A recent revenue report to the Budget and Finance Committee, chaired by Councilmember Krekorian, confirmed what were seeing all around us. In the City of Los Angeles and across the region, business is making a strong recovery from the recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing businesses are reopening or expanding their hours, and new businesses are opening and creating new jobs.The report by the City Administrative Officer showed that many of the Citys economically-sensitive revenue streams are returning to pre-pandemic levels. In the First Financial Status Report for Fiscal Year 2021-22, September receipts-to-date are 33.6 percent above General Fund receipts at this time last year, and are already 3.2 percent above pre-pandemic receipts in 2019-20.
These figures, reflecting increased collection of sales taxes, hotel taxes and other revenues generated by economic activity, indicate a return to pre-pandemic levels of activity in the retail and hospitality sectors as shoppers return to our stores and malls and tourists and visitors return to Los Angeles.