Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released a proposed budget Monday that would remove nearly $100 million in financial gap by cutting more than 2,700 city jobs, with about 1,650 people passing layoffs.
The $14 billion spending plan covering the fiscal year 2025-26 will fund dozens of new employees in the fire department, with the Palisad fire destroying thousands of homes and killing 12 people.
However, many other agencies will face a substantial reduction in spending, with layoffs accounting for 5% of the workforce as the city deals with rising staff costs, high legal spending and a slowdown in the local economy.
More than 400 workers will become layoffs at the Los Angeles Police Department, all of which are civilians, according to data prepared by city budget officials. The number of police officers will continue to gradually downward, and new employees fail to keep up with the loss.
According to city budget officials, by July 1, 2026, LAPD will have 8,639 officials, the lowest level since 1995.
Five years ago, there were about 10,000 officers in the department. Last week, the department reported that it had 8,735.
Bass described the layoff strategy as “the absolute last last resort” during Monday's city address. In recent weeks, she and other city officials have been lobbying Gavin Newsom and the state legislature to provide a relief package that will avoid most or even all of this work.
The mayor was scheduled to go to Sacramento again on Wednesday.
“I believe there are solutions, such as solutions from the state, that can help us so that we don't have to lay off employees in the end,” Bass said at an event hosted by Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles last week.
City budget officials said nearly 1,100 positions used for bass elimination have been vacant.
The mayor's spending plan will be headed to the City Council's Budget Committee for weeks. If the Council does not change courses and national financial aid fails to achieve, New York City will lay off 62 workers in the animal services department, which has been working to provide humane care for animals in shelters.
More than 260 workers have been laid off in the transportation sector, according to city budget officials. Another 159 layoffs are planned at the Health Bureau, which disposes garbage pickups and removes bulky items such as mattresses and sofas from the curb. According to a summary prepared by city budget analysts, at the Street Services Bureau that oversees street repairs, the mayor's budget recommends 130 layoffs.
On Monday, a union leader vowed to stop the cuts from happening.
“We're going to fight every layoff. Even one layoffs are too many,” said David Green, president of 721, Service Employees International Union, representing more than 10,000 city workers.
Green said his union is building a coalition of labor leaders to travel to Sacramento to express their support for Beth's request for national financial aid.
Councilman Eunisses Hernandez, who represents part of Eastside, also alerted the reduction of plans.
“It has been 10 years to repair the sidewalk, five years to place a disability curb and repair street lights in a year. We can no longer afford to slow down the city service,” she said.
Councilman Katy Yaroslavsky, who appeared at a budgeted community meeting on Monday night, expressed concern about the proposal to lay off hundreds of civilian workers in LAPD, calling it “problem”. She said if those desk jobs disappear, police will have to accept additional work.
Yaroslavsky said she suspected the LAPD layoff proposal was part of a larger strategy to force the city's union to make financial concessions.
“My guess is part of that,” she said. “Because from a public safety perspective, I don’t think anyone thinks it’s wise to eliminate these civilian positions.”
Urban labor negotiators have begun talking with union leaders about postponing the pay raise this year, which is expected to cost about $250 million. So far, no transactions have been announced.
The city council has taken other steps to address budget gaps in recent weeks, with voted to approve mass hikes collected from single-family homes and apartments of up to four units. As much as $90 million is expected to generate growth in the upcoming budget year.
The mayor's spending plan can indeed protect some of the core services. The mayor's budget team said it will maintain the time for libraries and entertainment centers.
Szabo, the top municipal budget analyst, said the spending plan will provide funding for the fire department to hire 227 employees, about half of them firefighters. As part of the expansion, the department will create a new program to address homelessness, including a street medicine team.
The bass budget requires the city to merge several smaller institutions into one entity. According to her proposal, it will be merged into the Community and Investment sector, the Ministry of Aging, the Ministry of Youth Development and the Economic and Labor Development sector.
The city will also close the Citizens Commission focusing on health, innovation and climate change.
