Mayor Unveils New Agenda for Compton

A week after leading the move to replace his city’s police force with Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, Compton Mayor Omar Bradley announced Tuesday that he may contract out other city services to save money for a tax rebate and new initiatives in housing, crime-fighting and job training.

Bradley’s remarks came during an hourlong emergency State of the City address hastily scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. In the speech, the mayor sought to reassure residents who are critical of his decision to replace Compton officers with sheriff’s deputies by September.

Many of the mayor’s harshest critics were caught off guard by the speech and were unable to attend. About 30 people, mostly city employees, listened quietly.

“Some would have you believe that we are merely a city in turmoil,” said Bradley. “However, I would prefer to define it as a community standing at a crossroad.”

In the address, Bradley spent only five minutes on the police controversy. He said the decision was straightforward: The Sheriff’s Department will provide more law enforcement officers for $7.7 million less than the city is currently spending on policing. His feuds with some Compton police officers had nothing to do with it, he added.

Bradley outlined an ambitious agenda: new tax incentives for technology businesses that locate along Compton Boulevard, a new “one-stop business center for licensing and permit issuance,” the sale of much city-owned property, the expansion of the industrial revenue bond program, and counseling efforts for new home buyers.

The mayor also promised a tax rebate in 2001 and said Compton would provide every teenager in town a summer job by 2002.

To pay for such initiatives, Bradley pledged to seek state and federal aid. After the speech, he suggested that other city departments might be privatized or contracted out. Bradley said he wants to avoid layoffs among the city’s 663 employees.