Los Angeles City Council approves $14 billion budget to reduce bass public safety plans

The Los Angeles City Council signed a $14 billion spending plan for 2025-26 on Thursday, scaling down Mayor Karen Bass’ public safety plan as they try to save 1,000 municipal workers from layoffs.

Faced with a budget shortage of nearly $100 million, the commission voted 12-3 on a program that would cut LAPD’s recruitment funding, leaving the agency with fewer officials than at any time since 1995.

The council provided sufficient funding for LAPD to hire 240 new officials in the coming year, down from 480 bass proposed last month. This reduction will put LAPD in June 2026, down from 8,700 this year and 10,000 in 2020.

The committee also reduced the number of new employees the mayor proposed to the Los Angeles Fire Department as wildfires destroyed the huge Pacific Palisades.

The bass budget requires hiring 227 fire department employees. The Council provided funding for the department to expand approximately 58 employees.

Three council members – John Lee, Traci Park and Monica Rodriguez voted against the budget, largely due to cost-cutting efforts by the two public safety agencies. Park’s areas include the Pacific Palisades, which alerted these and other reduced Pacific Palisades.

“I just can’t vote with conscience, which makes our city unsafe, the sound on the body is lowered and the response to our voters is lower,” she said.

Rodriguez sent a similar message saying the city council should move more money out of the safe Bass signature program to address the homeless. Rodriguez, who represents the Northeast San Fernando Valley, said the program received 10% cuts, lacked supervision, and was very expensive.

“Inside Safe currently spends over $7,000 a month to accommodate one person. It’s just the room, the board and the service,” she said. “This doesn’t include all the other ancillary services excavated from our urban homes to get it working, including LAPD overtime, including health services, including the Department of Transportation.”

Councilman Tim McOsker, who sits on the Budget Committee, said the fire department will still rise overall in the overall funding under the Council’s budget. McOSKER said putting more money into police and fire departments would mean ruling workers repairing streets, curbs and sidewalks.

Maxke said the city still has the potential to increase funding for LAPD recruitment if the city’s economic situation improves or other savings are identified in the budget. The Council authorizes LAPD to find more money later this year to increase recruitment.

“I would love to put myself in a position where I can hire over 240 officers, maybe we will. I don’t know. But today we can’t.”

Council member Ysabel Jurado joined the board in December and also defended the budget plan, saying it would help create a “more just, fair and inclusive Los Angeles.”

“The budget doesn’t solve everything. It doesn’t close all the gaps. But it does show a willingness to make some structural changes,” she said.

The bass assistant did not immediately respond to inquiries about the Council’s actions. The Council’s second budget vote will be required next week before the plan can be taken to the mayor’s desk for consideration.

Bass spending plans propose layoffs of about 1,600 city employees in the coming year and significantly reduce them in agencies dealing with garbage pickup, street light repairs and urban planning. City Administrative Official Matt Szabo said Thursday’s decisions would be reduced to about 700, helping prepare for spending plans.

Council member Katy Yaroslavsky said the remaining layoffs could still be avoided if the city’s union offers financial benefits. For example, civilian city workers can cut costs through four to five unpaid holidays, she said.

“My goal is my goal and hope, it is labor to come to the table and say ‘We are going to take a vacation, we will take a few more vacations,'” Yaroslavsky said.

The city entered a full-scale financial crisis earlier this year, largely due to rapid legal spending, weaker than expected tax revenue and weaker salary increase for city employees. These salary increases are expected to consume $250 million in the coming fiscal year.

To balance New York City’s budget, council members used $29 million in the city’s budget stability fund, which was established to help the city’s economic growth slow down. They took steps to collect an additional $20 million in business tax revenue. They support a plan to hike the cost of parking tickets, which could incur $14 million.

Meanwhile, the Council has reduced a series of cuts proposed in the bass budget. During the course of Thursday’s six-hour meeting, the Council:

*Restored positions in the Department of Cultural Affairs, avoiding the closure of the historic Holehawk House in East Hollywood, thus protecting its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

*These funds were provided to continue operating the Office of Climate Emergency Mobilization, which is threatened by phase-out.

*A $1 million was provided to represent Los Angeles, which paid for legal defenses for residents facing deportation, detention or other immigration procedures. Councilman Eunisses Hernandez said the funding would be cancelled by the original proposal of the bass.

*Transfer $5 million to the Department of Animal Services (a move requested by Bass) to ensure that all animal shelters in the city remain open.

*Funds for street light repairs, street repaving and removal of “cumbersome items” such as mattresses and sofas were restored from sidewalks and alleys.

Even with these changes, the city still faces the potential of hundreds of layoffs, about one-third of which are in LAPD.

Although the commission saved the work of the department’s estimated 150 civilian workers – many of whom, such as workers dealing with DNA rape kits, 250 experts remained targeting layoffs.

“We made a horrible budget proposal that made it a very bad budget proposal,” said Bob Blumenfield, a MP representing part of the West San Fernando Valley. “It took a lot of work to do this, but better, we did save work. But the fundamentals were still very bad.”