L.A. City Controller Rings Alarm Bell on City Finances
L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia painted a bleak picture of the state of Los Angeles's city budget in a revenue forecast report sent last Friday to the mayor and City Council. His report predicts that the revenue this fiscal year will fall $140 million short of the adopted budget, along with facing an additional $73 million decrease in the next fiscal year. This is coupled with the second year in a row that the City Administrative Officer projects a budget deficit. Combined with the fact that the city is expected to overspend by $300 million, a revenue shortfall leaves the council with a substantial gap to make up.Some of the reasons given for the revenue forecast in the City Controller's report are the new federal administration's extreme approach to tariffs, a continued trend of automation in industries that have been reliable sources of city revenue, and the lasting effects of the fires in January. Council Budget Chair Katy Yaroslavsky says the city faces $100 million in LAFD overtime. The fires also laid bare the unsatisfactory state of the departments' facilities, which the city would urgently need to address by upgrading them. Other councilmembers believe a part of the budget problem can also be attributed to general waste, particularly after an audit released Thursday exposed that a significant amount of the money for homeless services could not be tracked.Yaroslavsky insists that the budget problem is a long-term one — Mejia agrees. 'Our short-term focus on year-to-year balance neglects the need for a multi-year transition to service models that allow the City to live within its means,' writes Kenneth Mejia. 'Any conceivable plan for a sustainable and equitable operating and capital budget must have broad-based support from community, labor, business and other vital stakeholders.'
Never Miss a Beat! Subscribe to Los Angeles Magazine's The Daily Brief for daily updates delivered straight to your inbox. Join below or by clicking here.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Othello park rental fee revision sparks heated discussion
Jun. 10—OTHELLO — Park rental fees in Othello have been amended after some confusion led to an overcharge of the Othello Chamber of Commerce and a spirited discussion between Othello City Council members and city employees Monday. The confusion involved garbage fees for events sponsored by the Othello Chamber of Commerce, which brought Chamber Manager Jackie Wilhelm to the May 27 council meeting to ask about them. "I discovered that with (the city's solid waste contractor) the city of Othello receives dumpster services at no charge under an existing contract," Wilhelm said. "Despite this, the Chamber was billed $2,814 last year for 12 dumpsters, dumpsters the city had already requested and received for free." Wilhelm said the fees charged for 2025 were going to be higher and asked for an explanation. She talked to the contractor, she said, and was told the garbage containers were provided to the city at no charge, but heard from city officials that the fees were actual expenses. "I feel like when we signed that, I wasn't getting transparency from the city," Wilhelm said. Council members voted to review the fees, and city officials released a letter a few days later saying some incorrect information from the garbage contractor caused a mistake when calculating them. "Once the issue was brought to our attention, we immediately investigated and confirmed the miscommunication. We appreciate the Chamber raising the concern so it could be addressed properly," the letter said. Revised fees were presented for council consideration Monday; the garbage container fees were reduced. Parks and Recreation Coordinator Valerie Hernandez said the contractor did not know the events were sponsored by outside organizations and not the city, which changed the price structure. A fee on smaller garbage containers added for community events drew vehement protest from council member Corey Everett. They are, he said, similar to containers provided to individual residences, and the proposed fee was similar to the monthly charge for individual households. "The city is not getting charged for those (containers)," he said. "Fred down the street is almost paying (that) for monthly service, a little bit over, and we're going to charge that for one (use)." Public Works Director Robin Adolphsen said that while the garbage containers themselves are free, it still takes time for city staff to monitor and dump them. Each venue already has containers, she said, and event organizers are only being charged for any extra garbage cans required. Everett said he thought the city shouldn't charge for the extras at all. "That's something that's given to the city that we're turning around and charging the nonprofits for," he said. Everett said that while the city spends money for city employees to monitor the park, event organizers do pay for at least some employee time. "Regardless, we're charging for something that the city is receiving for free," he said. Council member John Lallas agreed, saying it would be different if the city owned them. Hernandez said the council had the option to change the fee schedule. Lallas said in his opinion, city officials should ask for as much as the city pays, and no more. "If they provide a charge to us, then that's all we charge them for the event. That's all we ask them to pay for," he said. Charging for city labor is a different discussion, Lallas said.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
C.J. Small announces re-election campaign for Mobile City Council
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — President of the Mobile City Council and representative for District 3, C.J. Small has announced his bid for re-election. UPDATE: MCPSS reassigns bus driver to different role after bus overturned in February Small has been a city councilman for 12 and a half years and has been a part of multiple projects within District 3. According to a news release from his campaign, some of those projects include: Rebuilding Baltimore and Ann Street Adding walking trails, splash pads, playground equipment, fields and lights to parks within the district Replenishing 700 housing units in the Oakdale and Maysville communities Upcoming projects in District 3 include: Rebuilding Taylor Park Community Center Demolishing South Brookley School to create a community center for the DIP and surrounding communities Opening of the airport at Brookley Complex Opening the Zyback Property Inmate discovered missing from Alabama Department of Corrections work center in Mobile 'District 3 has become an economic force in the City of Mobile,' said Small. 'I am excited to continue representing and working with the citizens of District 3 during this period of transformation and economic growth. I will continue to work hard to improve our quality of life and make our District the best place to live, work, and play.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Salem City Council tables marijuana ballot measure
SALEM, Ohio (WKBN) — The City of Salem is once again weighing in on the future of marijuana sales in the community. The question of whether or not Salem should allow a marijuana dispensary has sparked passionate discussion among city leaders and residents. On Tuesday, City Council faced a key decision on whether to put a ballot measure before voters in November — an issue that was ultimately tabled. Mike Dombrowski owns Mike's Meds and More on State Street and wants to be the owner of the new dispensary if it gets the green light. He addressed council on the potential impact. 'A lot of the businesses have said they had about a 25% increase in business since the dispensary came to town,' Dombrowski said. 'I have a lot of people dealing with cancer issues. I have several ex-military people with PTSD issues that want me to provide these products, but right now, I'm not allowed.' Meanwhile, other downtown business owners had questions of their own. 'We were just curious as downtown business owners, is there some type of increase in traffic revenue that's spent in the area surrounding dispensaries?' one attendee asked. The council decided not to put the measure directly on the ballot. Instead, they voted to table it and send the issue back to a committee for more in-depth study and community input. 'I'm not sure what to think. I was here a month ago, we discussed all of the issues on the table and all the concerns. So, we thought we were ready to go with the vote tonight,' Dombrowski said. With more work to be done, Salem voters will have to wait before deciding on marijuana sales in their city. For now, the conversation continues. 'I do know if we wanted to do a public initiative to get it on the ballot, this could take us a few months to get done. So, I think every week that we're delayed, this could be a problem,' Dombrowski said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.