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Politics & Government

Fire Protection, Hotel Taxes on Southland Ballots Today

Residents in some Southland cities today will cast ballots to choose city council members and mayors, in addition to decide on utility and hotel taxes, among other items.

Voters will cast ballots in a handful of Southland cities today to choose city council members and mayors, while some decide on utility and hotel taxes and residents of El Segundo consider scrapping the fire department and contracting with Los Angeles County for fire protection.

El Segundo's Measure P made it to the ballot through a petition drive, and the effort to give control of fire services to the county is backed by the city's fire chief, Kevin Smith.

Supporters of the proposal say the city's budget woes have led to hefty cuts in the department and a 27 percent reduction in staffing. They also contend that turning fire protection management over to the county will save the city between $39 million and $68 million over 10 years.

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Opponents, including Mayor Eric Busch and Mayor Pro Tem Bill Fisher, counter that Measure P is not an effort to improve fire safety but to protect firefighter salaries. They also contend that giving control to the county would delay emergency response times through a longer dispatch process and the use of locally based fire crews in surrounding cities.

Measure P needs a simple majority of voters to be approved.

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Voters in Bradbury and Sierra Madre will cast ballots relating to utility users taxes, which are imposed on telephone, cable, electricity, gas and trash services.

In Bradbury, Measure A would establish a utility users tax with an initial rate of 8.4 percent. That rate could be raised or lowered by the City Council annually, although it is capped at 8.75 percent and could not drop below 1 percent. That tax would expire after five years, and is expected to raise about $359,000 in the first year.

In Sierra Madre, voters will decide whether to boost the city's existing utility users tax rate to 12 percent. The tax was originally approved in 1993 and had been at 12 percent until 2010, when it dropped to 10 percent; without a change approved by voters, it will drop to 8 percent in 2015 and 6 percent in 2016. Measure 12-1 would set the rate at 12 percent beginning in 2013, then it would drop to 10 percent in 2018, 8 percent in 2019 and 6 percent in 2020.

The Bradbury and Sierra Madre measures both require simple majority votes for approval.

In Arcadia and Culver City, voters will cast ballots related to hotel taxes, or transient occupancy taxes.

In Culver City, Measure X would increase the city's transient occupancy tax from the existing 12 percent to 14 percent. The increase would generate an additional $510,000 a year, according to the city.

Arcadia voters will decide on Measure D, which would make a series of technical changes to the existing hotel room tax. It would ensure the tax is charged to people who book rooms through online travel sites and make the tax applicable to anyone who stays in a hotel room for 90 consecutive days or less. The existing tax applies to guests who stay in a room for 30 consecutive days or less.

The Culver City and Arcadia measures also require simple majorities for approval.

Voters will also elect council members, mayors, city clerks or treasurers in cities including Avalon, La Puente, Lancaster, Lawndale, Long Beach, Malibu, Santa Clarita, Sierra Madre, Walnut and Whittier.

The city of Vernon, which has about 70 registered voters, will hold an election for a seat on its five-member City Council. Challenger Michael Ybarra is trying to unseat incumbent Daniel Newmire in a rare competitive election in a city that has been rocked by scandal in recent years, including the voter-fraud conviction of Leonis Malburg, who was mayor for more than 50 years.

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