While this leaves a gap in park security services, this board has an opportunity to rethink its public safety models and consider incorporation of alternative crisis response and community input," Ridley-Thomas said. John Myers joined the Los Angeles Times as Sacramento bureau chief in 2015 and has spent more than two decades covering California politics, state government and elections. "During the last election, voters rejected a ballot initiative to provide additional funding. Even then, lawmakers want to soften the blow in the event of a federal stalemate by tapping more of the state’s cash reserves. "The Chief Executive Office continues to work closely with the department to address longstanding budget issues. Some of those dollars were previously frozen by the board in an effort to push Villanueva to find ways to cut overtime and save money. The facility, which holds immigration detainees and federal pretrial inmates, already went through one outbreak that infected more than 200 people. Several of the speakers noted that they had never before paid attention to how the county spent its money, with least one warning that what the supervisors do now will affect their ability to be reelected. Sex trafficked and imprisoned, California woman wins freedom after long fight, After nearly a decade in prison for crimes related to being sex trafficked as a minor, Keiana Aldrich was released Thursday night. One injured when helicopter carrying donated heart crashes on top of Keck Hospital of USC. "Public safety remains one of the highest priorities," Barger said. Also includes past years.) Barger made a point of underlining her support for the Sheriff’s Department, saying the cuts were driven by projected sales tax losses that have slashed AB109 funding. Los Angeles County seems prepared to avoid layoffs of county employees over the next 12 months, as the Board of Supervisors approved changes Tuesday to increase the county's planned spending to a record $37.6 billion for the 2020-21 fiscal year, $2.7 billion higher than anticipated in June. The spending plan will probably change as negotiations continue with Gov. It’s the first time the county has seen that level since mid-August. Column: Millions in California voted for Trump. “This is not the outcome any of us wants to see, especially as our county staff continues to serve with great commitment and dedication on the front lines of this crisis, as well as behind the scenes to assist our 10 million residents. Urban planner Nithya Raman unseats Los Angeles City Councilman David Ryu. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. $594 million less from this years budget. Supervisor Kathryn Barger said she is committed to finding more money for the fire department and looks forward to working with Villanueva in managing his department's deficit. John Cadiz Klemack reports Sept. 29, 2020. Both support more spending on community-based programs for housing, health care, mental health and substance abuse treatment. "This is definitely a better approach, to pair a deputy with a trained clinician," Solis said. "This also includes our fire department. Orange County health officials focus on staying in the red tier as COVID-19 counts climb. Penny Aboud, 16, said a woman selling MAGA hats at a South Pasadena intersection yanked her hair and pulled her to the ground. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions. Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti has released his proposed budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year, which begins on July 1. Financial Policies for the City of Los Angeles. “We are seeing more people losing their housing, their jobs, their businesses, their health at a scale that I haven’t seen before, and they need our help … We are voting on a budget that holds back our ability to be that helping hand.”, Hahn said she supported a letter Supervisor Hilda Solis sent to CEO Sachi Hamai on Friday, asking for additional changes to “bend this budget towards people of color.”. The helicopter crew was transporting a donated heart. "By using this funding now, and through savings achieved through attrition, the department can avert potential layoffs and retain deputy sheriff and custody assistant trainees who recently complete the training academy," the CEO's office said in an email Monday to City News Service. "Innovative programs are needed to address longstanding racial inequities that disproportionately incarcerate people who need treatment and housing. Teenager says Trump supporter assaulted her in South Pasadena. “We need to speak truth to power,” Ridley-Thomas said. “Just axing them from the budget for somehow to balance the books of the entire county budget does not seem a very judicial exercise,” the sheriff said. This is deeper than white grievance politics. "We talked a lot about justice reform and, to me, this is putting our money where our mouths are,'' Hahn said. As holiday season nears, coronavirus cases spike in L.A. County. “I want to say the harsh reality of what we’re facing — the midst of a pandemic, the righteous social uprising — it is for these very reasons that we must press on with our really important priorities — to tell those who are testifying and the millions who are not, ‘We hear you, we’ve been with you all along, we will use our power and our abilities to provide these services to our most vulnerable communities.”‘. That motion, certain to generate push back from Villanueva, who could not immediately be reached for comment, is scheduled to be considered in two weeks. Other significant proposed changes to the budget include:-- $374.6 million for COVID-19 testing, tracing and medical sheltering;-- an additional $120 million for housing through Project Roomkey and Housing for Health;-- $73 million for the Alternatives to Incarceration Initiative; and-- another $53.5 million for the county's Rainy Day Fund, which now totals $695.9 million. Supervisor Sheila Kuehl emphasized her support for more spending on a “Care First, Jails Last” model, Project Roomkey to house the homeless and programs to address food insecurity. Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows diagnosed with COVID-19. Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who has long been at loggerheads with the Board of Supervisors over his agency’s budget, accused the county of underfunding his department by about $400 million even before the latest cuts. Contact the City News Service newsroom at 310-481-0404 or news@socalnews.com. “This budget marks a point in time, not the finish line,” Hamai said, but also told the board that the projections did not reflect a worst-case scenario. “People are going to get hurt with this budget, plain and simple.”. "The sheriff's department recently decided to curtail the parks service bureau entirely. Welcome to our comprehensive gift guide for the 2020 holiday season. GET BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR BROWSER. I want to personally take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of our 100,000-plus dedicated county employees for their truly heroic public service.”. However, more than $615 million of the money used to close an anticipated deficit came from dollars not spent in the prior year, according to Davenport's letter to the board. While the cuts are across the board, public safety agencies such as the sheriff’s department are among the hardest hit. “Rather, these curtailments are part of an equitable process of cost reductions that will affect all county departments.”. She also highlighted the county's dependence on the federal government. Tuesday, she said she was proud to support the revised budget. Gavin Newsom and Democratic leaders of the California Legislature worked Monday toward a final deal on a new state budget, leaving lawmakers in the awkward position of voting on their own spending plan — one that did not have Newsom’s support — a few hours before their annual deadline to take action. Local governments, too, were worried that even a budget more generous than Newsom’s preferred version would still come up short. “There is a real opportunity for real change right now, so I urge this board to seize upon it.”. He has said the changes essentially amount to an effort to defund the agency and accused the board of being swept up in nationwide calls for slashing law enforcement funding. Newsom and legislative leaders sought to downplay their disagreements on Monday, insisting the delay was due to the complexity of solving a historic budget deficit. County CEO Sachi Hamai released her revised budget proposal Thursday, calling it one of the most difficult budget years the county has encountered, due to the coronavirus pandemic. For the first time, we hear from Chief Leslie Ramirez. Hamai said the job description for an ATI director had recently been posted, and she hoped that the position would be filled soon. Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said he was committed to expanding the Office of Diversion and Reentry and other alternatives to incarceration. The penalty would deter the nation’s largest gas company from continuing to abuse ratepayer dollars, a California consumer watchdog agency says. Millions voted for Trump again. For the year that ended June 30, the county had nearly $2.2 billion left in its general fund account, an even higher total than expected when June forecasts were made. “I don’t disagree that we have people in our care and control in our custody environment that suffer from mental illness, suffer from drug abuse, substance abuse, and we definitely want to do our best to reach out and support them where we can,” the sheriff said. School advocates have warned that the unprecedented shift to distance learning due to precautions taken to slow the spread of coronavirus would add to their burden. City News Service is a regional wire service covering Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. The CEO said Villanueva had originally submitted a budget proposing 894 layoffs and cuts to all of those bureaus, but that her team made revisions to cut the number of layoffs nearly in half. "Despite significant economic pressure, the large and growing needs of the public during the COVID pandemic and the ensuing economic downturn, this is a balanced budget that protects the public health of county residents, it embraces racial equity, it supports justice reform through accountability and alternatives to incarceration, and maintains service levels in vital programs through preservation of jobs which were targeted for cuts in our budget in June," Davenport told the board. A key debate has been how much to spend on K-12 education, which saw sweeping cuts under the governor’s May budget proposal. “I think there are many people like me who are now all of a sudden paying attention and hoping that you guys do the right thing and pull some of the billions of dollars you’re spending on a policing system that is targeting … Black people.”. If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Solis said she would like to see more spending on innovative reforms, such as restorative health care villages like the one envisioned at County-USC Medical Center, as well as more money for the public defender’s office and inspector general, among other priorities. “Unfortunately, I must report that significant cuts in county programs and personnel will be needed as a result of the serious economic downturn caused by this ongoing public health emergency,” Hamai said. Although both Newsom and legislators expressed optimism as negotiations continued into Monday night, the eventual agreement will mean substantial alterations need to be made in the bill adopted in party-line votes by the Senate and Assembly. Gov. ''I'm confident that this is only the beginning and we'll continue to make these important investments in budgets to come.". “If anything has been made clear in the past few months, it is that maintaining the status quo is not acceptable,” Solis said. Why liberal California keeps saying no to rent control. Virtually all of the residents allowed to speak expressed their support for a “Care First” budget and/or spending on the recommendations set out by the Alternatives to Incarceration report. CLICK HERE TO TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS. More than 2,100 new coronavirus cases were reported Friday. Lawmakers rejected those cuts, allowing schools to continue spending at existing levels, though a portion of that amount would have to be found in school reserve funds or through borrowing to be repaid later by the state.
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