Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is set to deliver the annual State of the City address on Monday, April 15 – ahead of the release of her proposed 2024-25 budget in the coming days.
The mayor’s office hasn’t provided details of Bass’ upcoming speech, but many of the topics she touched on during last year’s State of the City – homelessness, housing, public safety and city staffing levels – could very well resurface.
Monday’s speech will be delivered in the City Council Chamber. The public can watch it on the mayor’s Facebook page, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Following her State of the City address, Bass is expected to release her budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year by April 22, according to her office. That in turn will kick off a series of hearings by the City Council’s budget committee as councilmembers dissect – and make changes to – the mayor’s proposed spending plan.
The City Council will have until June 1 to send a budget back to the mayor for consideration. Both sides will get a chance to make additional changes before a final budget is adopted for the fiscal year that will begin July 1.
During last year’s State of the City, Bass, who was only 127 days into her term as mayor, said: “I cannot declare that the state of our city is where it needs to be. But I am proud to report that together we have brought change to the city of Los Angeles.”
This year, she’ll likely highlight what she considers to be achievements by her administration over the past 12 months — like bringing thousands of unhoused people indoors through her signature homeless program, Inside Safe, and efforts to recruit more police officers — as well as work that still lies ahead for the city.
It remains to be seen what the tone of this year’s speech will be as city officials head into this budget season on a sobering note.
In recent weeks, officials have raised concerns that the city has overspent by about $289 million this fiscal year. Revenues…
Read the full article here
