Mayor Backs Bond for Fire, Police Depts.

Describing it as a “vote for life,” Mayor Richard Riordan on Wednesday endorsed a $744-million bond measure that would replace 21 police and fire stations, as well as build new ones and pay for a new police headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.

The measure, trimmed from an original request of more than $1.2 billion, would provide extra space for the city’s growing police force and would allow the Police and Fire departments to cut down their response times to emergency calls, according to Riordan, who was joined at a news conference by City Council President John Ferraro, Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, Fire Chief William Bamattre and council members.

Riordan initially had sought to cap the bond measure at $500 million but said that after reviewing the plan, he was convinced that the larger amount was warranted.

“For less than 10 cents a day . . . Angelenos will get a safer city,” said Riordan, who has championed public safety as the centerpiece of his administration since he was elected in 1993. “This bond measure is an absolute necessity.”

The measure will appear on the April ballot, and Riordan will write the formal argument supporting it.

Some San Fernando Valley leaders have complained about the city proceeding with bond measures while that area contemplates secession. On Wednesday, Riordan and other city leaders emphasized that this bond package contains a number of enticements for the Valley.

Councilwoman Laura Chick, who heads the Public Safety Committee and who represents part of the Valley, noted that two of the projects would be the replacement of one Valley police station and the construction of another. That station would be the LAPD’s 19th and its first new one built since 1978.

Driving distances for police officers are longer in the Valley, where four stations cover a huge geographic area. That has made construction of a new Valley station a long-standing LAPD goal, even though crime rates are generally somewhat lower in those areas than in inner-city neighborhoods such as South-Central or Pico-Union.

Chick also said the bond measure would enhance Valley services in other ways, by bringing it a new fire station and improving Fire Department air operations, among other things.

Across the city, the LAPD is hoping for new and expanded stations to relieve overcrowding, which has taken a toll on morale in recent years as the department has grown in numbers but not in stations.

“We have thousands of additional officers crammed into the existing 18 stations,” Parks said.

Meanwhile, the Fire Department is looking to expand and retrofit in order to keep up with the city’s growth and shifting demographics. Addressing reporters at a 50-year-old station downtown, Bamattre called the bond measure “a must” and said it would pay for replacing 17 aging stations as well as building a new one.

“This is the first step in a 20-year plan,” Bamattre said.

Past public safety ballot measures, most notably an LAPD facility bond used to rebuild some of its aging stations, have run into problems with cost overruns and poor oversight. One result is that the LAPD fell far behind on its construction plans and lost the confidence of some voters who were asked to pay for those improvements.

Riordan was among those who criticized the city government for its oversight of that effort, but on Wednesday he said he was confident that the new measure includes safeguards to protect taxpayer dollars.