Use Sewer Funds to Aid LAPD, Wachs Says : Politics: Councilman says he is responding to Webster report. Engineers argue that the move would threaten upgrade of Hyperion plant.

Seeking to seize the initiative in the Los Angeles mayoral race on the critical issue of providing adequate police service, City Councilman Joel Wachs on Thursday proposed adding 650 officers to the Police Department by cutting the city’s sewer maintenance and construction fund.

Wachs’ proposal came a day after a panel investigating the spring riots reported that the city is in danger of another eruption of unrest and must immediately bolster the readiness of its police force.

The San Fernando Valley councilman said he was responding to “the emergency in this city” by proposing an increase in the police force from its staffing of 7,800 officers. He said he will introduce today in the City Council a measure to cut $42 million from the “bloated” $838-million fund used to maintain and build sewers.

But engineers who run the city’s massive sewer system said such a reduction could not be made without degrading sewage treatment and threatening a court-ordered upgrade of the massive Hyperion Treatment Plant aimed at improving the quality of runoff dumped into the Santa Monica Bay.

A prominent environmental organization also voiced concern about slowdowns in the sewage-improvement project.

And in the supercharged political atmosphere leading up to next April’s mayoral primary, fellow council members and potential mayoral rivals raised several objections to Wachs’ plan. They said it would be difficult to carve $42 million from the sewer system’s budget without harming service.

But Wachs countered that such objections are designed to protect the Sewer Construction and Maintenance Fund, which he called a “sacred cow” in the city’s bureaucracy.

“We have to look into parts of the system, such as this, that have not been scrutinized in the past,” said Wachs, sounding what he said would be a campaign theme. “We have the money. The question is whether we have the will . . . to make public safety our No. 1 priority.”

Wachs said his proposal comes not only in response to the Webster Commission report on the Los Angeles Police Department’s handling of the riots but to a recent request by Mayor Tom Bradley to continue a freeze on hiring in all departments. Such a freeze would reduce the police force from its high of 8,300 officers to 7,671 by next year.

In announcing his proposal at a City Hall news conference, Wachs did not specify how $42 million could be cut from the sewer fund. Instead, he called on the City Council to find savings by conducting an audit of the sewer program, operated by the Department of Public Works.

“No one can tell me that in an $838-million budget, you can’t make savings,” Wachs said.

To make the savings available for police, Wachs proposed raising one tax and lowering another.

Sewer-user charges, collected from homeowners and businesses, are restricted to use for the sewer system. Therefore, Wachs’ plan would reduce the sewer-user charge by 13.5%, cutting the $42 million. His proposal would raise the same amount by imposing a new tax on water use.

The tax burden on homeowners and businesses would remain the same, but the new water fee could be used to hire more police, he said.

Officials in the city’s administrative office cautioned that most of the money in the sewer fund, $644 million, is earmarked for capital projects or repayment of bonds, leaving about $195 million for operations and maintenance.

City Engineer Robert Horii warned that Wachs’ proposed cut would “kill our program,” in particular the upgrade of Hyperion that is to cost $5 billion by 2000.

Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who is exploring a run for the mayor’s office, said it is very unlikely that there is $42 million in fat in the sewer programs.

He also predicted that the creation of a water tax would meet strong opposition on the City Council because it would be subject to increase in the future.

City Councilman Michael Woo, another mayoral candidate, said he is concerned that Wachs’ proposal might inadvertently dissuade voters from supporting Proposition N, a November ballot measure that would increase property taxes to hire 1,000 police officers.

Woo said he is also worried that the loss of sewer funds might hamper the city’s compliance with the 1987 court agreement to upgrade its sewage treatment facilities.

Mark Gold, staff scientist with the environmental group Heal the Bay, echoed that fear.

“We are concerned that it could impact compliance with the federal consent decree,” Gold said. “Are we just going to ignore the federal Clean Water Act just because of a proposal by one councilman?”