Bond Issue for Fire and Police Stations May Go on Ballot

A City Council panel tentatively agreed Monday to ask Los Angeles voters in April to approve up to $750 million in bonds for new police and fire stations, but put off a $200-million tax measure for sidewalk repairs until the June election.

Wary of asking for too much, the Ad Hoc Committee on Capital Improvements rejected proposals by the police and fire chiefs for $1.5 billion in bonds, agreeing to pare the package and work on possibly reducing it to $500 million, as proposed by a panel of business leaders.

The city engineer, however, estimated that the list of projects the business leaders said would cost $500 million will actually cost $704 million.

City Council members supported increasing the size of six new police stations to better accommodate the growth in the police force.

Noting that the city failed to deliver all of the projects promised in a 1989 police bond measure, City Council President John Ferraro said the measure proposed for the April ballot should not underestimate the cost of the work pledged.

Proposals include replacement of Parker Center with a new police administration building, the replacement of four old police stations and the construction of two stations.

The Fire Department portion of the bond measure would fund the replacement of 17 fire stations.

A $760-million sidewalk tax measure on the ballot last month failed to garner the two-thirds vote required for passage.

The U.S. Justice Department has threatened to sue the city for failing to install 108,000 curb cuts as required by the Americans With Disabilities Act. The original deadline was in 1995. Federal officials have given Los Angeles until Dec. 31 to come up with an alternate funding plan.