Hawaiian Gardens Drops Police Force, Plans City Hall Layoffs

Financially strapped Hawaiian Gardens, which had balanced its budget with money from a bingo parlor owner’s private foundation, has decided to disband its police force and is preparing to lay off more than two-thirds of city employees by December.

“The police did an excellent job, but we could not afford them,” Councilman Donald Schultze said. “The city budget was about $5.2 million and $2.4 million was the police.”

For more than a year, the square-mile city of 14,000 in southeastern Los Angeles County has relied on monthly payments of $200,000 from a foundation controlled by developer Irving Moskowitz, owner of the city’s bingo club, to meet its payroll. Those payments stopped in July, forcing the city to slash its work force.

“We’re down to cigar box accounting,” said interim City Manager Jack Simpson. “You open up the box and if there’s not sufficient funds, you can’t pay the bill.”

Six police officers had resigned before the 5-0 City Council vote eliminating their jobs Tuesday evening, said Police Chief Walter McKinney. The council’s decision to lay off the 21 officers had been anticipated, he said.

“We are disappointed as dedicated public servants, but we hold no grudge against the community,” McKinney said. “They have been great.”

Simpson, who was brought in three months ago to try to resolve the city’s fiscal woes, said: “It’s absolutely not prudent to build a fiscal organization based on contributions. What other city do you know that bases its fiscal condition on contributions?”

Nonetheless, Simpson said, the city is very appreciative of the financial gifts from the Moskowitz Foundation. “How can you criticize folks who have given the city about $5 million?” he said. “We have no problem whatsoever with the foundation.”

Tuesday evening, the council authorized the city to submit a request of $447,299 for recreational services to the foundation, he said.

Simpson said the city, which once had just over 100 employees, will be down to as few as 30 when the layoffs are completed.

“And we may have to go deeper,” he said.

He said the city will save about $1 million a year by contracting with the Sheriff’s Department for police services, an arrangement set to begin by Nov. 1.

McKinney said the agreement with the Sheriff’s Department, which still has to be approved by the county Board of Supervisors, will cost about $1.38 million, as opposed to the $2.4 million that it cost the city to run its own police department.

Two deputies will be on duty in Hawaiian Gardens around the clock, said City Clerk Domenic Ruggeri. Two special assignment officers and community service personnel will also be provided, he said.

Without the money from Moskowitz, “We don’t have a budget,” Simpson said. Twenty-nine other city employees have been laid off since Sept. 1, primarily from the public works and recreation departments.

Layoff notices have begun going out to most of the remaining city employees, McKinney said. “They have received notices of intent to lay off stating that they will be laid off on such and such date,” he said.

Union contracts require 30 to 90 days notice before employees can be laid off. Everyone who works for the city belongs to a union, except the city manager, who is appointed by the council, and the elected city clerk.

Simpson said union contracts have restricted the ability of the city to manage the fiscal crisis.

“We can’t use part-timers for full-timers, and we have to do the layoffs by their rules,” Simpson said.

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Times correspondent Hope Hamashige contributed to this story.