Los Angeles residents will be funding the expansion of the police force by paying more for trash. Trash disposal and fighting crime are not generally associated with each other, but for Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa they go hand in hand. During Monday’s State of the City Address the mayor attributed the 33% rise in fees to his plan of adding 1,000 police officers to the Los Angeles Police Department. The speech focused on a determination to fight crime in the city by restructuring the current anti-gang programs. Councilman Jack Weiss supports the proposal if it is the only way to add necessary officers to the LAPD.
If the plan passes look to paying about $36 a month to have the city take out the trash, a dramatic increase from the $11 fee in 2006.
Mayor Villaraigosa addressed the city on new programs he hoped to enact and new efforts to raise revenue; a deficit of over $400 million has already led to the dismissal several city positions and he plans on dismissing over 700 more city employees. The mayor also mentioned a plan of increasing building fees in the city to help build revenue and will look into new ways to fund needed improvements to public transportation.
Monday’s proposal must first be approved by the City Council but the fees are meeting criticism because they would add to numerous other increases in homeowner costs in recent years. Councilmen Bernard Parks and Dennis Zine are wary about the proposal because people are already struggling to make ends meet.
Los Angeles is an expensive city and rising costs push more people to live where living expenses are cheaper. Although the proposed small increase in trash collection does not seem too heavy a burden, it adds to the hike in surcharges by the Department of Water and Power that will leave consumers paying at least 20% more for electricity and 10% more for water over the next two years.
The increase in police officers seems worthy of rising costs but there are consequences. The debate will certainly look at all potential costs and benefits to determine if City Council will approve the proposal. The costs may force many residents who already devote most of their paycheck to rent or homeowner fees to move and commute farther to work. Traffic is already a major problem in the city and can only get worse. Rising gasoline prices may leave Los Angeles residents with difficult choices as well.
Perhaps there are alternatives to fighting crime that do not include raising residents’ costs. If police forces were funded by the people that make them necessary by increasing fines for convicted criminals, the correlation may make more sense. Increasing fees to sanitize the city in order to combat crime may be the answer; a positive outcome depends on City Council to conduct studies that will examine all costs to the city with this plan.
photo by MÃŽsieur J. & Telstar Logistics
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