Council approval of LAs $15B budget spirals into fight over firefighter and homeless spending

Nithya Raman was among the 12 councilmembers who voted Thursday to approve Los Angeles’ nearly $15 billion budget — igniting a fierce fight over firefighter cuts, homelessness spending and whether the city is dumping today’s problems onto future voters.The budget, which was approved in a 12-1 vote, now heads to Mayor Karen Bass for her signature.Councilmember Traci Park cast the lone dissenting vote, blasting the spending plan as a budget that falls short on public safety and core neighborhood services.“Somehow, the city managed to find money to hand out needles and crack pipes, but no money to pick them up off our public beaches,” Park told The California Post after the vote.“This is not a serious effort.I have no choice but to vote no when that’s what is presented to me,” she added.Park, whose Westside district includes Pacific Palisades, where thousands of homes were destroyed in last year’s devastating fire, argued that City Hall is still delaying major fire investments despite repeated warnings about staffing pressures and emergency response needs.“Here we are a year and a half after the worst disaster in our city’s history, and our fire department investments are being deferred,” Park said.The budget itself maintains core fire spending, including firefighter recruit training, Rescue Ambulance staffing and operational funding intended to keep existing services running.But city officials also have another $51.7 million in unmet fire needs, including funding for 265 positions, that remain unfunded for now.

Those requests are effectively parked for later and tied to a proposed sales tax measure expected to go before voters in November.Park argued City Hall appeared to be relying on future voters to address problems firefighters are dealing with today.“And now we’re burying their current budget requests, hoping to pay for it someday down the line after they do all the work and if voters approve it,” she said.Homelessness remained one...