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LA WATCHDOG - On Monday, April 21, Mayor Bass will present her Proposed Budget to the Los Angeles City Council for its consideration. We will, however, get a sneak preview on how Mayor Bass proposes to overcome the $1 billion budget imbalance when she delivers her State of the City address on Thursday, April 17.
The Mayor will tell us that she has agonized over making painfully difficult decisions to balance the budget, outlining the sacrifices the City and their “partners in labor” have made, including layoffs and furloughs. But it is doubtful that she will say that she and the City Council are responsible for the $1 billion shortfall.
The City’s financial crisis was caused by budget busting labor agreements approved by the Mayor and City Council. They relied on overly optimistic revenue assumptions to support these unsustainable agreements. They also underestimated expenditures, including lowballing the liability claims that account for legal judgments and settlements by around $200 million. And to make ends meet, they raided the Reserve Account, so much so that the City should declare a financial emergency.
She will use the recent fires as a smokescreen to cover up the fiscal irresponsibility of the City. She will also invoke the impact of the tariffs on our local economy. But truth be known, the City’s finances were already in the tank prior to the fires, tariffs, and Trump.
Balancing the budget will cause pain. There will be layoffs and furloughs of City workers that will upset the union bosses. Services will be eliminated or severely reduced, including the repair and maintenance of the City’s infrastructure. Public safety will be impacted by the continued underfunding of the Police and Fire Departments.
What we need to hear is how Mayor Bass proposes to reform the budget process so the City and Angelenos will not have to experience another financial crisis caused by fiscally irresponsible politicians.
The Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates have proposed the following seven easy to implement reforms:
- The Four Year General Fund Budget Outlook needs to be updated to reflect anticipated raises for City employees. Personnel costs comprise about 75% of the City’s expenditures. This will give the Mayor and the City Council a better understanding of the City’s budget, finances, and Structural Deficit.
- Develop a two-year budget as recommended by the City Controller and the LA 2020 Commission.
- Conduct open and transparent labor negotiations that require significant outreach to Angelenos before, during, and after the negotiations.
- Place a measure on the ballot that would prohibit the City from entering into any labor agreement that would create a current or future deficit. In the short term, pass an ordinance.
- Develop a long-term infrastructure plan to address deferred maintenance and future capital expenditures.
- Create a robust Reserve Fund that can only be used in declared emergencies, not to balance the budget as is the current procedure.
- Establish an Office of Transparency and Accountability as recommended by the LA 2020 Commission to oversee the City’s budget and finances in real time.
Will we need our hip boots to wade through all the usual political manure? Or will Mayor Bass support the urgent need for budget and financial reform so that the City will live within its means? The odds say no. She will continue to kiss the rings of the campaign funding union bosses.
(Jack Humphreville writes LA Watchdog for CityWatch. He is the President of the DWP Advocacy Committee, the Budget and DWP representative for the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, and a Neighborhood Council Budget Advocate. He can be reached at: [email protected].)
