The union representing Los Angeles firefighters will begin a signature-gathering campaign Thursday in a bid to place a half-cent sales tax on the November ballot to address what they say is “decades of under-investment.”
Members of United Firefighters of Los Angeles and city elected officials are scheduled to gather at Fire Station 58, at 1556 S. Robertson Blvd., to urge registered voters to sign the petition to qualify the ballot initiative. It requires a minimum of 154,000 valid signatures.
Funds from the half-cent sales tax would allow the Los Angeles Fire Department to hire more firefighters and civilian staff, purchase new fire trucks, engines, ambulances and other equipment, as well as build new fire stations and repair existing ones.
Tax revenue would go into a special fund, only for the use of the fire department. The measure would also mandate a so-called “maintenance of effort” provision, which would require the city to maintain general fund support for the LAFD. In essence, the provision would prevent existing funding from being replaced by revenue from the sales tax.
The proposal would also require annual audits that would be presented to the general public, and establish a citizens oversight committee to track all spending from the tax.
Proponents estimate the tax would generate at least $345 million in the first year.
The sales tax in Los Angeles stands at 9.75%. If approved by the voters, the ballot initiative would increase it to 10.25%, which would be less than the cities of Alhambra, Burbank, Glendale, Long Beach, San Fernando, West Hollywood and Pasadena with a 10.5% sales tax. It would also be lower than Culver City and Santa Monica, which have a 10.75% sales tax.
In past years, LAFD officials have advocated for more funding for their department, pointing to straining personnel and resources to fight fires and respond to medical emergencies.
The population of Los Angeles in 1960 stood at 2.4 million people, and the LAFD responded to 100,985 emergency calls for service. By 1965, the department had 3,379 authorized firefighter positions with 112 fire stations.
In 2024, the population of the city had increased to nearly 3.9 million. Los Angeles lost six fire stations with 53 stations more than 50 years old, and four stations more than 80 years old, according to the LAFD.
Meanwhile, in 2024, the department reported sworn firefighters stood at 3,412, who responded to five times more emergency calls for service.
LAFD officials say more funding is needed to meet requirements set by the International Association of Fire Fighters. The organization conducted a review of the department, which found LAFD needs 62 new fire stations, 4,000 additional firefighters, dozens of new dispatchers, seven new battalions, and emergency management service substations.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association criticized the proposed tax initiative. Voters placed taxpayer protections in the state constitution with Proposition 13 in 1978 and Proposition 218 in 1996. These require local taxes for a special purpose to be approved by two-thirds of voters.
Beginning in 2017, state courts carved a loophole that said the constitution does not apply to “citizen initiative tax increases,” according to the association.
“Voters should ask, `What is in the city budget that is a higher priority than adequately funding the fire department?’ It is totally unacceptable that the City Council and Mayor (Karen Bass) have underfunded the fire department and essentially told the firefighters’ union to go out and get their own tax increase,” the association said in a statement.
“Sales taxes are already very high in Los Angeles, and they hit hardest on people who can least afford to pay more,” the statement continued.