LA's Liability Payments Surge, City Seeks Solutions

0:00It's April 23rd, I'm Cory with the story, and this is California News today. Your AI-powered local news. Los Angeles is shelling out 35% more each year on liability payments since 2022, outpacing big cities like New York and Chicago, according to a fresh city report. Last fiscal year, those costs hit $287 million, fueling the city's budget deficit with the LAPD leading at 100. $32 million in street services at $44 million. This year, ending June 30th, officials project $207 million. City leaders, including the administrative officer, stressed fixing rundown sidewalks, streets, and ADA issues through multi-year plans to cut risks. Mayor Bass set up a committee last October for that, but no full plan yet. The council tasks experts with options like better oversight, liability insurance to smooth outspikes, and making departments own their costs by docking other budgets.

1:00They approved more research on these last week. Meanwhile, charter reforms could mandate long-term infrastructure fixes heading to voters in November, as LA pushes to stabilize this growing drain. Without slashing services.