Dozens of Angelenos made last-minute pleas to elected officials on Wednesday, May 22, to spare their programs from cuts or to keep their funding intact, and today the Los Angeles City Council is expected to adopt a slimmed-down budget — at $12.8 billion — for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
From homelessness prevention and unarmed crisis responses to support for garment workers and cultural programs, residents spoke in support of a range of programs and services they felt the city should continue to invest in – even as city leaders seek ways to cut the budget in the face of a multi-year deficit.
In April, Mayor Karen Bass proposed a $12.8 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1. That’s a decrease of $293 million, or about 2%, from this year’s budget. It’s in response to lower-than-expected revenues, increased labor costs – partly a result of hefty pay raises given to city employees – and other rising expenses.
The City Council’s budget committee last week recommended that some cuts proposed by Bass be restored and suggested other changes to her proposed spending plan. The committee’s recommendations will be considered by the full City Council on Thursday when it’s expected to finalize and vote on a budget that it will then send to the mayor for her consideration.
Ahead of Thursday’s vote, the City Council on Wednesday had the public weigh in on which programs or expenses should be funded.
Several people urged the council to release all the money collected through Measure ULA to fund programs and services to address the city’s homelessness and affordable housing crises.
Measure ULA, approved by voters in 2022, is a tax on the sale of properties worth $5 million or more. Since taking effect in April 2023, the city has collected over $250 million. But ULA supporters say city officials have been holding onto some of the money because of an ongoing lawsuit over the measure.
Hannah Cornfield, a researcher with Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, which is part of the United to House LA coalition, called it “counterintuitive” to hold onto the money when funding is needed now.
“The litigation is not going to be resolved for at least seven months,” Cornfield said. “Meanwhile, thousands more (homeless) people are going to be … swept by (police) from the streets, thousands more people are going to be killed from being homeless, thousands more people are going to be evicted from their housing. And this is just going to be a cycle of trauma and a cycle of homelessness.”
“What’s the point in collecting the money if the city isn’t spending it?” she asked.
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who chairs the budget committee, said in an interview after the council meeting that much of the $150 million in ULA funds that the council authorized spending for this fiscal year hasn’t been used, and that there is plenty of money still available. He said the city is trying to create a plan for how to spend additional dollars, but it takes time.
The City Council also heard Wednesday from speakers who urged officials to fund unarmed crisis response services at an additional cost of $4.5 million, as an alternative to calling in armed officers for every situation.
North Hollywood resident Jason Enright said his son is autistic and can lose his temper. He pleaded for the City Council to invest in people who are trained to de-escalate tense moments.
“One of my waking nightmares, things that keep me up at night in a cold sweat, is that someday a neighbor or someone would call 911 and we wouldn’t have the people properly trained to de-escalate with him, and he would end up dead,” Enright said. “As a parent, it’s a terrible thought to think that the people who you need to help you the most could hurt your child.”
Blumenfield later said in an interview that the plan is to roll over about $10 million that has gone unspent this fiscal year and is earmarked for unarmed crisis response programs.
“There is enough money,” Blumenfield said, adding that unarmed crisis response is a priority for him and others on the council.
Before the council meeting, members of community organizations held a news conference outside City Hall on Wednesday morning to urge the city to invest an additional $6 million in safety response measures that don’t involve police.
LA Forward, Represent LA Coalition, The TransLatin@ Coalition and others want the City Council to add another $4.5 million to the budget for unarmed crisis response programs – of which $2.5 million would go toward creating a centralized dispatch center for emergency management and crisis services and another $2 million to evaluate current unarmed crisis response services.
Those at the press conference also asked for $1.5 million for RepresentLA, a program that provides legal services for immigrants.
During Wednesday’s council meeting, councilmembers also heard from many garment workers who asked city officials to restore funding for 12 positions in the city’s Economic and Workforce Development Department, including positions that help support the garment industry.
A handful of people also asked the council to restore $2.4 million in cuts to the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs, with one saying that it’s important for the city to invest in the arts and cultural programs as it gears up to host the 2028 Olympics.
Others spoke of the importance of funding the city’s Gang Reduction and Youth Development program.
While pleading for funding of certain services, some on Wednesday criticized city officials for considering a budget that significantly increases the Los Angeles Police Department’s budget. In the past year, the City Council approved hefty raises for LAPD officers, in addition to multi-year raises for the majority of its city workforce.
Wednesday’s meeting was an opportunity for the public to give input on the budget following recommendations made by the budget committee last week when it tweaked the mayor’s proposed budget.
Bass’ proposed budget called for eliminating more than 2,100 vacant city job positions to balance the budget.
Last week, the committee voted to recommend to the full council that it restore 100 positions in the Bureau of Street Services, which oversees projects like street paving and sidewalk repairs. The budget committee also recommended restoring 85 Recreation and Parks positions.
The committee is also recommending allocating $6.5 million to support programs for domestic violence survivors due to a loss in state and federal funding for these programs, and an additional $2 million to the animal services department to support its spay-and-neuter program and a neutering program for feral cats.
City News Service contributed reporting.
