Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 15, 1990 TAG: 9003143012
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium
Until semi-trailer trucks arrive at intervals to haul the debris to landfills, workers carefully monitor odors, now and then sprinkling a sort of granulated perfume around the base of the garbage heap.
"What we're using now is wild cherry," said Kenneth Palmer, a city sanitation official. "We've used banana in the past and, I think, citrus."
The unusual practice is just one example of the city's attention to detail, a sign of its determination to do the job right. The city machinery of Beverly Hills is oiled generously with $110 million in annual revenues - four times most cities its size - derived mostly from property taxes, sales taxes (primarily from the Rodeo Drive district), business-license fees and hotel taxes.
The 654 full-time city employees represent a work force triple that of comparably sized communities in Southern California.
To a great extent, the huge staff exists to maintain what residents like to call a "village atmosphere." Trees are a civic obsession. In addition to the veritable forests that grow in private lawns and gardens, the city itself maintains more than 30,000 trees of 50 different species, planted along streets and in parks. It works out to nearly one public tree for each resident, all carefully matched, years ago, to the scale and character of the homes.
Workmen trim them by hand - no chain saws - to keep down the noise.
"We spend $2.5 million annually on our trees," Parks Supt. Marcelino G. Lomeli said proudly. "Per capita we spend . . . maybe more than any other U.S. city."
The small-town political climate also contributes significantly to the high standards of maintenance. A resident who complains about a pothole is likely to have connections extending right into the mayor's or city manager's office. As one official noted, such a person isn't satisfied to hear a city employee say, "We'll get to it."
Police response times in Beverly Hills average less than three minutes, or roughly three times faster than it takes police to arrive at the scene of an emergency call in nearby Los Angeles.
"Somebody hears something in the alley . . . we respond," boasted Beverly Hills city spokesman Fred C. Cunningham. "We have a program where if somebody is leaving [town] and they report to the Police Department, we'll try and check their homes to make sure they're OK. If time permits, [the police] will get out and check the doors and make sure everything's locked."
The reputation of Beverly Hills police is one of toughness. Critics express fear of the police, citing brusqueness and forcefulness by officers handling exactly the kind of traffic stop that earned Gabor a jail sentence. On the other hand, few residents fear walking at night. The city averages just two murders a year, most of which, because of abundant investigative manpower, are ultimately solved.
Burglaries and robberies, however, number in the hundreds. In recent months, the city has again fallen prey to a ring of Rolex watch thieves, well-dressed men who approach their victims even in broad daylight to steal a $15,000 or $20,000 watch, said Police Lt. Robert P. Curtis. The phenomenon first surfaced several years ago and reappeared late last year.
"They will follow someone home or to a place of business and, as they get out of the car, approach them right there, often at gunpoint," Curtis said. "[The thieves] demand [a] Rolex watch, often bypassing other valuable property - including money."
by CNB