New Council Takes Over, Tackles Budget : Politics: Although lawmakers were elected in an anti-tax crusade, they say crime appears to be the top issue.

Pledging to balance the city’s budget and bolster law enforcement, an entirely new Covina City Council was sworn in Tuesday night after council members who were defeated in last summer’s recall election stepped down.

Watched by a standing-room-only crowd, the changing of the guard marked the climax of an anti-utility tax crusade that began more than a year ago. Four of the five new council members were endorsed by the Stop the Utility Tax Committee, which galvanized voters who were angered by a 6% utility tax adopted by the former council in the summer of 1992.

“The term ‘You can’t fight City Hall’ will no longer be uttered in this city,” said the town’s new mayor, Thomas M. O’Leary, a recall activist and former council member. “We need your complaints and criticisms of the council (because) debate is healthy to the democratic process.”

O’Leary has already instructed department heads at City Hall to keep their doors open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For the last two years, some departments have closed to the public at 2:30 p.m. to complete work with reduced staff.

Rounding out the new council are Thomas Falls, a deputy district attorney who prosecutes gang members in the San Gabriel Valley; Linda Sarver, a self-employed marketing director; Chris Christiansen, a Highway Patrol officer, and John Wilcox, a computer science consultant.

Only Christiansen, the top vote-getter in the Nov. 2 election, was not endorsed by the Stop the Utility Tax Committee.

Although sentiment against the utility tax prompted the recall, the new council said crime appeared to be the top issue in town because a Highway Patrol officer and a deputy district attorney won the most votes.

“The biggest concern is public safety,” O’Leary said. “Each of us is committed to putting more police officers on the street.”

Council members proposed a variety of new cost-cutting and revenue-generating programs to help make up a projected $1.2-million shortfall in the budget this fiscal year. That deficit was created by the expiration of the utility tax Oct. 31.

* Falls wants city employees to return all city vehicles to City Hall at the end of the working day and has vowed to find a legion of volunteers to augment city employees.

* Sarver has called for formation of a committee of citizens to help the council scrutinize job classifications and salaries at City Hall.

* Wilcox says police officers can spend more time on the street if they don’t have to sit at the courthouse for hours, waiting to be called as witnesses. He said a coordinator assigned to the courthouse could call in the officers as they are needed.

The new council members’ only order of business Tuesday night was choosing a new mayor and mayor pro tem, O’Leary and Sarver.

But those appointments didn’t please everyone in attendance. Some citizens said that Christiansen deserved to be mayor because he got the most votes.

Outgoing Councilman Richard Gratton, making a farewell speech before the new council was sworn in, implored his successors to appoint Christiansen as mayor.

“Make the highest vote-getters mayor and mayor pro tem,” he said, referring to Christiansen and Falls. “Listen to the voters.”

But Sarver, who nominated O’Leary as mayor, explained to the audience of more than 100 residents that she had spoken with citizens all over town and found that most wanted the one member with prior council experience to lead the new council. O’Leary served one four-year term from 1988 to 1992.

Each new council member will serve out the remaining terms of the original council. The three highest vote-getters--Christiansen, Falls and Sarver--will hold office until April, 1996. Wilcox and O’Leary’s terms expire in April and they have already launched their reelection campaigns.

Outgoing council members John C. King, Chris Lancaster and Richard Gratton made brief parting speeches. Former Mayor Henry Morgan was caught in a snowstorm in Northern California and missed the meeting.

“It’s important to rally around this new council and become a united community,” King said.

“I love this community,” Lancaster said. “. . . I’ll continue to be involved.”