Proposed half-cent sales tax would generate funding for additional firefighters and paramedics, fire stations, and equipment<\/p>\n
Today, the Los Angeles City Clerk announced that the Initiative Petition to establish a dedicated half-cent sales tax for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) has officially verified enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. The Initiative Ordinance will now be transmitted to the Los Angeles City Council, which must formally vote to place it on the November 2026 ballot.<\/p>\n
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This qualification milestone follows UFLAC’s collection of more than 225,000 petition signatures. Through their random sampling process, the County Registrar-Recorder\/County Clerk projected 158,120 valid signatures, well exceeding the 139,497 required to qualify.<\/p>\n
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If approved by voters, the measure would raise at least $330 million in its first year, dedicated exclusively to the LAFD. Funds would be used to hire additional firefighters and paramedics, construct and rebuild fire stations, and modernize equipment. A citizen\u2019s oversight committee would be appointed to ensure all revenue is spent as intended, and the measure would require annual public audits. The initiative includes an innovative Maintenance of Effort clause which guarantees that new revenue for the LAFD cannot replace or supplant existing general fund support for the department.<\/p>\n
“Today was an important next step in finally funding the LAFD. We have the same number of firefighters in 2026 as we had in the 1960s, with six fewer fire stations and five times the emergency call load. Los Angeles deserves a fire department that can meet the demands of this city, and now the voters will have the chance to make that happen.”<\/p>\n
-UFLAC President Doug Coates<\/p>\n
UFLAC has been advocating for sustained, dedicated funding to address decades of underinvestment in one of the nation’s largest urban fire departments. The LAFD currently responds to more than 500,000 emergency calls per year, compared to roughly 100,000 in the 1960s. According to national standards, emergency resources are expected to arrive at nearly all 911 calls within four minutes; the LAFD currently averages nearly eight minutes.<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles City Council will now consider the measure and is expected to vote to officially place it on the November 2026 General Election Ballot in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
For more information regarding the measure, including the ordinance language with the safeguards guaranteeing that the revenue will be used only to fund LAFD core services, visit FundLAFire.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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