The latest budget report released Friday by Los Angeles’ city administrative officer recommends that the city lay off nearly 1,900 employees amid budget concerns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic — with most staff cuts slated for the police department.
CAO Richard Llewellyn’s report states that most proposed layoffs would have a negative effect on the city, but it identifies 951 police officers and 728 civilian positions from the Los Angeles Police Department that could be cut.
“This office has projected that General Fund revenues are likely to fall short of the 2020-21 budget by $600 million, and we believe this can get worse,” the second quarter financial report reads. “Without knowing the trajectory or end point of the pandemic itself, it is still too difficult to determine the full extent of our revenue shortfall. However, every revenue source has been impacted, and revenues tied to tourism, services, parking and retail are at risk of further decline.”
The report also recommends layoffs affecting 143 positions in the City Attorney’s Office, 45 positions in the Animal Services Department and 27 positions in the Bureau of Engineering.
Los Angeles had about 50,000 employees prior to the pandemic. The City Council approved a plan in September to force more than 15,000 city workers to take one unpaid day off every two weeks, or a 10% pay cut, as part of a larger effort to balance the budget.
An amended plan to defer the furlough of city employees until Jan. 17 was approved by the council in October, but that was prior to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases.
Word of the potential layoffs was met with anger by the head of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents LAPD officers.
“It’s appalling that city officials and politicians are more interested in fattening their political slush funds by defunding the police department through laying off nearly 1,000 officers,” LAPPL President Craig Lally told City News Service.
“What makes it all the more galling is they are doing this during the shooting and homicide epidemic occurring in Los Angeles,” he said. “The LAPD has been cut by $150 million to spare civilian layoffs and create huge reserves, and this latest proposal will further victimize Black and Hispanic residents who make up 70% of L.A.’s violent crime victims. It’s disgusting.”
Calls by City News Service to the CAO’s office were not immediately returned.
The CAO said in prior budget reports that the city could lose as much as $400 to $600 million in general fund revenue by the end of this fiscal year. The latest report says the losses could be as high as $675 million by June 30 when the fiscal year ends.
According to the report, the reduction of the LAPD officers and personnel would save Los Angeles about $51 million.
Over the summer, organizations such as Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles, with its proposed People’s Budget, demanded reductions to bring the LAPD’s share of the city’s general fund expenditures to 1.64% from the current 30%.
“Our number one job is to provide a safe city. It is the foundation for everything else we want to do and it will remain my top priority,” said Councilman Joe Buscaino, who was an LAPD officer for 15 years prior to his election to the council.
“This decision affects every single person in our city. When we call 911, we expect the fastest response,” Buscaino said. “The mayor, the council and our labor partners must work together to address this fiscal crisis so that we can keep our first responders focused on the increase of homicides, crime and the ongoing wildfires.”
The LAPD operating budget is about $1.8 billion and $3 billion overall, including pensions and other funds. The city’s operating budget is about $6.6 billion and its total budget is about $10.5 billion this year.
Earlier this year, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a $150 million reduction to the LAPD budget.
Garcetti said Wednesday he hopes laying off city employees, including LAPD personnel, will be a last-resort measure, but the city is prepared to do so amid financial struggles due to the health crisis.
“I hope that (layoffs are) at the very bottom of the list, and our city administrative officer has asked us … all of our departments to say how will we close this worst-case scenario if there is no help,” Garcetti said. “The reason why I want layoffs to be the very last thing is it hits our most vulnerable employees and key services.”
The City Council has been mulling ways to reduce potential layoffs or furloughs in the last few months, but that was before the recent spike of COVID- 19 cases.
Garcetti said during Wednesday’s COVID-19 update that Los Angeles is still pleading for federal assistance to help cities recuperate from the economic effects of the pandemic.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore told reporters Wednesday: “We have already experienced … a reduction in our workforce, between sworn and civilian, in excess of 500 personnel. To suffer further losses would be devastating to the safety of the city.”
EH