Hahn Calls for U.S. Aid to Cities

Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn called on the federal government Wednesday to help Los Angeles and other cities pay for the increased security measures put in place since Sept. 11 and intended to help thwart future terrorist acts.

“It’s real important for our expenditures to be recognized for what they are,” said Hahn, noting that police overtime costs Los Angeles $1 million a day every time the city goes on tactical alert in response to a terrorist threat. “We have been assisting on this second front ... in this war against terrorism, this front here in the cities.”

Hahn made his remarks during a meeting of almost 300 mayors gathered at a downtown hotel for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

After participating in the conference, he spent much of Wednesday afternoon lobbying federal officials to assist Los Angeles with security costs and economic stimulation.

The plea from Hahn and other mayors for federal assistance came as Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge announced that the government is setting aside money in next year’s budget to help cities and states bolster their emergency agencies to prepare for possible terrorist attacks.

Ridge did not specify how much money will be available. But he said President Bush will announce new initiatives today that will give cities and other local governments “unprecedented support” in expanding their security equipment and emergency preparedness.

A study released Wednesday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors estimated that more than 1,000 cities will have spent a combined $2.6 billion on terrorism-related security measures by the end of 2002.

“We have the tools, but it’s draining money from other programs,” Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said. “We can’t afford that. We’ve got revenue shrinking on the state side and on the city side. Any money that’s taken from our operating budget will diminish other programs like education, parks and recreation and health care. All we’re asking for is fairness.”

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said that his city urgently needs money to help cover costs of the Police Department’s extra border patrols.

By the end of December, “we spent just under $3 million of our general fund on protecting America,” Kilpatrick said. “If we keep this same rate up, we’ll spend about $11 million this year on border security alone. This is not neighborhood security.”

Los Angeles has already spent at least $17 million on police overtime, extra traffic patrols and other measures to protect the airport, the city’s water supply and the Civic Center, Hahn’s office said Wednesday.

By the end of the fiscal year in June, that number is expected to rise to almost $45 million.

“We put a lot of extra officers and hours on the street, and it’s really cut a real hole in our budget,” Hahn said. “I don’t think anybody is expecting 100% reimbursement, but I think some acknowledgement of that is what we’re looking for.”

At the same time, the city is facing a $22.3-million revenue shortfall because of the dip in the local tourism economy. Hahn has frozen city hiring and asked all departments to make 10% cuts in their budgets to deal with the budget situation.

Hahn met with Ridge at the White House Wednesday afternoon, and said he told the homeland security chief that cities are looking forward to getting federal help in strengthening their emergency preparedness.

But Hahn told Ridge he was disappointed that local municipalities have not received money to help pay for the mounting tab so far.

“We recognize that protecting our communities is a local responsibility, but there have been so many additional burdens put on us because we’re now preparing for something that is more than what community policing is all about,” Hahn said as he was leaving the White House. “We would like to see more assistance from the federal government.”

Hahn, who is chairman of the conference’s airport security task force, conferred with local officials about other needs in Los Angeles as well. He met with Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez, who announced that Los Angeles has been designated a “renewal community,” a designation that allows the city to share in $17 billion of tax credits intended to spur business expansion and affordable housing development--and in the process create jobs in poor neighborhoods.

Under the program, affordable-housing owners and businesses in the city’s six poorest council districts become eligible for thousands of dollars in tax credits and other incentives if they hire local residents.

“This is an important step toward rebuilding communities, sometimes communities that have been neglected too long,” Hahn said in a satellite feed broadcast back to the Los Angeles City Council.

In the evening, the mayor met briefly with Carol Hallett, president of the Air Transport Assn., an airline lobbying group. She applauded Hahn’s recent decision to accept federal airport funds. Richard Riordan, Hahn’s predecessor, had refused to take the money because it constrained the city from using airport revenue for other city services.

Hahn needs the backing of the airlines as he unveils his plan for the reconstruction of Los Angeles International Airport, a plan that he said he hopes to complete in the next few weeks. The mayor said he and Hallett did not have an opportunity to discuss that plan Wednesday, but added that he expects the airlines will support his concept of designing the airport around safety concerns.

Hahn and the other mayors are scheduled to meet with President Bush this morning, after which Hahn is expected to return to Los Angeles.