I hope they stop throwing taxpayers money at the L.A.P.D. becoz taxes have been shooting up through the roof lately
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Written by CHRISTINA VILLA-CORTE, City News Service
Wednesday, 03 February 2010
LOS ANGELES - Faced with a $208.5 million deficit, a powerful City Council committee directed budget analysts to consider slashing jobs in the police and fire departments as well as in political offices that had been exempted from the 1,000 layoffs proposed last week.
The City Council's Budget and Finance Committee issued the order after City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana said he would be ****** to nearly deplete the city's reserve fund to balance the city's books by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
Councilman Bernard Parks, chairman of the committee, noted the police and fire departments account for 80 percent of the budget — yet Santana recommended sparing all of their sworn personnel from the axe.
"If 80 percent of the budget is untouched, it's impossible to get to July 1 with a reserve fund and be solvent," Parks said.
Santana said he was ****** to exclude police officers from layoffs because the City Council in November issued a directive to maintain the ranks of the Police Department at 9,963 police officers.
Asked whether that number should stand, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's deputy chief of staff, Matt Szabo, answered: "Absolutely."
"On the mayor's part, public safety and, in particular, the police department, is his number one priority," he said. "The last option is taking police officers off the street."
Szabo added, "We have a number of proposals out there to restructure how we manage city government more cheaply and more effectively, and reducing the LAPD is not in the city's best interest."
Police Chief Charlie Beck told KABC 790 TalkRadio, "There are ways to cut our budget without affecting staffing levels."
As an example, Beck pointed out that negotiations with the police union in September enabled the city to save almost $100 million in overtime. He said there are also plans to generate revenue by opening the Los Angeles Police Academy to recruits from other municipalities.
Santana did propose eliminating 60 sworn positions in the Fire Department, but said that does not mean any firefighters would actually lose their jobs. Instead, they would be transferred from desk jobs to field positions.
Pat McOsker, president of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, opposed any layoffs in the Fire Department.
"It's understaffed as it is," he argued, noting the city in August took 15 fire trucks and nine ambulances out of service to cut costs.
On the committee's recommendation to consider downsizing the staff at the mayor's office, Szabo said, "We're absolutely partners here and willing to participate."
He noted, however, that Villaraigosa and his staff have already taken pay cuts.
But even if the city were to implement the 1,000 layoffs recommended by Santana, and an additional 500 layoffs recommended by the Executive Employee Relations Committee, the savings would still not be enough to close the deficit.
Santana said the city would have to borrow about $200 million from the $230 million reserve fund to end the fiscal year in the black. He said $100 million would be paid back by selling off the city's parking garages.
When Santana admitted that he had yet to come up with a proposal for completely recovering the remaining $100 million, Parks suggested resorting to cuts that he said would have been unimaginable before.
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Written by CHRISTINA VILLA-CORTE, City News Service
Wednesday, 03 February 2010
LOS ANGELES - Faced with a $208.5 million deficit, a powerful City Council committee directed budget analysts to consider slashing jobs in the police and fire departments as well as in political offices that had been exempted from the 1,000 layoffs proposed last week.
The City Council's Budget and Finance Committee issued the order after City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana said he would be ****** to nearly deplete the city's reserve fund to balance the city's books by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
Councilman Bernard Parks, chairman of the committee, noted the police and fire departments account for 80 percent of the budget — yet Santana recommended sparing all of their sworn personnel from the axe.
"If 80 percent of the budget is untouched, it's impossible to get to July 1 with a reserve fund and be solvent," Parks said.
Santana said he was ****** to exclude police officers from layoffs because the City Council in November issued a directive to maintain the ranks of the Police Department at 9,963 police officers.
Asked whether that number should stand, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's deputy chief of staff, Matt Szabo, answered: "Absolutely."
"On the mayor's part, public safety and, in particular, the police department, is his number one priority," he said. "The last option is taking police officers off the street."
Szabo added, "We have a number of proposals out there to restructure how we manage city government more cheaply and more effectively, and reducing the LAPD is not in the city's best interest."
Police Chief Charlie Beck told KABC 790 TalkRadio, "There are ways to cut our budget without affecting staffing levels."
As an example, Beck pointed out that negotiations with the police union in September enabled the city to save almost $100 million in overtime. He said there are also plans to generate revenue by opening the Los Angeles Police Academy to recruits from other municipalities.
Santana did propose eliminating 60 sworn positions in the Fire Department, but said that does not mean any firefighters would actually lose their jobs. Instead, they would be transferred from desk jobs to field positions.
Pat McOsker, president of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, opposed any layoffs in the Fire Department.
"It's understaffed as it is," he argued, noting the city in August took 15 fire trucks and nine ambulances out of service to cut costs.
On the committee's recommendation to consider downsizing the staff at the mayor's office, Szabo said, "We're absolutely partners here and willing to participate."
He noted, however, that Villaraigosa and his staff have already taken pay cuts.
But even if the city were to implement the 1,000 layoffs recommended by Santana, and an additional 500 layoffs recommended by the Executive Employee Relations Committee, the savings would still not be enough to close the deficit.
Santana said the city would have to borrow about $200 million from the $230 million reserve fund to end the fiscal year in the black. He said $100 million would be paid back by selling off the city's parking garages.
When Santana admitted that he had yet to come up with a proposal for completely recovering the remaining $100 million, Parks suggested resorting to cuts that he said would have been unimaginable before.
