Voters Approve Charter Reform on Police, Fire Contracts
Two charter amendments won ringing endorsements in Tuesday’s city election.
Charter Amendment 11, which requires that two-thirds of the voters approve the city contracting with the county for fire and police services, won with 4,638 votes, or 85% of those cast.
Previously, only 50% of the voters had to approve police and fire service changes
This means that city officials looking for ways to save money will have a harder time contracting out Downey’s fire services to the county Fire Department or its police services to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Charter Amendment 12, which stipulates that no City Charter amendment can be put before the voters more than once a year, won with 4,510 votes or 83.5% of the ballot.
Only 13% of Downey’s 41,894 registered voters turned out for the election.
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