Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti released his proposed $8.57-billion budget on Monday, April 20, for the next fiscal year, a plan that would boost anti-gang initiatives and preserve funding for at least 10,000 police officers in the Los Angeles Police Department, among other measures.
In the State of the City address given last week, the proposed budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year starting on July 1 shows the mayor’s focus on public safety as a key theme of his administration.
Earlier this year, the LAPD reported a 27 percent spike in violent crime and a 12 percent rise in property crime. Shootings recorded by police are also up 31 percent, amounting to an additional 54 victims this year.
The increases in crime levels are running at roughly the same as in 2012, and are spread out across multiple city neighborhoods, police Chief Charlie Beck said.
The sudden jump occurred after more than a decade of declining rates.
Garcetti’s budget proposal includes $5.5 million to expand the long-running Gang Reduction and Youth Development program, and another $567,000 to expand Domestic Abuse Response Teams, civilian workers who accompany police officers on domestic violence calls.
During a news conference announcing his spending proposals, Garcetti called public safety “the most critical city service.” His budget also includes funds for some of the infrastructure improvements central to his “Back to Basics” agenda for improving city government.
The proposal would set aside $4.1 million to expand street-cleaning and install 1,200 new trash bins, as well as $1 million for park bathroom maintenance. The budget also includes $31 million to start fixing city sidewalks, as required by a billion-dollar legal settlement from this month.
“Overall city tax revenue is increasing as LA sees the benefits of a gradual economic recovery following the Great Recession,” Garcetti said.
The mayor’s plans for public safety will help keep Los Angeles on track to eliminate the year-over-year, or “structural” deficit by the 2018-2019 fiscal year, said City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana.
However, the surplus that year is now estimated to be $2.6 million, about $20 million less than previously foreseen. Santana said the projected surplus has been scaled back in part because of pay raises the city recently negotiated with the Police Protective League, the union representing LAPD officers.
(With reports from the Los Angeles Times)
