Proposed Los Angeles Fire Department Sales Tax Clears First Hurdle

A proposal to raise Los Angeles’ sales tax by a half-cent to fund the Los Angeles Fire Department has cleared a required procedural step, allowing proponents to begin collecting signatures to place the measure on a future citywide ballot.

The Los Angeles City Clerk last Friday approved a draft initiative petition that would impose an additional 0.5% sales tax dedicated to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The initiative comes amid renewed scrutiny of the agency’s resources and preparedness following the Palisades fire, as firefighters and city officials debate whether the department has sufficient funding, staffing, equipment and facilities to handle major emergencies.

If approved by voters, the ordinance is projected by supporters to generate about $9.86 billion by 2050 and would fund the hiring of more than 1,000 additional firefighters, the purchase of equipment and vehicles, the construction and repair of fire stations, and wildfire preparedness.

Supporters must collect nearly 140,000 valid signatures from registered Los Angeles voters, which accounts for 15% of total votes cast in the last mayoral election, within 120 days for the measure to qualify for the ballot.

If it qualifies, the initiative could appear before voters as early as November 2026.

The initiative is being backed by the firefighters’ union, the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112, which says the department has fallen far behind the city’s needs after decades of underinvestment.

“Due to decades of underinvestment, our fire department currently operates with the same number of firefighters as in the 1960s, six fewer stations, and five times the call load,” the union said in a statement Monday. “The LAFD is half the size needed to keep L.A. safe.”

Union leaders say firefighters and paramedics are appealing directly to voters for additional funding to improve response times and bolster staffing, equipment and station capacity.

Some residents said the need is visible on the ground. In North Hollywood, a wildland firefighting hand crew currently trains and sleeps in the community room at Fire Station 89 because there’s no dedicated station space for the unit, said Jennifer Clark, vice president of the North Hollywood Northeast Neighborhood Council, speaking in her personal capacity as a resident.

“I am personally in support of a dedicated portion of our sales tax going towards the LAFD budget, given that the current city budget is not able to meet the LAFD budget needs,” Clark said. “From what I understand, the proposed tax would be to support new/existing fire stations and recruiting new firefighters.”

Taxpayer advocates, however, criticized the proposal as an unnecessary tax increase and raised concerns about how it would be approved.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association argued that because the measure is being placed on the ballot through a citizen initiative rather than by the City Council, it would only need a simple majority, or 50% plus one vote, to pass, rather than the two-thirds approval typically required for City Council-proposed special taxes.

“This is an example of a ‘citizens’ initiative tax increase’ that would go through a court-created loophole that makes it easier to raise taxes,” Jon Coupal, the group’s president, said in a statement. “The fire department should be funded fully in the city budget, ahead of lower priorities such as remodeling the Convention Center for the Olympics.”

The association also raised questions about whether additional state authorization would be required if the measure pushes Los Angeles above statutory limits of 2% on local sales taxes, similar to legislation needed for Measure A, a countywide homelessness tax approved by voters in November 2024.

The proposal comes amid continued scrutiny of LAFD’s capacity and preparedness following the Palisades fire, which renewed debate over whether the department has sufficient staffing, equipment and facilities to respond to major emergencies.

A recent after-action report examining the department’s response to the Jan. 7 fire identified staffing and equipment limitations among the challenges during extreme fire conditions, while city officials and firefighters continue to disagree over whether recent budget increases have kept pace with rising call volumes, climate-driven fire risk and aging infrastructure.

The debate is unfolding against the backdrop of broader budget pressures at City Hall. Los Angeles closed a nearly $1 billion budget gap this year driven by rising personnel costs, legal settlement and a slowing local economy, complicating decisions about how to fund public safety services going forward.

Mayor Bass’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by press deadline on Monday.

©2025 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit dailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.