TAXING FOR MORE SAFETY
PLAN FOR POLICE, FIRE AGENCIES RUNS UP AGAINST OPPOSITION

Published on Sunday, September 12, 1993
© 1993 The Arizona Republic

Byline: By Abraham Kwok, The Arizona Republic

Phoenix residents and leaders have been taken hostage by crime.

Whether real or perceived, escalating violence in recent years has driven public fear and fueled city politics.

When Jaime Cardenas pleaded with the Phoenix City Council earlier this summer for more resources to fight crime and youth problems, he referred to his son, killed by a gang.

''And I'm not the only one to have gone through that,'' Cardenas said. ''I was hoping that he'd be the last one to die of gang violence.''

Many embraced Cardenas' words and took them as a rallying call to support a proposition to raise taxes for more police and fire protection.

But Proposition 301 is not a sure bet for passage in the Oct. 5 election.

Criticism of the proposition, which would raise the city's sales tax by 0.1 percent, or one penny for every $10 purchase, has been steady and strong.

Detractors say the proposal lacks clarity and a sunset clause, meaning that the tax is permanent. They also say the path it took to the ballot was dangerously flawed.

Their biggest gripe: There's no guarantee that the money would put more police officers on patrol or cut crime.

''I sincerely hope that people don't go to the polls with stars in their eyes and expect to have warm and fuzzy policemen to arrive in their neighborhoods, park and walk,'' said Alma Williams, a longtime activist.

''That's just simply not the case.''

A big wall to scale for Proposition 301 supporters, however, may be simply one of political persuasion: convincing taxpayers that they should fork up more cash.

The proposal comes not only at a financially tight time for many but as portions of the public still are fuming over President Clinton's tax hike.

''We are tired of being nickeled and dimed to death,'' said Phil Esch, a west Phoenix resident who is active in city politics.

If polls are to be believed, however, Williams and other opponents to the sales-tax increase can expect to be steamrolled at election time.

According to The Arizona Republic Poll, eight of 10 Phoenix residents support Proposition 301. The poll, based on phone interviews with 404 residents Sept. 2-5, has a margin of error of 5 percentage points.

''The bottom line is . . . we need more cops,'' said Cynthia Schwartz, one of the leaders pushing for the tax increase. ''And I don't think you'll find too many people who will argue that point.''

The tax increase would raise an expected $12.6 million the first year. Of that, 70 percent would be earmarked to add about 200 police officers, 25 percent for about 70 firefighters, and 5 percent for crime prevention, such as Block Watch and youth programs.

Schwartz, Richard Fox, Lora Lee Nye and other backers say that additional police officers would translate to better patrol of neighborhoods, more backup to officers in potentially dangerous situations, and quicker response time on calls.

Mike Petchel, head of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the police union, said more manpower is crucial if the city is ever to get enough police officers to fight the root causes of problems on their assigned beats.

As it is, Petchel says, patrol officers are swamped with calls for service.

It's an issue that has rallied leaders of neighborhood groups, such as Debbie French of north Phoenix.

''We're tired of going down to City Hall and crying, 'Don't cut these services anymore,' '' French said. ''Well, this (tax) would give the Police and Fire departments some stability.''

Critics aren't so sure.

Some, including Esch, say there's no blueprint in the proposition directing the City Council or Police Chief Dennis Garrett where to put the additional officers.

Nor are there any handcuffs on the City Council to keep it from cutting fire and police funds elsewhere in the budget should tough financial times strike, critics maintain.

''It's just real convoluted,'' said Holly O'Brien, president of the Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix, an advocacy group.

O'Brien's biggest complaint is that the proposition was conceived by an elite coalition of ''police groupies'' and had virtually no public debate.

The council essentially helped resuscitate the proposal. Council members voted to put the issue on the ballot after a citizens group headed by Schwartz failed to gather the required 12,000-plus signatures to put it on the ballot independently.

O'Brien and other critics accused ''weak elected officials'' of passing the buck. Council members defended their vote, saying the citizens group eventually would have collected the signatures and forced a costly special election.

O'Brien says she is unhappy with the proposed tax increase because ''it has a built-in bias that if you're against it, you are against police protection and fire protection.''

She, Esch and Williams gingerly brush off the poll results showing overwhelming support for the tax.

Ironically, in the same poll, 86 percent of city residents say they think the city does an excellent or good job of providing police and fire protection.

''If there were a crisis, wouldn't you think our capable (police) chief would take these people from desk jobs and special detail and rotate them back into patrol?'' Williams asked.

''My objection is not based on any belief of collusion or corruption. It's based on the fact that this is a half-baked, cockamamie idea to make people feel better.''

Chart
Color photo by Tom Story/The Arizona Republic

PROPOSITION 301
What it would do: Raise the city's sales tax by 0.1 percent to hire more police and firefighters and to finance crime-prevention programs.
Arguments for:
* Would deter crime by increasing police presence.
* Would lower response time on police calls.
* Would improve policing in neighborhoods.
Arguments against:
* The tax would be permanent.
* No guarantee that additional officers would affect crime rate.
* Not enough public involvement in proposal.
Phoenix police Officers Glen Kowacz (left) and Art Carpenter patrol the Phoenix Civic Plaza.