Proposed Fees, Tax Could Fund 14 Officers

The Lancaster City Council tonight will consider a modified plan to combat crime associated with rental housing, after a proposal to charge landlords a yearly fee of $95 per unit was opposed by the local Realtors association.

The plan, devised by City Manager James C. Gilley, would still impose a fee on many landlords to help pay for added police. But it also would ask voters to approve a $25-per-parcel tax on all private property to share the burden for new patrol deputies in Lancaster, which has experienced an increase in serious crimes over the last few years.

“I think the feuding is over,” said Maxi Case, a member of the Greater Antelope Valley Assn. of Realtors.

“We wanted to stop unfair taxation of one segment of the population ... and we got the city to say, ‘Hey, if the community needs more sheriffs, then we all need to pitch in together and make it happen.’ ”

The compromise plan would charge owners of two or more rental units a yearly business license fee of $65, plus $25 for each unit beyond two. Owners of one rental unit would be exempt.

The fees would raise about $435,000 annually. That money -- along with $460,000 from the city’s general fund -- would cover the addition of four Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who would focus on crime and quality-of-life issues involving rental properties.

If approved by voters in the April 13 election, the parcel tax would fund 10 more deputies, whose roles in fighting crime would be determined by the Sheriff’s Department.

The city is now served by 48 deputies.

The original plan, which would have relied exclusively on the more expensive license fees to pay for eight deputies, was opposed by the Realtors association because it targeted only landlords.

The proposals are among several ideas being considered by officials in an attempt to stem the tide of violence and crime in the fast-growing city.

According to the Sheriff’s Department, serious felonies -- including homicide, rape and robbery -- have increased from 257 crimes per 10,000 people in 1999 to 420 crimes per 10,000 people for the first nine months of 2003.

Deputy Dist. Atty. David Berger, who is spearheading many of Lancaster’s anti-crime programs, recently presented the council with data showing that more crimes occur in neighborhoods with a higher concentration of rental housing.

Assistant City Manager Dennis Davenport said, “I think the combination of 14 additional deputies out on the streets affecting the quality of life can make a very big difference with the issues we face today in the city of Lancaster.”