LOS ANGELES – As a way to fund the hiring of new police officers, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel has proposed selling advertising space on city garbage trucks, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal.
The possible dollar amount brought in by the ads, or how the money would find its way to the police budget, is still unclear. City officials look to the $14 million that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority generates from selling space on its fleet of 2,500 buses as a guide.
The city operates 665 garbage trucks, which provide large spaces for ads and travel slowly through neighborhoods. The proposal comes as a solution to increase the police force of the Los Angeles Police Department, which is about half the number of police per capita than New York. The ads would not feature tobacco or alcohol and the advertiser would be responsible for enforcing decency guidelines.
