Hahn Softens Stance on Budget

Faced with a City Council that has suddenly turned on him, Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn moved Tuesday to salvage what’s left of his proposed budget for next year, presenting a new offer without the rancor that has soured talks in recent days.

In radio interviews and public appearances, Hahn, who last week chided the council for its approach to the budget talks, sounded a less combative tone. Asked if he was still poised to veto a budget that adds fewer police officers than he says are necessary for public safety, Hahn responded: “The V-word isn’t the order of the day today. The order of the day ought to be the A-word: agreement.”

And his police chief, William J. Bratton, followed suit by releasing a letter apologizing for suggesting that council members were oblivious to crime in their neighborhoods.

Late Tuesday afternoon, the Hahn administration put forward what it said was a compromise intended to break the deadlock. The mayor’s office offered to cut all departments, with the exception of police and fire, by 3%, generating $30 million that could be put into the city’s reserve fund. In exchange for what the administration described as renewed “belt-tightening,” Hahn is asking council approval for 320 new police officers to a force of about 9,000.

Yet some council members said the proposal was nothing new, arguing that it merely reintroduced a compromise proposed Monday by Councilwoman Jan Perry. Under Perry’s plan, which was sent back to committee by a vote of 9 to 6, officials would pay for the LAPD expansion now while looking for ways to save money, such as cutting departments by 3%.

Creating “$30 million of new revenue at the expense of our parks and libraries does not put a dent into the ... projected deficit,” said Councilman Nick Pacheco. “Unless I get further details, I think it misses the mark.”

Just weeks ago, Pacheco was considered a loyal Hahn supporter. His reluctance to back the mayor on this year’s budget is evidence of how far the debate has gone to break apart allies.

Stakes are high. Unless Hahn can ease tensions that some say he helped create and wrest a compromise in the coming days, the mayor could be saddled with a budget that he vowed he would never accept -- one that would add fewer police officers than the 320 he says are essential for rebuilding the LAPD.

Hahn could veto parts of the budget he finds objectionable, but the council demonstrated Monday that it has the votes to override a veto. The council’s vote in favor of its substitute budget was 11 to 4, with only council members Dennis Zine, Tom LaBonge, Janice Hahn and Hal Bernson voting against that proposal. It takes just 10 votes to override a mayoral veto.

Marriage Counseling?

That represents a startling turnaround for a mayor who once enjoyed strong support among the city’s lawmakers. Indeed, hostilities have reached a level where the mayor’s sister, Councilwoman Hahn, has suggested calling in a marriage counselor to rebuild the rapport between her brother and her colleagues.

“This council was the most favorable to this mayor than any council I’ve known,” said Councilman Nate Holden, who once worked for Hahn’s father and will leave office in June after 16 years. “What he did was offended his friends who were voting with him on every issue.”

Searching for a de-escalation of tensions, Hahn on Tuesday scaled back his public appearances, canceling two news conferences scheduled for this week in favor of waging more direct negotiations with individual council members, aides said. Bratton, a forceful lobbyist in favor of the mayor’s budget, also attempted to cool tempers.

At one point last week, Bratton portrayed council members as out of touch with crime’s pervasiveness. “Let them start attending some of the funerals of the victims of crimes; let them start attending some of the scenes of crimes like I do every night in this city,” Bratton said in a radio interview.

In his apology, Bratton wrote that his comments “were totally inappropriate, and I very much regret any justifiable concern that they may have caused you.”

Council members said they were satisfied.

“I’m glad to see the chief apologize for his remarks,” said Padilla, the council president. He added, however, that it was “important to recognize why he felt the need to apologize.... The remarks were inappropriate and offensive and insulting.”

Few had predicted that Hahn’s 2003-’04 budget would ignite such a furor. It was, after all, a budget that seemed to spare Los Angeles the painful combination of tax hikes and service cuts that California, New York City and other jurisdictions are using to balance budgets.

Passage seemed assured when the mayor gave his State of the City speech last month at the Elysian Park Police Academy, with council members arrayed in the front row and immaculately clad police officers standing behind him.

Within days of the budget’s release, however, council members began complaining that it would put the city at risk in future years. Though Hahn insisted the budget he submitted was balanced, the council was alarmed by analysts’ reports that shortfalls could reach $280 million next year. At budget hearings, mayoral aides refused to address the forecasts -- feeding members’ frustrations.

On May 5, Hahn stopped in the council chambers while the Budget Committee was on break to let members know he thought they were working hard.

“I think we’re in sync,” the mayor said.

Questions Raised

Some council members disagreed. Councilman Weiss said he wanted to hire more police officers, but said he grew frustrated as Crista Binder, the mayor’s budget director, refused to address questions about the shortfalls.

“I’ve been a prosecutor, and when someone doesn’t answer my questions, it only heightens my concerns,” Weiss said. “The mayor’s office steadfastly refused to discuss the impact of this proposed budget on the future and that raised red flags.”

On Monday, Hahn met with Zine. On Tuesday, he spoke with Padilla and Councilman Eric Garcetti. Zine said that in his conversation with the mayor, Hahn confided that he had not anticipated the resistance he has faced.

But even as he is attempting to negotiate more gently, the mayor continues to fend off accusations. He released a note, for instance, rebutting a letter by three council members -- Pacheco, Cindy Miscikowski and Padilla -- that suggested he was prepared to raise fees beyond what he already has proposed.

“I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding,” Hahn wrote. “As I have repeatedly stated, I am not in favor of raising fees beyond those originally included in my proposed budget.”

In his conversations with the mayor, Zine said he recommended that Hahn “kiss and make up” with his fellow city officials. Specifically, Zine recommended that the mayor host a cocktail party for the council. Hahn, according to the councilman, “thought it was a good idea.”

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Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.