(The Center Square) – The Los Angeles City Council passed a $14 billion budget that reduced citywide layoffs by cutting police hiring and fire department spending.
The approved budget uses emergency funds, such as $29 million from the budget stabilization fund, to pay for ongoing regular services, which is typically only done in a recession. That suggests the city has a structural deficit created by spending more than revenue will allow.
Notably, the budget cuts $36.63 million from the Los Angeles Fire Department’s proposed budget and reduces new police hiring in half from 480 new recruits to 230. At the same time, it restores funding for Animal Services and creates a new Bureau of Homelessness Oversight under the Los Angeles Housing Department.
Councilwoman Traci Park, whose district stretches from the Los Angeles International Airport to the fire-demolished Pacific Palisades, questioned the city’s continued funding of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which has failed all recent audits and from which Los Angeles County recently voted to terminate its funding and relationship.
“Spending a million and a half dollars per door to build micro-units of housing to give away to homeless drug addicts when the vast majority of our own city employees could never afford a condo at that price … I don’t think we should agree to spend another penny on homelessness … until we cast a vote on whether we’re finally getting a divorce from LAHSA and what the future of homeless services delivery looks like in LA,” said Park at Thursday’s meeting.
Park also attacked the cuts to the proposed LAFD budget and the halving of the new LAPD officer expansion.
“We just witnessed in January with our own eyes how desperately in need [LAFD is], with literally half the staffing and funding they should have for a fire department in a city of our size. There are still a hundred rigs sitting over at the boneyard, but we’re sitting here unable to say yes to the mechanics that we need to fix them,” continued Park. “We’re shrinking LAPD in favor of expanding other programs that haven’t been effective, and we’re going it right on the cusp of major world events, and in the midst of a crime and homelessness crisis while our residents continue to be victimized in a city where the former deputy mayor just pled guilty to calling in bomb threats to city hall. That’s the state of our city.”
The adopted budget is mostly the same as the mayor’s proposed budget, other than the aforementioned staffing changes and a $7 million cut to the mayor’s “Inside Safe” program that places homeless individuals in hotels.
Homelessness spending still is nearly $1 billion, with $107 million still appropriated for the Inside Safe program that City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, who with Councilman John Lee joined Park in voting against the budget, said continues to be exorbitantly expensive.
“Inside Safe currently spends upwards of $7,000 a month to house a single individual,” said Rodriguez at the meeting. “That’s just room and board and services.”
At $7,000 per individual per month, Inside Safe costs have decreased significantly since 2023, when the program cost $17,000 per individual per month.
