Council OKs $3.5 Million for Security at City Hall

Despite warnings against a “bunker mentality,” a divided Los Angeles City Council agreed Tuesday to spend $3.5 million on an electronic security system and other emergency preparedness measures at City Hall.

The council decision, passed 9-4, comes just two weeks after the lawmakers agreed to hire more security guards and install metal detectors at the downtown landmark. City Hall, which was damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, recently reopened after undergoing an extensive, costly and widely acclaimed restoration.

Amid continued threats of terrorism against the United States, council members said it would be dangerous not to take “prudent and appropriate steps” to secure City Hall.

The plan calls for the installation of cameras in Civic Center buildings and parking structures. City employees also will be required to carry special security cards to gain access to some areas, including council offices. Already, City Hall and other buildings in the Civic Center are protected behind cement barriers and other security measures.

“We have to act wisely and strategically,” Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas said. “This is not about protecting council members. This is about protecting 7,000 employees, thousands of visitors and the hub of emergency operations for the entire city.”

But other council members questioned whether the council should spend the money on City Hall upgrades before it addresses security issues in other parts of the city.

“What are we going to tell the general public when we run out of money because we didn’t make this decision in the context of these other needs that we have regarding public safety?” Councilman Nick Pacheco asked. “I just don’t want us to have to go back to the residents and tell them, ‘I can’t afford to protect you, but I have a great video monitoring center in my parking lot.’ ”

Pacheco--who was joined by councilmen Eric Garcetti, Jack Weiss and Dennis Zine in opposing the plan--also warned his colleagues to guard against turning the Civic Center facility into an “encampment.”

Zine questioned whether it was appropriate to secure only the Civic Center when far-flung city facilities, such as those in the San Fernando Valley and San Pedro, are also in need of security upgrades.

“I’m not saying we don’t need security, because definitely we do,” Zine said. “The concern is, are we going to just protect our little area in the Civic Center and not the rest of the city facilities?”

But other council members said they believed that the City Hall security plan was a necessary first step.

“If anything happened down here, anything else we’re talking about is not going to make any difference because if things go down here, clearly the rest of the city is left vulnerable,” Councilwoman Janice Hahn said.

And Councilman Hal Bernson told his colleagues that they should not concern themselves with the cost of implementing the measures.

“You can’t worry about cost anymore because we’re in a war,” Bernson said. “This is not a war that is being fought in some foreign country. This is a war that is being fought right here in this city.”