A day after Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass unveiled her proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, questions and concerns were mounting on Tuesday over what the plan will mean for residents, city workers and the departments facing steep cuts.
The city initially faced a $1 billion budget deficit, but Bass had said on Monday that her administration was able to reduce that gap to about $800 million. The $13.95 billion proposed budget now seeks to close that remaining shortfall by consolidating four city departments and potentially laying off up to 1,647 city employees, as well as other cost-cutting measures.
While the mayor has repeatedly said the cuts are a “last resort” and that she’s still working to bring that number down, labor groups and community advocates are calling for more details, and raising alarms about the broader impact on vulnerable communities.
“This budget proposed by the mayor will have a systematic wide impact across the city,” said Lionel Mares, a longtime Sun Valley resident. “Especially for the lowest income neighborhoods like Pacoima, Sun Valley, South L.A., Arleta, East L.A., Boyle Heights — these poor neighborhoods that are very dependent on government programs and community development.”
Mares also said he’s worried that the proposed funding cuts to capital improvement projects could have real effects on transportation safety and infrastructure.
“I’m a bicyclist and I like to ride my bike to and from work. I rode my bike in the past and I still do it when I can, when I feel safe to work,” he said. “And I take public transportation, like the train, Metrolink, the subway, buses. I’m afraid that a reduction in capital improvement projects will mean that the city will not implement protected bike lanes. That’s a concern for me.”
Departments facing the biggest budget cuts include Department of Transportation, LAPD civilian staff, Street Services, City Planning, General Services, and Department of Recreation and Parks, according to City Controller Kenneth Mejia’s Office. Other areas, such as Animal Services, the Bureau of Street Lighting and funding for Neighborhood Councils, are also expected to see reduced budgets.
Meanwhile, the budget increases the payroll for sworn positions in the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department. The LAFD is set to receive 227 new positions, while the Housing Department will see the addition of 74 new positions.
While the proposed budget preserves funding for homelessness programs, the City Council on Tuesday voted to require an analysis of how that money is being spent.
Under the approved motion, the City Administrative Officer, Chief Legislative Analyst, and Los Angeles Housing Department will be required to provide a comprehensive breakdown of the city’s homelessness budget within 60 days and quarterly thereafter.
The push for greater transparency comes amid a broader shakeup over how homeless services are managed across the region.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors recently voted to create a new county department to oversee regional homelessness services—effectively defunding the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), a joint city-county agency criticized for inefficiency, waste and a lack of transparency. The new county department is expected to launch by January 1, with all funding redirected from LAHSA by July 2026.
According to Bass, the proposed city budget allocates about $900 million toward homelessness overall. That includes $104 million for her signature Inside Safe program, which aims to move people off the streets and into interim or permanent housing.
The proposed city layoffs would affect nearly 5% of the 32,405 currently filled positions. In addition, 1,074 vacant roles would be eliminated. The layoffs would save $114 million, and the elimination of vacant positions would save another $100 million.
The total proposed budget includes $8.061 billion in general fund revenue, which is slightly below the $8.14 billion that had been expected for this year. City officials have attributed the budget shortfall to a mix of factors, including slower economic growth, increased liability payouts, labor contracts, and lower-than-expected tax revenues.
While city officials say the proposed cuts are necessary to stabilize the city’s finances, some residents are questioning the transparency of the rollout, and whether the sacrifices are the right ones.
“We need to make tougher decisions, but we need to be transparent,” said Mihran Kalaydjian, president of the Winnetka Neighborhood Council. “We also need to know why we are falling short on generating revenue for the city. We have a problem.”
David Green, president of SEIU 721, a union representing more than 10,000 city employees, said in a statement, “As the front-line essential workers who make day-to-day life in our city possible, we are the experts on how Los Angeles operates. We’re not going to allow the out-of-touch bureaucrats … to balance the budget on the backs of city workers.”
The union also called for more creative and innovative solutions, including finding new revenues and cutting back on outside contractors.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday after meeting with business and community leaders in the San Fernando Valley, Bass reiterated that her administration is actively working to reduce or avoid the proposed layoffs.
“We do not want to see the layoffs take place,” Bass said. “But as I mentioned yesterday, by charter the budget was due yesterday. We’re certainly hoping that over the next month and a half we will be able to come up with solutions that will avoid the layoffs, or that the number of individuals or positions eliminated will be significantly reduced.”
The mayor also addressed SEIU 721’s concerns directly, saying her office has been in talks with the union since January.
“We will work in partnership and we will work to solve and close the budget deficit together,” she said.
Bass added that she and Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto plan to travel to Sacramento on Wednesday to advocate for state support and address one of the key drivers of the city’s deficit: liability payouts.
According to Bass, the city typically budgets about $100 million annually for legal settlements, but this year those costs have tripled—due in part to a backlog of court cases delayed during the pandemic and recent wildfire-related claims.
She said more clarity on possible state help is expected by mid-May, once post–tax season revenue projections are more clear.
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