City Budget

MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA
City of Los Angeles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

CONTACT
Sarah Hamilton
213-978-0741

MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA TAKES UNPRECEDENTED ACTION TO ADDRESS BUDGET
SHORTFALL

Mayor Orders Immediate Steps Be Taken to Address $212 Million Deficit

LOS ANGELES — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa took immediate action today
to balance the Los Angeles city budget and commit the City to long-term
fiscal health and sustainability.

Using the authority invested in the Office of the Mayor by the City
Charter, Villaraigosa directed the Personnel Department to eliminate
1,000 general fund positions and begin calculating layoffs, displacement
seniority, and/or transfers of employees to fill these targeted
positions.

“Every budget is a balancing act,” Mayor Villaraigosa said. “We
have been living beyond our means and now we have difficult choices to
make. Each day we fail to act we lose an estimated $300,000. We must
protect our fiscal health and economic future.”

Yesterday, the City Council postponed decision-making on plans to
address the budget shortfall. In doing so, they added an estimated $4
million to the deficit for this fiscal year, already calculated at $212
million.

In addition to directing the layoffs and transferring as many general
funded employees as possible into special funded and proprietary
departments, the Mayor has asked the Council to adopt an ordinance that
would allow City employees to retire without the 30 to 60 day advance
application typically required. The Mayor is also requesting that the
Council move their uncommitted funds — currently totaling up to $40
million — into the City’s Reserve Fund until such time that the fund
reaches 5% of the overall budget.

“I do not relish these decisions, but neither will I shy away from
them or pretend they don’t exist,” the Mayor said. “Angelenos all
over our City are making tougher choices between food or their
prescription drugs, between school supplies and a doctor’s visit for
their child, or between their electric bill and their rent. It is time
that we at City Hall follow their lead, set priorities, and make the
tough choices necessary to protect our core responsibilities.”

# # #