Bad news: Los Angeles is broke.
Mayor Karen Bass released a proposed budget on Monday that closes the gap on a $1 billion deficit by laying off 1,600 city employees, among other cuts.
The budget proposal for fiscal year 2025-26 allocates $3.04 billion for the Los Angeles Police Department, the largest use of the city’s unrestricted funds. Despite that, the LAPD faces the most layoffs, with 403 civilian employee positions proposed for cuts. Meanwhile, other departments are set to grow: the Los Angeles Fire Department is slated to add 227 positions.
Want to weigh in on how the city should spend its money? We have ideas.
Create your own budget with this tool
Think you could create a better budget for the city? You can try with L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia’s Your City Budget tool. Increase or decrease funding for certain departments and programs based on what you want to see prioritized in the budget process. As you create your budget, remember, the city is looking to cut spending due to falling tax revenues, growing payroll costs and increased liability payouts.
Once you’ve created a budget you feel best serves the city, you can save and download it to share it with your council member to influence their vote on the final enacted budget.
Monday’s budget proposal release is the latest stage in the city’s budget process that runs until June 1, when the City Council has a deadline to vote, adopt or modify the budget that goes into effect July 1.
Make your voice heard at a budget hearing
Starting Friday at Van Nuys City Hall, the Budget and Finance committee will host a series of budget hearings to review impacts for city departments and hear public comment from residents. The committee will only take in-person public comment on the proposed budget at the April 25 and April 28 budget hearings. Need a ride to Van Nuys on Friday? District 14 Councilmember Ysabel Jurado is offering shuttle service for residents to attend the budget hearing on a first-come, first-served basis.
Upcoming budget and finance committee hearings:
- Van Nuys City Hall
- 1 p.m. on Friday, April 25, 2025
- 14410 Sylvan Street, Van Nuys, CA 91401
- Los Angeles City Hall
- 4 p.m. on Monday, April 28, 2025
- 200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
“The Budget and Finance Committee has a lot of power,” Mejia said at the CD 14 budget listening tour in El Sereno earlier this month. “There are five members who can change the budget, so that’s who you want to be talking to or advocating to.”
Join Jurado’s budget listening tour
Councilmember Jurado will host the final stop on her “budget listening tour” at Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 24. At the first two budget listening sessions in Boyle Heights and El Sereno, residents expressed their desire to protect resources for youth and seniors in addition to increased funding for quality-of-life services.
We also want to hear from you on what your ideal budget looks like! Tag us on social @boyleheightsbt or shoot us an email to editor@boyleheightsbeat.org. Happy budgeting!
Reporting for this story came from notes taken by Jaimé Rodriguez, a Los Angeles Documenter, at the CD 14 budget listening session hosted by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado in El Sereno. The Documenters program trains and pays community members to document what happens at public meetings. Check out the meeting notes and audio on Documenters.org.
