Los Angeles police officers rejected a $10 million union fundraising plan that would have aimed to use political advertisements to fight potential layoffs and target some City Council candidates who are in favor of less police funding, union officials said this week.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents approximately 9,800 rank-and-file officers, sent ballots to its members last month asking for support of the special assessment, which would have taken $22 out of each paycheck. Members last week rejected the proposed fund – dubbed “Protecting Our Profession Assessment” – that would have cost each officer more than $1,000 over 48 consecutive pay periods, according to a campaign flyer.

The union vote comes at a time when the LAPD faces cuts tied to coronavirus-related budget problems; and some community members are calling on city officials to defund police.

“Input from the membership during the assessment process underscored the strong desire to continue amplifying our efforts to protect our profession and public safety in Los Angeles in a manner that is more comprehensive than what was originally planned,” the union’s board of directors said in a statement.

Going forward, the board will look at additional options “to ensure the interests of our membership and the public are fully protected at the local, state and federal level,” the statement said. The proposed $10 million was for additional political efforts for the 2022 election, in addition to its normal operations, said Dustin DeRollo, a LAPPL spokesman.

The results of the election were not disclosed, nor was voter turnout.

A billboard campaign in five council districts focusing on a lack of public safety plan by the council, as well as budget cuts, will continue, DeRollo said. Three will address council members who often critique the LAPD, including Mike Bonin of the Westside, and South L.A.’s Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Curren Price.

Two billboards will also go up in the Valley area, which two powerful councilwomen – Nury Martinez and Monica Rodriguez – represent.

Some council members have asked the LAAPL leadership to renegotiate pay raises amid budget cuts in all areas of the city, amid the coronavirus pandemic. The leadership has declined.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore has urged elected officials to prevent layoffs in his department as violent crime appears to be on the rise. The police department already faces a setback of 500 personnel after the City Council cut $150 million last year, according to the LAPD.

“These envisioned staffing reductions would devastate our ability to provide basic public safety, requiring the closure of local stations and jails, the reduction and elimination of services,” Moore said in a statement, “and ultimately it would jeopardize the reforms and gains achieved in public safety over the last two decades.”