After three weeks of budget meetings, input from 44 city departments and 173 public comments, my City Council colleagues and I just approved an $8.76 billion city budget for Fiscal Year 2016-2017. This is the city's fifth consecutive budget that I've had the pleasure to oversee as chair of the Budget and Finance Committee.I'm extremely proud of the hard work we put in to achieve a healthy and fiscally responsible budget for Los Angeles. This budget invests in neighborhood services and public safety, takes a significant step toward reducing homelessness, restores critical parks and traffic calming programs and establishes the largest Reserve Fund in the city's history. It will improve our communities today and protect our city in the years ahead. Here are a few highlights:
$8.76 billion total budget
$334 million Reserve Fund, the highest in LA's history
$2.1 billion for police and fire services
$138 million this year to reduce homelessness
$31 million to fix 425,000 square feet of sidewalks
$150 million to repair 2,400 miles of streets and fill 350,000 potholes
$7.4 million to trim trees and remove stumps
$9.3 million to clean streets and alleys
$13 million for new library books
$540,000 to restore the neighborhood Speed Hump program
$1 million for a new Business Advancement Team to create jobs
15,000 summer youth jobs with HireLA
These numbers show just how far we've come since the dark days of the recession. But these are more than just numbers, they represent major investments that will improve our city. Of course, there is still more work to do, and eliminating the structural deficit is at the top of my list. I am confident that we'll get there if we stay smart and disciplined with our money and continue to collaborate closely with Mayor Garcetti, the city workforce and neighborhood leaders throughout Los Angeles. This is just a snapshot of the 2016-2017 spending plan. Next week, in a special edition of Our Valley News, I'll bring you an in depth look at the budget, including our commitment to fund homeless services, the reasons why the budget should matter to you, and discussion about some big neighborhood victories we can all celebrate. If you have any questions or comments about this year's budget, please email me at [email protected].