A pot of gold in trash fee hikes -- but where's it all going?

Remember the plan by L.A.'s mayor to pay for more police officers with the proceeds of a trash fee hike? Turns out the city collected twice as much money as it needed, then used the extra cash on other things, says David Zahniser, our man in City Hall:

The trash fees, imposed in 2006 as part of the mayor’s plan to expand the Los Angeles Police Department, have generated $137 million in new revenue, according to a four-page report released Tuesday by City Controller Laura Chick. But since the new officers have cost only $47.2 million, the remainder has been absorbed into other parts of the LAPD budget, Chick said.

A representative of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. voiced little surprise, saying he expected that much of the trash fee revenue would go toward other parts of the budget, including a three-year package of police raises. “Often what happens to tax increases in this city, instead of getting more employees, we just get better-paid employees,” he said.

Villaraigosa initiated the higher fees in 2006 as part of his LAPD expansion plan and is now more than halfway toward his goal of reaching 1,000 new officers. The trash fees went from $11 to $26 per month for homeowners between 2006 and June.

All of which leaved us wondering -- what's going to happen to the city's plan to hike fees by another $36.32 per month?

--Veronique de Turenne

Photo:  Associated Press

Comments

[Michael]

How can City Hall even think about levying a $40 parcel tax on L.A. residents to generate money for gang programs when they've already got this cash cow!

It's another example of just how downright mediocre our Mayor and City Council are on a regular basis.