Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia reiterated his warning Friday that the city needs $225 million to avoid layoffs in Mayor Karen Bass‘ proposed budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, which aims to close a nearly $1 billion deficit.
“It’s about $225 million to stave off layoffs. That is the number that we’re trying to (get) close to, so that way there are no layoffs,” Mejia told City News Service Friday. “It’s going to be a big task, but the city is looking into different ways.”
The City Council‘s five-member Budget and Finance Committee has led discussions of the mayor’s $13.9 billion budget, which would be an 8.2% increase over the adopted spending plan for the 2024-25 fiscal year. More budget hearings are scheduled as elected officials review the budget. Under the City Charter, the budget must be finalized before July 1, the start of the next fiscal year.
As part of solutions to offset the deficit, Mejia said his office is trying to save money when it comes to interest payments.
According to the controller, Los Angeles pays about $70 million to $80 million annually in interest on borrowed funds — a cost he suggests could be lowered by tapping into departmental special funds as needed instead.
He also backed a proposal to move some at-risk employees into the city’s proprietary departments, such as Los Angeles World Airports, the Department of Water and Power and the Harbor Department, which oversees the Port of Los Angeles.
Mejia said he was encouraged by the committee’s efforts to address L.A.’s shortfall, adding the city is in “crisis mode.” He said it is “really important that they do that detail work.”
Mejia also encouraged his colleagues to save “revenue generating positions,” depending on the department’s analysis. In one area, the controller’s office recommended more tax compliance officers because there are a lot of outstanding payments the city can try to get back.
“For the long run, the city needs…
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