HOW IT STARTED: Endorsement: Karen Bass for Los Angeles mayor.
—The L.A. Times, October 13th, 2022.
Hot It’s Going: Editorial: L.A. is broke. And the budget crisis is self-inflicted.
Los Angeles is teetering on the edge of a fiscal emergency, with its finances in “dire” condition and no money to cover unplanned expenses after a series of lawsuit payouts blew a hole in the city’s already-tight budget.
So if you were hoping this would be the year that City Hall, in preparation for the 2028 Olympics, would get moving on smoothing busted sidewalks, fixing burned-out streetlights, trimming trees or any other public investments to make the city nicer for residents and visitors alike — don’t hold your breath.
L.A. is broke. Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council have to get serious about developing a plan to stabilize the city’s finances this year and for the future.
It won’t be an easy task. In just the first three months of the fiscal year that started July 1, the city is on the hook for $258 million in liability costs. The largest category of payouts — 40% — is related to Police Department negligence or use of force. About a third of the payouts involve personal injury cases from dangerous conditions, such as broken sidewalks and streetlights. Some 15% are employment cases involving harassment and other workplace conditions.
While the liability expenses are the immediate cause of the dire financial picture, the budget adopted by Bass and the council was already overstretched in large part because of expensive raises for police officers and civilian employees approved in the last fiscal year.
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And city leaders have to decide what are the core services that L.A. can afford to provide — or should provide. Public safety is an essential responsibility of local government, but what tasks can civilian employees do more efficiently so sworn police officers can focus on responding to and resolving crimes?
Easing homelessness is a top priority, but should the city continue to pay for social support, mental health and treatment services that are the responsibility of county government? What programs and services should be cut because L.A. cannot afford to do everything for everybody? And what basic municipal responsibilities keep getting reduced because the city isn’t being judicious in its spending decisions?
—The L.A. Times, Friday.
Gooder and harder, L.A., though there is a potential bright spot: Another Poll Shows DA George Gascon Is In Trouble.
As Tom Cotton wrote in late 2021: Recall, Remove and Replace Every Last Soros Prosecutor.