Mayor's Big Ideas Merit Big Staff in Era of Little Budget

Villaraigosa speaks during a November 2009 town hall-style gathering (Photo by alexbcthompson via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa employs a staff that has "grown to be the largest mayoral staff in Los Angeles history," according to the Daily News.

206 people are on Villaraigosa's staff, and their "salaries account for $7.4 million of the $25.02 million budget for the mayor's office."

The Mayor's office says that many of the staff are focused on working on issues that relate to pressing concerns of public safety, such as to combat gangs. Chief of Staff Jeff Carr explains the mayor's need for a staff that is 85 people greater than Mayor James Hahn's and 92 people greater than predecessor Mayor Richard Riordan: "This is a mayor with big ideas and a big agenda."

The Mayor's agenda may be large, but the budget for the City isn't, and these days City employees are losing their jobs and being asked to take paycuts.