Council approval of LA’s $15B budget spirals into fight over firefighter and homeless spending

Nithya Raman was among the 12 councilmembers who voted Thursday to approve Los Angeles’ nearly $15 billion budget — igniting a fierce fight over firefighter cuts, homelessness spending and whether the city is dumping today’s problems onto future voters.

The budget, which was approved in a 12-1 vote, now heads to Mayor Karen Bass for her signature.

Councilmember Traci Park cast the lone dissenting vote, blasting the spending plan as a budget that falls short on public safety and core neighborhood services.

“Somehow, the city managed to find money to hand out needles and crack pipes, but no money to pick them up off our public beaches,” Park told The California Post after the vote.

“This is not a serious effort. I have no choice but to vote no when that’s what is presented to me,” she added.

Park, whose Westside district includes Pacific Palisades, where thousands of homes were destroyed in last year’s devastating fire, argued that City Hall is still delaying major fire investments despite repeated warnings about staffing pressures and emergency response needs.

“Here we are a year and a half after the worst disaster in our city’s history, and our fire department investments are being deferred,” Park said.

The budget itself maintains core fire spending, including firefighter recruit training, Rescue Ambulance staffing and operational funding intended to keep existing services running.

But city officials also have another $51.7 million in unmet fire needs, including funding for 265 positions, that remain unfunded for now. Those requests are effectively parked for later and tied to a proposed sales tax measure expected to go before voters in November.

Park argued City Hall appeared to be relying on future voters to address problems firefighters are dealing with today. “And now we’re burying their current budget requests, hoping to pay for it someday down the line after they do all the work and if voters approve it,” she said.

Homelessness remained one of the city’s largest spending priorities, with roughly $146.4 million directed toward major homelessness initiatives in the budget.

Cleanup efforts, including portions of the proposed Clean Corridors program, were scaled back or delayed as city officials worked to close budget gaps as well as the Coastal CARE+ team, which monitors approximately 20 miles of coastline, waterways, creeks and storm channels and removed hazardous materials and debris.

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“They’ve canceled our Coastal CARE+ team, responsible for 20 miles of coastline, our waterways, our creeks, our storm channels,” Park said.

“All of the garbage, trash, toxins and pollutants that move through our gutters and storm drains end up in our waterways and out on our beaches,” Park said. “That’s needles, drugs, trash, plastic, remnants from encampments, human waste, all of it.”

The budget was largely shaped by the Budget and Finance Committee chaired by Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who said the city was also trying to strengthen its financial footing as Los Angeles prepares for major future spending.

Police spending also survived the budget fight.

The budget preserves Mayor Karen Bass’ goal of hiring 510 LAPD officers, putting the department on track for 8,555 officers by summer 2027, while adding $7.25 million to support 2,396 civilian positions.

The spending plan also includes $11 million for deferred maintenance projects, $800,000 for tree trimming, and $1 million for expanded spay and neuter services expected to fund roughly 8,000 additional procedures citywide.