Many departments are understaffed and services have suffered. The new budget beefs up the Personnel Department so it can fill funded vacancies faster. The budget also expands the wildly successful Targeted Local Hire program that gives unhoused people and others who have struggled to find employment an opportunity to prepare for entry-level public service career jobs working for the city. With the new budget, the City will have more crews for street cleaning, street lighting, tree trimming, sidewalk repair and traffic safety. More staff means faster response time to service requests. For example, the budget provides resources for the trimming of 10,000 trees throughout the city. Additional crews will be hired to repair street lights and fortify them against the copper wire theft that has left so many streets in the dark.
Housing
The new budget adds resources to the Planning Department to implement the citys new Housing Element and achieve the State of Californias aggressive housing targets. It increases funding for Planning, Building Safety, and Fire Development Services to make housing construction more affordable by expediting the licensing and permitting process. It also includes funding for outreach to tenants and enforcement of our anti-harassment policy, and a program to pair low-income seniors with the owners of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) that have been vacant for five years or longer. The Priority Housing Program reduces approval times for projects with at least 20 percent affordable units.
Street Safety and Mobility
This years budget allocates $38.5 million for improvements to address dangerous road design that puts pedestrians and transit users at risk, leading us closer to our Vision Zero goal of zero traffic fatalities in Los Angeles by 2025.
$38.5 million Citywide Vision Zero ($19.5 million for Vision Zero Priority Corridors)
$1.9 million for the expansion of the Speed Hump Program
This budget also provides over $212 million in funding to improve the condition of our streets and public sidewalks. This includes:
$160 million for pavement preservation
$35 million in sidewalk repairs
$24.4 million to recover failed streets
$12.8 million to continue investments in our Complete Street projects
$9.6 million to construct new access ramps, easing access to our streets and sidewalks for pedestrians with limited mobility
$4.1 million to repair and maintain bicycle lanes
$1.9 million for new speed humps to calm traffic on residential streets
This adds up to more than 6,500 lane miles of improved streets in the next year.
Cleanliness and Community Improvements
The budget provides resources to provide Angelenos with a cleaner, more livable city.
Expanded street cleaning service to more streets throughout the city, including a new program of street sweeping in commercial corridors
Increased funding for multifamily bulky item pickup program
Expansion of the Clean LA and LA River Rangers community beautification programs
$6 million for median improvements featuring native plants and community greening
$3 million for the Clean and Green program which employs youth to implement clean up projects like graffiti removal, litter abatement and tree planting
Targeted Local Hire program for additional maintenance workers
Environment and Sustainability
(LADWP workers adding solar panels to city-owned property. Photo courtesy of LADWP).
The 2022-23 budget is the Citys first to include funding for a Chief Heat Officer, to coordinate the Citys preparation for extreme heat events. Other highlights include:
Full funding for the Single Use Plastic Reduction Program, moving us closer to our Citywide Zero Waste goal
Funding to phase out oil and gas extraction sites
Staffing for Rim of the Valley wildlife preservation area
$22 million to initiate curbside pickup of organic waste for residential customers(Composting organic waste will reduce a major source of greenhouse gas pollution)
$8 million for electric vehicles and charging facilities for municipal fleet
$3.4 million for public electric vehicle charging stations
$5 million in additional funding to convert municipal buildings to carbon-free energy
Recreation and Parks
(June 6, 2022: Councilmember Krekorian cuts the ribbon on a completely renovated childcare center, the first of its kind to reopen since the pandemic closed Recreation and parks facilities like this one.)
In last years budget process, Councilmember Krekorian restored over $100 million in Recreation and Parks funding cut during previous financial crises. This years budget continues to expand services in our parks, including the return of childcare centers to our parks, such as the beautifully renovated Victory Valley Childcare Center that Councilmember Krekorian reopened on June 6, 2022. The new Adaptive Sports Program provides competitive sport opportunities for adults and youth with physical challenges. Summer Play LA will offer discounted summer camp programs at 72 rec centers throughout the city.
See Video: LAPD Youth Cadet Soccer Tournament at Whitsett Sports Park
Economic Development and Jobs Creation
This years budget provides roughly $4 million in direct funding for economic development, promoting the continued recovery of jobs across the city, with a focus on equity in areas that have experienced the most significant negative impacts. This years budget includes funding for staff to implement the citywide Jobs and Economic Development Incentive (JEDI) Zones program created by Councilmember Krekorian, Good Food Zones, Business Response Unit, Sidewalk Vending, Legacy Business, and Facade Improvement programs. Council District 2 has already been approved for the citys first JEDI Zone, in North Hollywoods Lankershim corridor. Six more districts have applied or been approved for the creation of JEDI Zones this year.
Maintaining Fiscal Responsibility
While funding expansion and improvement to so many City services, the new budget also keeps more than $650 million in reserve to prepare for challenges the City could face in the coming year, including inflation, higher interest rates, international turmoil or natural disasters. The Citys total reserves constitute more than 9 percent of the budget, exceeding the amount required by the Citys financial policies.