LA City firefighters seek tax hike to fund department

LOS ANGELES - The United Firefighters of Los Angeles is launching a petition drive to place a half-cent sales tax on the November ballot, aiming to generate $345 million annually for the Los Angeles Fire Department. 

The initiative seeks to address long-standing resource shortages by funding new equipment, hiring more personnel, and repairing aging infrastructure across the city.

What we know:

The campaign begins Thursday with a signature-gathering event at Fire Station 58 on South Robertson Boulevard. 

To qualify for the November ballot, the initiative requires at least 154,000 valid signatures from registered voters. If approved, the city's sales tax would increase from 9.75% to 10.25%.

The proposal includes strict oversight measures, such as a special fund dedicated solely to the fire department, annual public audits, and a citizens' oversight committee. 

Additionally, a "maintenance of effort" provision would legally prevent the city from reducing existing general fund support for the department once the new tax revenue begins to flow.

By the numbers:

The proponents of the tax highlight a significant gap between the city’s growth and the fire department's resources over the last 60 years:

Population growth: Los Angeles grew from 2.4 million residents in 1960 to nearly 3.9 million in 2024.

Station loss: Despite the population increase, the city has lost six fire stations since 1965, and over 50 existing stations are more than 50 years old.

Call volume: Sworn firefighters now respond to five times as many emergency calls as they did in the 1960s, despite having roughly the same number of authorized positions (3,379 in 1965 vs. 3,412 in 2024).

Future needs: A review by the International Association of Fire Fighters suggests the department needs 4,000 additional firefighters and 62 new stations to meet modern requirements.

The other side:

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has voiced strong opposition to the measure, arguing that sales taxes disproportionately affect low-income residents.

The association criticized city leadership for underfunding essential services and shifting the burden to taxpayers through a "citizen initiative" loophole. 

This legal avenue allows the tax to pass with a simple majority rather than the two-thirds threshold usually required for special taxes under Proposition 13 and Proposition 218.

What they're saying:

Regarding the need for the measure, union officials cited "decades of under-investment" in the department.

In response to the proposal, the office of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stated, "Mayor Karen Bass is supportive of new revenue sources for LAFD and is exploring all options to deliver critical city services and keep Angelenos safe."

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association argued, "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 have underfunded the fire department and essentially told the firefighters' union to go out and get their own tax increase." 

The group added, "Sales taxes are already very high in Los Angeles, and they hit hardest on people who can least afford to pay more."

What's next:

The union will spend the coming weeks mobilizing members and volunteers to collect the necessary 154,000 signatures.

Voters will then decide in November whether to approve the tax hike. 

Meanwhile, Mayor Karen Bass, who is up for re-election this year, has not yet officially endorsed the specific ballot measure but continues to express support for finding new revenue for the department.