{"id":72018,"date":"2025-04-14T15:32:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T22:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=72018"},"modified":"2025-04-14T15:32:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T22:32:11","slug":"la-county-unveils-2025-26-recommended-budget-reflecting-unprecedented-financial-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=72018","title":{"rendered":"LA County Unveils 2025-26 Recommended Budget Reflecting Unprecedented Financial Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

$47.9 billion spending plan cuts millions in funding and eliminates hundreds of vacant positions\u2014but does not include layoffs<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Los Angeles<\/strong> County\u2019s 2025-26 Recommended Budget\u2014which includes spending cuts to help offset extraordinary budgetary pressures, including more than $1 billion in costs related to the January wildfires\u2014will go before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, April 15.<\/p>\n

The budget reflects rapidly mounting financial challenges\u2014including the potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars or more in federal funding and the tentative $4 billion settlement of thousands of childhood sexual assault claims brought under AB 218. At the same time, the County is facing slower property tax revenue growth due in part to declining home sales amid higher interest rates.<\/p>\n

In the face of these pressures, County departments are making 3% cuts in their budgets. These targeted cuts total $88.9 million and include eliminating 310 vacancies and more than $50 million in savings from cutting supplies, delaying equipment purchases and reducing the scope of some programs.<\/p>\n

No layoffs are anticipated at this time, but the Recommended Budget\u2014the first phase in the County\u2019s annual budget process\u2014reflects a high degree of caution, restraint and uncertainty in the face of the cascading budgetary pressures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in uncharted territory with these simultaneous pressures on our budget,\u201d said Chief Executive Officer Fesia Davenport, who will present the proposed spending plan to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. \u201cAny of these alone would be daunting, but taken together these challenges\u2014the wildfires, the AB 218 settlement, the threat of deep cuts in federal funding\u2014are cause for great concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the constraints, the balanced budget is committed to sustaining the County\u2019s essential safety net responsibilities and to funding key priorities set by the Board of Supervisors.<\/p>\n

This budget reflects the passage of Measure A, the voter-approved \u00bd-cent sales tax that replaced Measure H and which has already started to bring an enhanced stream of funding into the entire LA region\u2014including local cities\u2014to address homelessness.<\/p>\n

The nearly $1.1 billion in Measure A revenues in this budget will be shared by the County’s partners in this work, with $382.8 million going to the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency, $32.1 million to the Los Angeles County Development Authority, $96.3 million to local cities through the Local Solutions Fund and more than $500 million for the County\u2019s own comprehensive homelessness services.<\/p>\n

Other funding recommendations include:<\/p>\n