Where's Antonio?
Mayor Villaraigosa is scheduled to be in Washington, D.C. Thurday to announce his support for the Kennedy-McCain immigration bill. The Mayor is scheduled to meet with one of the bill's co-authors, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.The Mayor is also scheduled to speak on urban issues at the American Jewish Committee's 100th annual meeting.
Posted by Mayor Sam @ 5/04/2006 12:05:00 AM
7 Comments:
Villaraigosa Using Police As "Human Shield" In Budget Battle
By Walter Moore - April 22, 2006
You're probably not going to read all 1983 pages of Mayor Villaraigosa's budget documents, which he released on April 20, 2006. So here's what you need to know to avoid being duped into supporting yet another tax hike, ostensibly to hire more police:
1. Just How Big Is The City Of L.A.'S Annual Budget?
Last year, the City's budget was $5.96 billion. This year, it will be $6.67 billion. That means the City's annual revenues have increased by $710 million. Did you catch that? The City has $710 million MORE available to spend this year than it did last year. And that's without any hike in our existing taxes.
2. Where Did The Extra $710 Million In Revenues Come From?
The money came, of course, from you, the taxpayer. More specifically, $587 million of the extra $710 million came from property taxes. As property values have increased, so have the revenues the City receives from property taxes. That $587 million in extra revenues, by the way, goes directly into the City's "General Fund," so it can be used for any lawful purpose, including, for example, hiring more police.
3. How Much Does Villaraigosa Want To Spend To Hire More Police?
Villaraigosa's budget calls for the City to spend $33.4 million this year to hire more police officers. You read that correctly: out of the $710 million in extra revenues that the City has this year, just $33.4 million would go toward hiring more police. In other words, just 4.7% of the City's additional $710 million is going towards hiring additional police.
So when Villaraigosa or anyone claims we need an increased trash tax to pay for more police, ask him to explain why the City cannot use the $710 million in increased revenues to cover this $33.4 million item without a tax increase.
4. How Many Officers Does Villaraigosa Want To Add This Year?
The correct answer is "135." You may have heard Villaraigosa say he wants to hire 650 "new" police officers this year. As his budget shows, however, he expects 515 current officers to retire or otherwise leave the force. Hence, although he refers to 650 "new" officers, his plan only calls only for 135 "additional" officers (650 - 515 = 135).
5. How Many Officers Does Villaraigosa Want To Add In Future Years?
Villaraigosa plans to increase the force by 880 officers over the course of four years: 135 officers this year; 220 the next; another 220 the year after that; and another 305 the year after that. By that time, according to his numbers, the cost of all 880 additional officers will be $182.4 million per year. That's right: the total cost for all 880 officers per year would be far less than the $710 million per year increase in City's revenues mentioned above.
According to Villaraigosa's own figures, moreover, his proposed trash tax, when fully implemented, would cost L.A.'s homeowners $127.5 million per year -- on top of all the sales, property and income taxes they already pay. But why should we endure another tax hike, supposedly to pay for more police, when the City's revenues have risen more than enough to pay for all the police Villaraigosa says he wants to hire?
6. Where Is The Rest Of The $710 Million Going?
Villaraigosa claims, "The cornerstone of this year’s budget is our strategic plan to recruit, hire and train 650 new police officers in FY2006-07." As shown above, however, this supposed "cornerstone" takes just 4.7% of the $710 million in increased revenues.
The real "cornerstone" of Villaraigosa's budget is an agency that gives your tax dollars to wealthy developers who build high-density housing and shopping centers, and, more importantly, who donate to the campaigns of career politicians. Villaraigosa's budget calls for the Community Redevelopment Agency to spend $439,321,900 of your money this year, an increase of $265,395,900 over the previous year's budget -- 37% of the City's extra $710 million.
That's right: the City's budget is up by $710 million this year; 37% of that increase is going to the Community Redevelopment Agency; but you're supposed to believe that the 4.7% for more 135 additional police officers is the "cornerstone" of the budget.
Hiring more police isn't the cornerstone of Villaraigosa's budget at all. Rather, hiring more police is a merely ruse, a pretext, to make you think that City Hall -- which is drowning in money as a result of increased property values -- is instead broke.
The same goes for Villaraigosa's claim -- in the spirit of Lizzie Borden -- that he "inherited" a deficit. Having been on the City Council when the last budget was adopted, he cannot claim to have inherited last year's budget. Plus, his own budget documents show that the last budget left the City not with a deficit, but instead with $470 million of "available balances" (i.e., cash collected from you but not spent).
So don't let Villaraigosa or anyone else get away with using our police as a human shield for budget shenanigans. The City has more than enough money to hire as many police as we need right now, without increasing our taxes one cent.
Damn little Antonio is never in te city anymore. Any chance he gets he leaves to campaign around the country. I wish a reporter would tell us how much all this traveling on city time is costing us. I'm sick of these local reporters kissing his ass and behaving like the National enquirer instead of credible newspaper and tv.
Don't worry everyone....
All of this marching shit and demanding, and protesting, and telling us Americans that "this country belongs to us" crap. and all the gangbangers......
it's all going to bite 'em in the ass. WE ARE SICK OF THEM!!!!!
Today WE vote, and tomorrow...THEY march...all the way back to where they came from...MEHICO.
Get the cockroaches out of this country.
Chick is auditing the Community Development Department.
She should audit all the non profits who get millions in this city. They have done nothing and a lot of the directors drive new big cars. They have family on the payroll. You figure if a study of the $26 million which goes to non profits for gang intervention and prevention is not working why are they still getting money?
my director makes 35k a year
uses public transportation
vegetarian
donates to the poor
non profit directors can be poor or rich
Hey 2:12,
No idea what you're talking about. If there's such corruption in the non-profit world, then name the non-profits. I've worked in that industry for years and believe me, nobody's getting rich. There may be one or two, but they get it in the end. It always happens.
I know you're just trying to be provocative, but that was a truly weak assed attempt.
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