Los Angeles Presses State for Help With $1B Deficit As It Rebuilds From Fires
Los Angeles is looking to California for financial help as the city faces a nearly $1 billion budget deficit projected for the next fiscal year.
Mayor Karen Bass and a group of city council members went to Sacramento, the state capital, on Monday to meet with lawmakers and advocate “for much needed funding,” according to her office. After meeting with city officials, nearly two dozen California lawmakers sent a letter requesting $1.9 billion of support for the city.
The plea comes as Los Angeles looks to rebuild neighborhoods wrecked by January’s historic wildfires and prepare the city to host the next men’s World Cup and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. “Los Angeles is facing a budget crisis while recovering from devastating and unprecedented wildfires, and it’s important that we advocate directly to state leaders for support,” Bass, a Democrat, said in a statement on Monday.
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In the letter, lawmakers requested $638 million of state funds to help Los Angeles safeguard essential services and to cover rising liability costs. The lawmakers sent the letter to two lawmakers who sit on a budget committee in the state assembly.
They asked for a $301 million loan until the city is reimbursed from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency for costs associated with recovering from the fires. Another $750 million in state funds would support upgrades to the city’s electric power grid.
“These amounts reflect the city’s ongoing need for support in the areas of site cleanup, housing assistance, public safety, infrastructure restoration, and economic support for impacted communities,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.
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Bass is expected to unveil her budget proposal for the next fiscal year on April 21. Most US cities can’t operate at a deficit, so her plan is poised to include cuts to essential services. Closing the deficit could require thousands of layoffs, city officials warned earlier this month.
Top photo: California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tour the downtown business district of Pacific Palisades as the Palisades fires. Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images.