LA’s City Budget: By The Numbers
On Thursday, City Council voted to approve LA’s 2023-24 budget. The budget is by no means perfect, but it marks significant progress. Here are some stats into what’s getting funded:
Homelessness
• An unprecedented $1.3 billion investment in tackling the homelessness crisis through services and housing.
• $50 million for master leasing and purchasing hotel/motels or apartments.
• $250 million to connect unhoused residents with housing through Mayor Bass’ Inside Safe initiative.
• Nearly $12 million for Substance Use Disorder Treatment Beds.
• Expanded funding for Shelter Operations for victims of domestic violence, which is the leading cause of homelessness among women in Los Angeles.
• Over $5 million for Homeless Engagement Teams.
• Over $1.1 million for Safe Parking sites.
• Doubled funding for successful HIV Homelessness Prevention Programs.
• Through Proposition HHH, funding for nearly 5,000 new units of Permanent Supportive Housing with wrap-around services to get people off the streets.
Public Safety
• This year, the discretionary funding to the LAPD (the funding that City Council has control over) decreased by $21.6 million compared to last year.
• Meanwhile, this budget has about $24 million in funding for programs exclusively focused on unarmed responses to nonviolent 911 calls relating to homelessness, mental health, and drug addiction. That’s compared to just $8 million for these programs last year.
• $48 million in Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) for community activities and interventions that will prevent crime from happening in the first place. (A $20 million increase from last year!)
Housing
• $72 million for the acquisition and rehabilitation of affordable housing.
• $25 million for eviction defense programs to prevent illegal evictions.
• $25 million in support for rent-burdened at-risk seniors and people with disabilities.
• $12 million to enforce anti-tenant harassment policies to hold bad landlords accountable.
• $20 million for short-term emergency rental assistance, and $6 million for tenant outreach and education to prevent families from falling into homelessness.
Community
• Fully funding 20 FamilySource Centers with $30 million, to assist 52,000 families and individuals with issues like housing insecurity, immigration services, tutoring, financial assistance, case management, a new fund for rental assistance for the first time ever, and more. (Last year, just 16 FamilySource Centers were funded.)
• $25 million toward the decarbonization of city facilities, compared to just $5 million in last year’s budget.
• $15 million for a Rapid Response Senior Meals program to deliver food to elderly Angelenos suffering from food insecurity.
• $1 million for a massive first-of-its kind public restroom facility in the heart of Hollywood.
• A $1.5 million increase in funding for more frequent cleanings of public restrooms.
• Expanded access and hours for recreation centers, including the Hollywood Pool in CD13 which will be open year-round.
• At least $2.4 million for the installation of additional speed humps/tables near schools to combat traffic violence.
• Funding for more staff to accelerate sidewalk repairs.
We are still a long way from achieving all our goals, but this is the most progressive budget in the history of Los Angeles. Still, we’ll have the chance every quarter to reallocate money and advance our goals. The fight for a better budget doesn’t end with one vote, so we need to get to work now to make sure that this is only the starting point for more investment in the community.
Two More Quick Hits!
1. Economic Development Committee advances $25 minimum wage for tourism workers
Our motion to raise the minimum wage for LAX and Hotel workers to $25/hour took a step forward this week, meaning it will soon move to the full City Council for it to be voted on. The motion would also increase the minimum wage for those workers to $30/hour by 2028.
We still have a lot of work to do to pass this into law, but this legislation would have a positive direct economic impact on about 36,000 tourism workers, resulting in an annual wage increase of 35.6%. It would particularly benefit people of color, especially women of color, who make up the largest share of the city’s tourism workers.
2. Bike Week!
This week was National Bike Week and May is National Bike Month! To celebrate, we rode into work on Monday with some CD13 staff, and today we gave an inside look into the commute from East Hollywood to City Hall.
There’s so much work to do to make biking safer in LA, but we’re excited about the progress we can make in the coming months and years. We hope you get a chance to go for a ride this weekend!
