L.A. Mayor Bass offers a hold-the-line budget, with no layoffs and few big increases

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released a budget bombshell last year, stunning the city workforce by proposing widespread layoffs and other cuts in a bid to erase a $1-billion spending gap.On Monday, in the midst of a tough reelection fight, Bass unveiled a much rosier $14.9-billion spending plan for 2026-2027 that — thanks in part to increased tax revenues — avoids layoffs and keeps many city service levels unchanged.With six weeks until the June 2 city primary election, Bass is seeking to hire 510 officers at the Los Angeles Police Department, enough to cover the retirements and resignations that are expected in that agency, according to her budget team.The mayor is also planning to retain the same number of firefighters, holding off on any expansion of the Los Angeles Fire Department at least until November, after voters have determined the fate of a sales tax hike to pay for the department’s operations, her team said.The budget, which must be approved by the City Council, also preserves the same level of services delivered by Inside Safe, the mayor’s signature program to fight homelessness.Meanwhile, a handful of programs are on track to receive a boost.Bass is looking to significantly ramp up the installation of “curb cuts” — wheelchair ramps on sidewalks at intersections — and remove more of the trash that lines many of L.A.’s streets.The budget also adds 170 new positions at the agency that handles street repairs, according to her team.“We are investing in what works, fixing what doesn’t and making smarter decisions with every dollar so that results are faced in every neighborhood,” Bass said at a City Hall news conference laying out her spending strategies.The mayor’s budget plan is benefiting from higher-than-expected business, property and sales tax revenues, both in the current budget year and the one that begins on July 1.Still, the city isn�...