LA Mayor's Brighter Budget: No Cuts, More Cops

0:00Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass just unveiled a $14.9 billion budget that's a whole lot brighter than last year's mess, when she warned of massive layoffs and deed cuts to plug a billion dollar deficit. This time around, revenues are projected to climb, so no job losses, plus a small bump in street services like repairs and cleaning. She's pushing to hire hundreds of police officers to offset retirements and keep the forced study while holding firm on fire department spending and homelessness initiatives. The city's reserve fund sits at $490 million, about 5.7% of the general fund, and they won't touch it. Challengers in her reelection race, like council member Nithya Rahman, are calling it out as status quo that ignores real problems. Tech entrepreneur Adam Miller agrees, saying it misses the mark on what Angelinos actually need for change, especially after pass fee hikes and service dips. Revenue jumps are expected from summer World Cup crowds, packing hotels and boosting

1:01sales and business taxes by over $400 million. Total. The plan as 170 street jobs keeps unarmed crisis team citywide and highlights an 18% drop in street homelessness, from programs like Inside Safe. Now the proposal heads to city council for hearings in the coming weeks, with final approval needed by July 1st, just before her June 2nd primary, heats up. This has been California News Today, powered by AI.