L.A. County unveils $47.9 billion budget amid ‘unprecedented financial challenges'

Yahoo

14-04-2025

The Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office has released their 2025-2026 budget, and officials say the spending plan reflects 'unprecedented financial challenges.'
In a press release issued Monday, the L.A. County CEO Office announced that their recommended budget for the county for 2025-26 be $47.9 billion. That number is bigger than the budgets of Kansas, Montana and Vermont combined.
The funding includes spending cuts to help offset 'extraordinary budgetary pressures,' officials said, including more than $1 billion in costs related to the January wildfires.
'The budget reflects rapidly mounting financial changes, including the potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars or more in federal funding and the tentative $4 billion settlement of thousands of childhood sexual assault claims brought under AB 218,' county officials stated in their media release. 'At the same time, the county is facing slower property tax revenue growth due in part to declining home sales amid higher interest rates.'
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Thus, the county is also cutting budgets for many departments by 3% for a total targeted cut of $88.9 million. The cuts would also eliminate 310 vacancies and more than $50 million in savings from cutting supplies, delaying equipment purchases and reducing the scope of some programs.
'No layoffs are anticipated at this time, but the recommended budget, which is the first phase in the county's annual budget process, reflects a high degree of caution, restraint and uncertainty in the face of cascading budgetary pressures,' the county's media release said.
L.A. County Chief Executive Officer Fesia Davenport reiterated the cautionary message of the budget due to 'simultaneous pressures.'
'We are in uncharted territory with these simultaneous pressures,' she said. 'Any of these alone would be daunting, but taken together, these challenges – the wildfires, the AB 218 settlement and the threat of deep cuts in federal funding – are cause for great concern.'
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The budget also reflects the passage of Measure A, a half-cent sales tax increase to address homelessness that was approved by voters last November. The nearly $1.1 billion in revenues from the measure will be shared by several county agencies, including $382.8 million to the L.A. County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency, $32.1 million to the L.A. County Development Authority, more than $500 million for homelessness services throughout the county and an additional $96.3 million to local cities through the Local Solutions Fund.
In addition, the funding recommends:
$287.7 million for Care First and Community Investment as part of the Board of Supervisors' 'Care First, Jails Last' initiative
$11.9 million to increase funding for Measure G, the voter-approved measure to expand the Board of Supervisors, create an Ethics Commission and the Office of Ethics Compliance. The latter two offices are set to be established in 2026
Various other allocations to improve after-hours safety at county parks, fund the Youth@Work program, expand Alternative Crisis Response and help victims of EBT fraud
The recommended $47.9 billion budget will go before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. If approved, it will add 14 net new positions for a total of 117,100 budgeted positions in the county workforce, officials said.
More general information on the funding can be found here. A breakdown of the budget by department is accessible here.
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