Council Raises 2 Fees, Creates Another to Help Balance Budget
The Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to increase two fees and create a third in order to add $41 million a year to the city’s ailing wallet and help balance its $4-billion budget for the upcoming year.
“This was the most sane option,” said Budget Committee Chairman Richard Alatorre. “What we came up with is the least onerous, least obnoxious to people, so we can continue to provide the services that matter.”
The council voted to increase the monthly fee residents pay for sanitation equipment from $4.50 to $6 for single-family homes, and from $3 to $4 for multifamily units. The fees will revert to their current rates after two years.
Lawmakers also voted to raise most parking fines $10, up from the $5 increase Mayor Richard J. Riordan had suggested. The new fees will leave most tickets at $30 to $40.
Finally, the council agreed with Riordan’s proposal to impose a 2% waste-water franchise fee until 1998.
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