a proposal to ease the city’s water conservation restrictions. Under the proposed guidelines, property owners would be asked to reduce their water consumption by 10% from the 1989-90 base year. Using a hose to wash off walkways and driveways and watering lawns between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. would still be prohibited.

Torrance: The City Council voted unanimously to roll back the city’s water conservation program from a mandatory 20% reduction to a voluntary 10%. Water rebates will also be repealed retroactive to March 1 for bimonthly customers and to April 1 for monthly customers.

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Los Angeles: The City Council on Wednesday will consider closing the aging San Pedro animal shelter because of the cost required to upgrade the facility. Under the plan, opposed by local animal rights activists, stray animals would be sent to a county shelter in Carson.

MEETINGS THIS WEEK

Avalon: 7 p.m. Tuesday, 209 Metropole. (310) 510-0220. Televised live on Channel 3 (Catalina Cable) and repeated Saturday morning. Carson: 6 p.m. Tuesday, 701 E. Carson St. (310) 830-7600. Televised at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on Channel 26 (Continental Cablevision) and repeated the following Wednesday.

El Segundo: 7 p.m. Tuesday, 350 Main St. (310) 322-4670. Televised live on Channel 22 (Paragon) and repeated at noon Wednesday.

Inglewood: 7 p.m. Tuesday, 1 Manchester Blvd. (310) 412-5280. No cable telecast.

Lawndale: 7 p.m. Tuesday, 14717 Burin Ave. (310) 973-4321. Televised live on Channel 60 and repeated several times during the week.

Lomita: 7 p.m. Monday, 24300 Narbonne Ave. (310) 325-7170. No cable telecasts.

Los Angeles: 10 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles. In San Pedro, (310) 548-7637; in Wilmington, (310) 548-7586; in Harbor City/Harbor Gateway, 548-7664; in Westchester, (310) 641-4717. Televised live on Channel 35; meetings repeated individually at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and collectively on Sunday starting at 10 a.m.

Manhattan Beach: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 1400 Highland Ave. (310) 545-5621. Televised on Channel 3 (MultiVision) at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Rancho Palos Verdes: 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Hesse Park, 29201 Hawthorne Blvd. (310) 377-0360. Televised live on Channel 3; repeated at 7:30 p.m. the following Tuesday.

Redondo Beach: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, 415 Diamond St. (310) 372-1171. Televised live on Channel 8 (Century); repeated at 3 p.m. Wednesday and 6 p.m. Sunday.

Torrance: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, 3031 Torrance Blvd. (310) 618-5880. Televised live on Channel 22 (Paragon), and replayed at 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, and at 10 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.