With Los Angeles facing budget challenges brought on in part by $289 million in overspending, a City Council committee voted unanimously Wednesday to continue discussions on a plan to eliminate nearly 2,000 vacant positions across a range of departments.
The three-member Personnel, Audits and Hiring Committee noted that the list of vacant positions is expected to be published alongside Mayor Karen Bass’ proposed 2024-25 budget, which should be announced later this month. Councilman Tim McOsker, who chairs the committee, instructed staff to bring back the list at its next meeting so members can review it in detail.
“I think it’s really important for us to know that should we eliminate positions, whether it’s one position or 2,000 positions — while it’s real for those departments, it also puts us inextricably on a course where we are going to spend less on something,” McOsker said prior to the vote.
“It is important to make sure that we are funding our departments in a way that is rational, sustainable and structurally sound,” he added.
City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo told the panel that the plan is an attempt to cover $289 million in overspending, below-planned revenues and new labor contracts.
The city previously implemented a “critical hiring prioritization” plan, placing a freeze on most vacant positions unless deemed high-need. Officials are now working on a plan to eliminate nearly 2,000 of those vacant positions, which could save $155.6 million to the general fund and about $7.3 million to other special funds, according to Szabo.
Szabo had also previously recommended city officials draw $86.6 million from the city’s reserve fund — an account to ensure the city continues operations during certain emergencies — to reduce the deficit.
“Taking these risks together, we conclude that unless conditions improve, the reserve fund will drop below the 5% policy minimum by the end of this fiscal year for only the second time in the last decade, with the first being during the pandemic,” according to a report from Szabo’s office.
Los Angeles has a job vacancy rate of about 18%, due in part to the city’s response to the pandemic when it stopped hiring and also incentivized retirements, then added jobs during the recovery phase.
In total, the city has about 3,600 vacant positions, representing about $280 million to $300 million allocated for them, Szabo noted. While the plan is still being finalized, Szabo acknowledged that some vacant positions will not be eliminated, as identified by department heads and the City Council.
Officials had originally proposed that “critical” vacant positions related to public safety be untouched, but Szabo recommended the elimination of 10 emergency 911 operators, as well as refuse collection workers and truck operators, among others.
Critics argue that such cuts will impact city services. Szabo said the city is “not in a position” to expand services but reassured officials that the elimination of vacant positions should not severely impact the current level of service and said the plan will prevent layoffs.
Councilwoman Imelda Padilla, who sits on the personnel committee, said that as the plan is being developed to cut vacant positions, the city should be mindful of any potential impact to services.
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“I have to make sure that I keep their streets clean and their neighborhoods clean, and that everything related to making sure that happens is funded,” Padilla said.
At the same time, she acknowledged that the Office of Finance, which is tasked with collecting taxes, also needs the appropriate funding.
“We can’t collect revenue because our tools and our staffing isn’t property structured and that’s a problem,” she added.
