Los Angeles is facing a possible budget gap of to $400 million, which could prompt city leaders to cut vacant jobs in departments already trying to plug staffing holes.
A L.A. City Controller’s Office report this week found overspending of $297 million, and General Fund revenues — which pay for many city services — are about $158 million short of what was expected in tax revenues.
The report recommends that city departments cut their “non-critical” vacant jobs to free up some funding, which could have long-term impacts on city services.
Breaking down the budget
The largest area of overspending went toward salaries for the Los Angeles Police Department, according to the report.
The costs are connected to the four-year contract the Los Angeles Police Protective League reached with the city last August. The deal was expected to increase spending by $97 million total for this fiscal year — $80 million for salaries and $17 million for overtime.
“We sort of expected that the LAPD would go over because of the new salaries and the new contract,” Controller Kenneth Mejia told LAist. “But, even before this year, generally the LAPD goes over their original adopted operating budget.”
The amount of money the city has to pay out to settle lawsuits is also much higher than expected. Mejia said claims jumped 100% in the last fiscal year alone.
As for General Fund revenues, the report states the city could recover some of that $158 million.
However, the largest gaps came from taxes.
Business taxes are $32 million under what was planned for, and sales taxes are $18 million under. According to the report, this is partly because of the dual…
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