Council Seeks Bonds for Fire Stations

The Los Angeles City Council agreed Tuesday to ask voters to consider taxing themselves an extra $35 a year to upgrade fire stations and animal shelters in selected areas of the city.

Two bond measures raising $532 million for fire station upgrades and construction of two animal shelters are set to go before voters in November.

The first measure includes $378.5 million for the city Fire Department, which would use the money to build a fire station in San Pedro and upgrade 19 others. The money would also be used to replace the Air Operations and Helicopter Maintenance Facility at Van Nuys Airport.

The second measure would raise $154.1 million to upgrade the city’s six animal shelters and to build two facilities--one in the east San Fernando Valley and one in South-Central Los Angeles.

Two-thirds of city’s voters must approve the 20-year bonds. A similar city initiative--calling for $744 million in bonds to upgrade police buildings and other facilities--failed to receive the necessary votes during the April 1999 election.

Jackie Goldberg and Mike Hernandez were the only two council members Tuesday to oppose putting the fire bond on the November ballot. They complained that the bulk of the money would be used on stations in the Valley and on the Westside--shortchanging the rest of the city.

“Why should I ask someone in Mt. Washington, someone in Montecito Heights to support this bond measure?” Hernandez asked. “The Fire Department is not offering them anything except an assessment.”

Other council members, however, argued that it was important for lawmakers to look beyond the boundaries of their own districts when deciding whether to support the measures.

“We do have to look at what’s in the best interest of the city,” Councilman Nick Pacheco said.

“This is as important to public safety as anything else we can do,” said Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, whose South Los Angeles district would get one of the new shelters.

The council also approved Laura Chick’s motion to instruct the city attorney to draft an ordinance establishing a bond oversight committee. Chick’s motion also requires the publication of a list of projects to be funded by future bond measures.