In another grim economic warning Friday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said an additional $30 million in cuts will be needed this month to balance the city's projected $7.2 billion budget this year.
In a lengthy memo to the City Council outlining the second set of reductions since the budget was enacted on July 1, Villaraigosa said the city's fiscal outlook was "quite bleak" and will require more cuts in everything except for police. "There will be those who will question my commitment to continued police hiring under our public safety plan," Villaraigosa said. "While I welcome the debate, I cannot overstate my commitment to the LAPD hiring plan.
"At a time when our economy is in decline and unemployment is on the rise, we must maintain our shared commitment to growing the police force." Last month, the city cut across all departments to achieve $35 million in savings. Among Villaraigosa's proposals for the new round of cuts and revenue increases is a renewed request to sell off surplus city property, bringing in $21 million, and a new tax amnesty program that he believes will bring in $5 million.
Other proposed cuts include: $100,000 in the spay-and-neuter fund; $900,000 in outside attorneys; $2.9 million in emergency medical care by eliminating nine positions; $8 million from the General Services Department in new fuel savings and reducing contracts for outside services; $2 million in communications equipment; and $2.4 million in using more Proposition 1B funds from the Department of Transportation.
The proposed spending cuts now go to the City Council for consideration in what has become a monthly review of the budget. Councilman Bernard Parks, who chairs the council's Budget and Finance Committee, described the budget problems faced by the city as an example of the poor overall economy.
"Our revenue is not coming in as expected," Parks said. "That's a result of all the foreclosures and people are not paying their property taxes. All those things add up." Parks has cautioned the city might have to look at a full hiring freeze or layoffs as the situation worsens. Among the cuts last month were basic services like tree trimming, crossing guards, library spending, replacement of police cars and a hiring freeze in the offices of controller and city attorney Villaraigosa pointed to the continued job losses across the country - 553,000 last month alone - and the prediction from experts that there is no immediate end in sight to the economic ills.
"Across our nation, state and local governments have announced severe service cuts and layoffs, including cuts to police services in New York City, closing libraries, parks and fire companies in San Diego, layoffs in Chicago and mandatory furloughs in Sacramento," Villaraigosa said.
