LOS ANGELES, CA – The city of Los Angeles is reportedly facing a $1 billion shortfall and on Thursday, May 8th, a key committee of the Los Angeles City Council put forth a plan that would reduce the number of police officers the city hires and cancel Mayor Karen Bass’ plan for creating a homelessness unit within in the Fire Department.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the council’s five-member budget committee voiced support for a “slowdown” in hiring of police that would leave the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) with about 8,400 officers by June 30, 2026, down from the more than 8,700 they have this year and the nearly 10,000 that were employed in 2020.
The move, if approved by the full City Council would be part of a much larger effort to restore positions that are currently being targeted for elimination in Mayor Bass’ $14-billion proposed budget.
If the plan gets approved, the LAPD would be at its lowest levels of sworn staffing since 1995. However, it would help save the jobs of 133 specialized civilian employees whose work includes processing DNA rape kits, analyzing fingerprints, and taking photos of crime scenes. Tim McOsker, a councilmember who sits on the budget committee, called the decision “difficult, painful, and regrettable,” but also “necessary” to preserve the investigative work done by civilian staffers.
Another councilmember, Bob Blumenfield, said that if the city can protect those 133 specialists, reducing the number of officers “may be a pill that is worth swallowing.” He added, “These are people that do all this incredibly important work for public safety, but they’re not sworn officers.”
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents more than 8,700 officers, quickly spoke up about what a reduction in sworn staffing would mean. The union accused City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, whose office helps prepare the budget, of seeking to “defund the LAPD to a point where it will literally endanger officers and our residents.”
The union’s board said in a statement, “It’s hard to take the City seriously when they are sitting on a nearly $15-billion investment portfolio that could reasonably be used to alleviate the current budget crisis. City leaders need to sharpen their pencils and stop trying to gut staffing at the LAPD.”
Clara Karger, a Bass spokesperson, said that the mayor will continue to engage in the budget committee conversations as it finalizes its spending proposals. Karger said, “The mayor continues to support the increases in LAPD hiring and the LAFD budget,” adding that the mayor “looks forward to seeing the final recommendations of the committee as it advances to the full council.”
Bass’ proposed budget calls for layoffs of about 1,600 civilian workers, including more than 400 at the LAPD. The job cuts would impact an array of agencies, including those responsible for trash removal, transportation programs, and street light maintenance.
The city is facing its most significant budget crisis in about 15 years, caused largely by rising personnel costs, soaring legal payouts, and a slowdown in the local economy. While the committee has been searching for ways to shield basic services from cuts, city negotiators have been trying to secure concessions, such as postponing scheduled pay raises from the unions that represent public workers.
The salary increases are expected to add about $250 million to this year’s budget, and as of this writing, no deals have been agreed upon. On Thursday, two of the largest cost-saving measures taken up by the committee were related to public safety.
The committee proposed slashing the number of LAPD recruits planned for the coming fiscal year to 240 from 480; the department is expected to lose 530 officers through resignations and retirements, which would result in an overall decrease in sworn staffing. The committee also took steps to kill Bass’ proposal for adding 67 positions to the Fire Department to address issues stemming from the homelessness crisis.
