Citizens should save public safety Citizens should save public safety (December 19, 2003)

Even without considering the impact of 9/11 on public safety and the subsequent realization that global terrorism is a genuine threat, police and fire services have always been the crucial building block underpinning any city. Residents everywhere take for granted that public safety will be there, no matter what.

After 9/11, the men and women protecting citizens from accidents, natural disasters and each other were widely heralded as heroes who risked everything for people they didn't even know.

Public safety employees became idols of more and more Americans, yet they may be hurt more than anyone else by Gov. Schwarzenegger's repeal of the car tax increase, whose revenue flows directly to support police and fire departments in many cities and counties. When Gov. Pete Wilson decreased the car tax to what it is now, he also agreed to compensate local governments for what they would be losing.

Gov. Schwarzenegger, under pressure not to raise taxes or increase state spending, has not offered a reimbursement solution that meets bipartisan approval, and now the State Legislature has adjourned for the year, leaving little hope for stopgap measure any time soon. As a result, the city of Mountain View is beginning to lose about $3 million a year.

With the exception of schools, loss of funding for a government agency doesn't draw much attention from the public. But when Mountain View residents realize that police and fire services are in line to lose much of the $3 million annual cut, we expect to see a hue and cry at City Hall similar to the uproar about school spending cuts.

Having shaved corners in its latest budget, the city of Mountain View has little room to adjust for such a huge loss. The city has done well just to maintain a AAA credit rating, avoid employee lay-offs, and shift positions to minimize the impact of cutbacks on the public.

But if forced to accommodate the loss of $3 million, choices are limited. The next areas to cut are police and fire, which account for about half of the city's budget and were least impacted by the recent budget cuts. It is worth noting that the city's other services -- parks, library, senior center, for example -- become a relatively moot point if there are not enough resources to keep its residents safe.

When told by Gov. Gray Davis that the car tax was to be increased, many in the state protested loudly and angrily. It was an issue that was remembered and talked about during the recall election Davis lost.

Gov. Schwarzenegger sang the opposite tune and kept his pledge to get rid of the car tax increase. And Californians responded with enthusiasm.

Now the question is whether citizens will demand to save public safety, even if it costs them more money in taxes or public bonds. Today, rather than T-shirts and flags with their emblems, our public safety departments need support from volunteers to call their legislators and the Governor and demand that something be done, quickly, to avert this financial calamity.

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