SHERMAN OAKS : Yaroslavsky Assails Property Tax Shift

Warning of a “major statewide economic crisis,” Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky has called on his constituents to write state lawmakers to oppose a proposal to shift local property tax revenues to the state.

Speaking Wednesday at a meeting of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., Yaroslavsky told about 60 homeowners: “The state is trying to rip you off, and unless we wake up and put some heat on our legislators, we’re going to get ripped off.”

The councilman was referring to a proposal by state lawmakers to use $2.6 billion in local property tax revenues to close the state’s budget gap--a move Yaroslavsky said would be a virtual calamity for Los Angeles.

“I do not cry wolf,” he said of the impending budget woes. “Tonight, the time has come to lay it on the line--we have no more funds.”

Under the proposal, which would require a vote of the state Legislature to be enacted, basic services such as police, fire and libraries would face deep cuts, Yaroslavsky said.

During a question and answer session after the councilman’s annual “State of the City” address, one woman asked about a topic on the minds of many Valley residents.

“I came here for one specific reason: crime,” the woman said. “I want to know what we can do about it?”

Yaroslavsky said he favors a dual approach of putting more police on the streets and providing opportunities, such as parks and libraries, for at-risk children.

He said potential funding sources, if allowed by the state, could be a “sin tax,” on items such as alcohol and cigarettes, and a tax on banks and savings and loans.