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Los Angeles city Measure FD, backed by the L.A. firefighters’ union, is asking voters to increase the city sales tax to 10.75%, from 10.25%, to generate an estimated $345 million annually to pay for core Los Angeles Fire Department functions they say the city is underfunding.
Supporters say it’s a small price to pay to hire more firefighters, shorten 911 response times and save lives. Critics say L.A.’s sales tax rates are already too high and the city should better manage its general fund budget.
What’s at stake
Measure FD proposes a 0.5% sales tax hike to provide an estimated $345 million in supplemental funding for the L.A. Fire Department. The revenue would be deposited into a special fund and must be spent on staffing, facilities, equipment and other “core functions” that supporters say aren’t being funded adequately in the city budget.
It would increase L.A.’s sales tax rate to 10.75% and cost consumers, for example, an additional nickel on every eligible $10 purchase.
Why now?
The LAFD currently has about 3,400 firefighters serving in 106 fire stations, according to the employee labor union. Those numbers haven’t changed much since the 1960s, the union says, even as the city’s population and LAFD call volume have skyrocketed.
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Measure FD's supporters, who include the employee union as well as LAFD leadership, say the department needs thousands more firefighters and dozens of new fire stations to keep up with growing call volume and to cut response times.
The push follows the January 2025 Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 structures.
What you'll see on the ballot
Official title
Funding for the Los Angeles fire department through a one-half percent sales tax
Ballot language
Shall an ordinance providing funding for the Los Angeles Fire Department, including for hiring firefighters, paramedics, and other staff, purchasing and maintaining vehicles and equipment, building and upgrading fire stations, and brush clearance; by imposing a one-half percent (0.5%) sales tax in the City of Los Angeles; with annual audits and a citizen’s oversight committee; generating approximately $345 million annually until ended by voters; be adopted?
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What your vote means
- A "yes" vote means: You want to enact a 0.5% sales tax increase to provide additional funding for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
- A "no" vote means: You do not want to raise the city sales tax by 0.5% to provide additional funding for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Understanding Measure FD
Even if Measure FD passes, the city would have to meet one condition before it could collect the tax: a “maintenance-of-effort” rule for the Fire Department.
That’s a government-ese way of saying that the city can’t cut the Fire Department’s budget in order to have this new tax fill the gap. Under the rule, the city would have to maintain at least the average share of its total discretionary budget that went to LAFD during the 10 fiscal years before the tax takes effect. That 10-year average would be the baseline. If the city budgets LAFD less than that share in any future fiscal year, it could not collect the Measure FD tax that year. As a point of reference, the LAFD budget is about $900 million this fiscal year, or 6% of the city’s overall expenses.
The LAFD says the $345 million in yearly Measure FD revenue will be used to hire more firefighters and paramedics, purchase and maintain fire vehicles and equipment, replace some fire stations and facilities, and improve brush clearance.
Fire station projects must follow the city's project labor agreement and pay the prevailing wage.
The measure would also set up a five-member citizens’ oversight advisory committee to monitor spending. L.A.’s mayor, fire chief, controller, city administrative officer and chair of the City Council public safety committee would each have authority to appoint a member.
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The L.A. firefighters' union submitted more than 225,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot. The City Council voted 14-0 in June to place it on the ballot, a required step for qualified initiatives.
What it takes to win
Because it was proposed by petition, not by the City Council, Measure FD needs only a simple majority of L.A. voters to pass.
If approved, the sales tax would be imposed as early as April 1, 2027, and remain in place until it is repealed by voters.
What supporters say
Supporters of Measure FD — including LAFD Chief Jaime Moore and United Firefighters of L.A. City President Doug Coates — argue the LAFD is half the size it should be to serve L.A.’s nearly 4 million people and blame the shortage on “decades of underinvestment.”
They say extra funding for the Fire Department will allow L.A. to hire 1,000 more firefighters and lower LAFD’s emergency response times, which they say are nearly double the recommended national average of 4 minutes.
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The main backer of the Fund LA Fire campaign is the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City — the labor union representing firefighters.
Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Traci Park have both said they support Measure FD. Businessman Rick Caruso, a former candidate for mayor, is also a supporter.
Major financial contributors include nonprofit grantmaker the California Community Foundation, short-term rental booking behemoth Airbnb, and plastic pipe manufacturing company JM Eagle.
What opponents say
Measure FD’s main opponent is the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a California-based lobbying group that opposes raising taxes.
They argue the sales tax in Los Angeles is already too high, and that city leaders should fully fund the Fire Department without a tax increase.
They point out that Measure FD would mark the third sales tax increase in two years. In 2024, a majority of voters approved Measure A to fund homeless services, which raised the rate to 9.75%. In June, L.A. County voters narrowly approved Measure ER to fund healthcare, which boosted L.A.’s rate to 10.25% starting in October.
The taxpayer group is also supporting statewide Proposition 43, which would raise the vote threshold for citizen-initiated local special taxes from a simple majority to two-thirds.
State law generally requires local sales taxes earmarked for a specific purpose to be approved by a two-thirds majority. But if they land on the ballot through a signature-gathering campaign, as Measure FD did, they can squeak by with one vote beyond 50%.
If approved by voters, Proposition 43 (“the Local Taxpayer Protection Act”) would change that rule in January. It wouldn’t apply to Measure FD, but would make it harder for cities and counties to pass sales taxes like it beginning next year.
Potential financial impact
Measure FD would increase the sales tax in the city by 0.5% — to 10.75%. It would generate about $345 million annually, according to the city administrative officer. The revenue would go into a special fund used exclusively to support the core functions of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
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Further reading
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