The City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee Tuesday will begin an intense three-week process of deliberating Mayor Eric Garcetti’s proposed 2017-18 budget.
The committee is scheduled to have meetings on the budget proposal every weekday through May 12.
Garcetti’s proposed $9.2 billion budget includes an increase in spending on homeless initiatives, $35 million to fix sidewalks and an increase in funding for legal settlements.
The proposed budget also includes an increase for the “Vision Zero” program aimed at reducing traffic deaths, $3.5 million to support a new law requiring the city every six years to update community plans that guide development and $2 million for graffiti removal, which Garcetti said will help the city respond to 90 percent of removal requests within 24 hours.
“I’m encouraged by the mayor’s budget proposal and appreciate that he’s supporting the City Council’s work by continuing to fund critical sidewalk and street repair, backing more housing for the homeless, improving the way Los Angeles serves the business community and increasing our investment in public safety,” Councilman Paul Krekorian, chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, said when Garcetti released the proposed budget.
Krekorian also said the uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s proposed budget, which features many possible cuts to domestic programs, will have to be considered.
“Another factor we’ll have to grapple with in this budget is the impact of federal funding cuts threatened by the Trump administration,” Krekorian said. “Nothing is certain right now, but we have to be ready for challenges that may come so we can protect services that our communities rely on, like neighborhood public safety programs, meals for seniors and assistance for victims of domestic violence.”
