Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass visited with state lawmakers in Sacramento on March 24 to ask for nearly $2 billion to help the city fill a $1 billion budget hole and cover costs related to the destructive Palisades Fire.
Bass led a delegation of four City Council members who lobbied for funds to be included in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s next budget, which is undergoing legislative review.
“Los Angeles is facing a budget crisis while recovering from devastating and unprecedented wildfires, and it’s important that we advocate directly to state leaders for support,” Bass said Monday in a statement.
The mayor told City News Service the meetings were productive. She spoke with Newsom, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood), who chairs the Los Angeles County legislative delegation.
“It is not as though we expected to walk away with a check, but we absolutely walked away with encouragement and support,” she said.
Los Angeles faces an estimated $1 billion budget deficit this year after lower tax revenues and rising costs due to liability payments, wildfires, and other personnel expenses, Bass stated in a press release Monday.
The city and residents are recovering from January’s Palisades Fire, which killed at least 12 people and destroyed nearly 7,000 homes and buildings.
Following the Sacramento meetings, the delegation sent a letter to the Assembly Budget Committee requesting $1.9 billion to support the city.
Some of the larger requests include $638 million for improving streets, sidewalks and lights, and to cover an “extraordinary spike” of $200 million in liability payouts. It would also make up for lost revenues from the Palisades Fire—which the city estimates to be about $38 million—and replenish the city’s reserves by $150 million, according to the letter.
Crews clear mud and debris flows caused by heavy rains in the Palisades Fire burn area along Pacific Coast Highway near Los Angeles on Feb. 14, 2024. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
The city is also asking for $750 million to upgrade the power grid in Pacific Palisades. Some of the funds would pay to incentivize heat pumps, electric cooktops, and battery storage, which is part of the city’s Green New Deal program.
Another $301 million was requested to serve as a loan to meet recovery expenses until the city is reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA.
The city also asked for nearly $73 million for several projects to support workers and residents through the operation of another one-stop rebuilding center, which would waive permitting fees and hire locals to clean up and help with recovery. It would also pay for an interim library, recreational activities, and emergency housing vouchers.
Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and members Bob Blumenfield, Adrin Nazarian, and Katy Yaroslavsky, chair of the budget committee, joined Bass for the trip.
Harris-Dawson said the city was struggling.
“Our city faces urgent fiscal challenges, and we are fighting for critical funding to protect services, strengthen wildfire resilience, and secure a sustainable future for Angelenos,” Harris-Dawson said in a statement.
Yaroslavsky said the trip was about “laying a foundation” for the city.
“Los Angeles is facing a nearly billion-dollar budget gap, driven by the recent wildfires, rising liability costs, declining revenues, and years of short-term budgeting,” she said. “But this trip to Sacramento wasn’t about a one-time fix, it was about laying the foundation for a stronger, more resilient city.”
The mayor and Yaroslavsky also said the money would help the city prepare for the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games, when Los Angeles will host visitors from around the world.
Bass said she had “homework” to do to get the Legislature more specific information.
The delegation also met with state Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), Senate Budget Committee Chair Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), and Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles), vice chair of the Los Angeles County legislative delegation.
City News Service contributed to this report.
