L.A. Officials Opt Not to Put Police Hiring Tax on Fall Ballot

City officials decided Friday not to place a public safety tax on the November ballot, but they could not agree on whether the city can afford to hire 710 new officers this year, as the mayor has suggested, or only the 450 the Los Angeles City Council approved in May.

A special committee made up of three council members, city Controller Rick Tuttle and two private sector financial experts said the actual costs of the police expansion plan remain unclear, making it impossible for the group to decide by next week’s deadline whether a tax is necessary to pay for it. The committee did not rule out a police hiring tax in the future.

That leaves undecided whether the city will accept a full $51-million federal grant to hire more police, or turn back as much as $19 million for fear that the city will not be able to pay their salaries in the future.

During two meetings this week, the committee reviewed a variety of scenarios to address the city’s looming budget deficit, which could reach $200 million by 2000 if Riordan’s plan to hire thousands of new officers remains on track. The scenarios included new fees for street cleaning and refuse collection, and overhauls of the city’s procurement processes.

“We have definitely made some constructive progress. I believe we can find viable options to finance the police expansion without burdening the taxpayers. That is our last resort,” said Councilman Richard Alatorre, who heads the special panel. “I think there’s a lot of work left to be done.”

Riordan appointed the committee along with council President John Ferraro after a standoff last month over how many new officers to hire and how to pay them.

The mayor called the decision not to pursue a tax “a step in the right direction.”

“The people of Los Angeles are way, way overtaxed,” Riordan said. “Businesses are leaving here because of taxes, they’re not coming here. Same with families. . . . The bottom line is we can and will make this city safer.”

Council members balked at the mayor’s plan to hire 710 new police officers next year, saying the city lacked the funds to pay their salaries once the federal money dries up. They overrode his veto and set the total at 450, saying they would only hire the 710 if voters approved a new tax to pay for them.

Although the committee was intended to research new ways to pay for the full roster of recruits, its meetings were largely a rehash of old alternatives. Riordan’s office revived a variety of studies by private consultants that have suggested ways government could save millions, and council members reiterated that money is needed not only to pay the officers but to buy them equipment.

The biggest revelation was that even with massive “productivity improvements”--mayoral shorthand for doing more with less--and even if the city cuts back on its police expansion, the wallet will probably remain worn.

“We will all be working very hard for the next three or four years to deal with the deficit,” City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie told the committee.

Times staff writer Jean Merl contributed to this report.