Fee to Add More Street Sweeping Considered

A chorus of concerns was raised by the Los Angeles City Council Tuesday about a plan to let residents pay a one-time assessment fee to add street sweeping in areas that the city currently doesn’t clean.

Council members questioned the fairness of charging some city residents for services that others currently get for free and the policy direction of requiring people to pay for a basic city service.

“I have grave reservations about charging people for services that are basic city services,” Councilwoman Rita Walters said.

Councilman Richard Alarcon had proposed the plan to provide street sweeping in areas where neighbors voluntarily agree to pay a one-time assessment of $25 to $50. The City Council’s Public Works Committee gave preliminary approval to the idea last week.

Alarcon, who represents the northeast San Fernando Valley, said he suggested the idea because the financially strapped city cannot afford to clean all city streets.

Last year, the city agreed to sweep 100 more miles of streets than it did the previous year, the first such increase in 20 years, according to Alarcon.

Rather than sending it to the city attorney’s office to draft an ordinance, as the Public Works Committee had recommended, the City Council instead sent it to its Budget and Finance Committee for more review and to see if there are other ways that the city’s street sweeping program could be expanded.

In addition to Walters, other council members wanted to know how much it would cost the city to keep the program going after the residents paid the one-time fee and whether some property owners would be unable to afford the fee.