A key Los Angeles City Council committee took a step Wednesday toward putting on the February ballot a $30 million tax measure to fund gang prevention programs.
The measure would levy a parcel tax on property owners, averaging about $40 a year.
The council's Rules and Elections Committee asked the city attorney to draft ballot language that would spell out how the $30 million a year would be awarded to gang prevention and intervention programs and how the city would ensure the money is spent
The measure, introduced by Councilwoman Janice Hahn, is scaled back from an earlier $50 million parcel-tax proposal in order to make it more appealing to voters.
Hahn said the city has never made a consistent effort to fund gang intervention and prevention programs.
"We need a dedicated funding stream," Hahn said. "The city budget has so many constraints on it that we're never going to have the political will to always dedicate this amount of money toward ending gang violence."
But City Controller Laura Chick, who is auditing current gang prevention programs, has said the council and mayor should not put a gang tax on the ballot until her review is complete and the city can be sure the money will be spent well.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has said he could support the tax measure if the money was spent in communities with the worst gang problems and there is strong oversight and accountability.
His office would not say if he supports putting a gang tax on the February ballot.
The council would need to vote by Oct. 3 to direct the city attorney to draft ballot language and the full council would have to decide whether to put the tax on the ballot by Oct. 19.
Some business groups have already raised concerns with the proposal, especially since property owners are already funding some gang programs through taxes.
"We respectively caution the city to fully analyze the collective impact of recent tax increases, such as last year's trash-fee increase, before proposing another parcel tax increase and to consider the cost to taxpayers of at least $1 million to put this on the ballot," said Veronica Perez Becker with the Central City Association.
Meanwhile, Villaraigosa also announced a school-safety initiative Wednesday targeting low-performing schools in high-crime neighborhoods plagued by gangs.
Under the plan, safety will be increased on and around 20 campuses in the region - including four in the San Fernando Valley - through collaborations between the school district, the Mayor's Office and city services including the Police Department.
Using a police crime-tracking database, officials will collect and evaluate statistics to identify emerging patterns and develop prevention strategies, Villaraigosa said.
The 20 schools are located in or near the city's already established Gang Reduction Zones, which represent the areas of the city with the highest concentration of gang crime, said the mayor's spokeswoman, Janelle Erickson.
The four schools targeted in the Valley are all in Pacoima - Arleta High School, Maclay Middle School, Pacoima Middle School and San Fernando High School.
Birmingham High, where a shooting took place near campus Monday, also is in a gang-infested area but is not among the schools to receive boosted attention because it's not in one of the city's Gang Reduction Zones.
Staff Writer Naush Boghossian contributed to this report.
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