Hahn’s Budget Seeks to Add Police, Firefighters

Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn on Wednesday proposed giving the Fire and Police departments modest budget increases next year that would slightly raise the number of police officers and firefighters.

Hahn said he wants to increase the LAPD operating budget by $34 million, enough to pay for 360 new police officers and fully implement the senior lead program, which assigns officers to work with specific neighborhoods.

However, the hiring would not make much of a dent in the Police Department’s 1,000-officer deficit.

Hahn said he would work to find more money to hire additional officers if more can be recruited. The mayor also said he wants to reassign 100 police officers in administrative positions back to patrol duty.

In addition, Hahn proposed raising the Fire Department budget by about $19 million. The additional money would allow the department to replace obsolete equipment, add 10 new ambulances, hire 48 more firefighters and 28 more paramedics.

Hahn, who has been rolling out highlights of his proposed 2002-03 budget for the last week, also wants to maintain the current levels of street resurfacing and sidewalk repairs, and increase tree trimming by 5%.

The complete budget, which is expected to contain some cuts to city programs, will be unveiled Friday.