If you park at eastbound Wilshire Boulevard and Irolo Street in Koreatown, your odds of getting a ticket are higher than anywhere else in Los Angeles.
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Laura Anaya-Morga
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Boyle Heights Beat
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Topline:
Analyzing data from Crosstown, The LA Local looked at the worst places to park in LA. Here’s what we found and what you need to know.
Downtown L.A.: Downtown remains the neighborhood where drivers are most likely to get a parking citation. Since at least 2020, downtown has consistently received more tickets than any other neighborhood in LA — roughly twice as many as Koreatown, the second-most-ticketed area.
Koreatown: If you park at eastbound Wilshire Boulevard and Irolo Street in Koreatown, your odds of getting a ticket are higher than anywhere else in Los Angeles. So far this year, parking enforcement officers have issued 2,595 citations there — more than any other location in the city — generating more than $760,000 in fines. Through June 12, the city had issued nearly 800,000 parking citations overall — about 7% fewer than at the same point last year. Five of the city’s 10 most-ticketed locations are in the neighborhood, and ticketing there has increased 37% since 2023 — outpacing citywide growth. Overall LA has seen ticketing increase by about 7.2%.
If you park at eastbound Wilshire Boulevard and Irolo Street in Koreatown, your odds of getting a ticket are higher than anywhere else in Los Angeles.
So far this year, parking enforcement officers have issued 2,595 citations there — more than any other location in the city — generating more than $760,000 in fines.
Through June 12, the city had issued nearly 800,000 parking citations overall — about 7% fewer than at the same point last year. In recent years, LADOT has typically issued close to 2 million citations annually.
The numbers point to how concentrated enforcement can be in certain locations, where repeated violations drive a large share of tickets and fines.
Analyzing data from our partners at Crosstown, The LA Local looked at the worst places to park in LA. Here’s what we found and what you need to know.
1. Do not park at Wilshire and Irolo in Koreatown
At Wilshire Boulevard and Irolo Street, all tickets issued to drivers had to do with buses.
That wasn’t the case until LADOT began camera enforcement in February 2025 on Metro’s 720 line along Wilshire Boulevard and the 212 line on La Brea Avenue.
If you park at eastbound Wilshire Boulevard and Irolo Street in Koreatown, your odds of getting a ticket are higher than anywhere else in Los Angeles.
Before that shift, bus-lane citations were rare. In 2024, there was just one issued all year. Since the cameras went live, locations along those routes have quickly become some of the city’s most-ticketed spots. All citations in the top 10 worst places to park were bus-related.
Driving or parking in a lane reserved for buses results in a $293 fine.
Although bus lane violations accounted for just 6.5% of all citations issued this year — up from 5.4% last year — they generated over $15 million, more than one-fifth of all the money collected from citations.
2. Keep an eye on those expired parking meters in downtown
Downtown L.A. remains the neighborhood where drivers are most likely to get a parking citation. Since at least 2020, downtown has consistently received more tickets than any other neighborhood in L.A. — roughly twice as many as Koreatown, the second-most-ticketed area.
Last year, drivers in downtown received about $24 million in citations, compared with nearly $15 million in Koreatown. One of the most common violations there is expired meters.
3. Anyone who parks in Koreatown knows it’s difficult — and it’s getting worse
Five of the city’s 10 most-ticketed locations are in the neighborhood, and ticketing there has increased 37% since 2023 — outpacing citywide growth. Overall, LA has seen ticketing increase by about 7.2%.
This year, drivers in Koreatown have coughed up nearly $7 million in parking citations. The most cited offense in the neighborhood is the bus lane violation, with nearly 15,000 tickets. This amounts to more than $4 million.
The average fine in Koreatown is $160.57, while the city average is $89.70. This is likely because of how often drivers commit traffic violations in the neighborhood.
4. Street sweeping and red curb violations are still the biggest traps for drivers
Street sweeping violations are by far the most common reason drivers get parking tickets in Los Angeles.
About a quarter of all citations issued this year fall into that category, generating more than $15 million in fines citywide.
Some of the most concentrated enforcement happens in unexpected places. The single most ticketed street sweeping location this year is a small alley behind a middle school in Carthay, where 68 citations were issued.
Other hotspots include Venice, Boyle Heights and Koreatown — neighborhoods that consistently see some of the highest volumes of street sweeping tickets.
To help avoid tickets, the city’s Bureau of Street Services offers an automated alert system that sends text reminders 24 and 48 hours before street sweeping on a registered block.
Red curb violations are another major source of citations. One curb near Canyon Lake Drive in the Hollywood Hills received more than 1,000 tickets in 2025, largely from drivers stopping to take photos of the Hollywood Sign.
5. Parking enforcement costs the city more to run than it brings in through fines
Parking tickets can bring in hundreds of millions in LA, but that still doesn’t cover the cost of enforcement. In 2025, drivers in LA were fined $166 million overall — the highest in the dataset, even compared with 2022, which saw more tickets issued.
Even though 2022 had about 78,000 more tickets, it still brought in over $20 million less in fines than 2025.
In the past, the city could rely on parking tickets as a reliable source of income, but this hasn’t been the case since 2016. Between 2017 and 2021, LA reportedly spent nearly $200 million more on traffic enforcement than it collected in fines.
More recently, a 2025 Crosstown analysis of city budget data found that in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, the city spent more than $176 million on parking enforcement and collected about $110 million in fines.
6. If you want no part of this ticketing stress, head to Porter Ranch
At the other end of the spectrum is Porter Ranch. The neighborhood received just 163 tickets this year, with the most common violations tied to registration and no-stopping zones. Despite its low ticketing, the city collected $17,754, with its average ticket outpacing the city by about $20.
If you are interested in where your neighborhood ranks in parking tickets, email us at David@thelalocal.org
When the U.S. men's national soccer team steps on the field Monday to face Belgium in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16, it will do so with its star striker back in the lineup and a cloud of controversy hanging overhead.
The backstory: Last week, a disastrous red card, given to Folarin Balogun for a cleat-first challenge on Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemović, had put the U.S. dreams of a deep run at this World Cup in serious jeopardy. Then came Sunday's one-two punch of stunning and controversial developments. First, a FIFA disciplinary panel made the surprise announcement that Balogun's one-game suspension would be suspended for a year-long probationary period, allowing the striker to play against Belgium. Then, soon after, reports broke that President Trump spoke personally with FIFA President Gianni Infantino after the Round of 32 game.
What's at stake: Balogun, the leading scorer among American players, is now only one goal shy of tying the all-time record of goals scored in a single World Cup by an American man, set in 1930 at the inaugural tournament by Bert Patenaude. A win would send the U.S. through to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002, which remains the deepest run by an American men's team in the modern era of the World Cup. There, the U.S. would face the winner of Monday's early match between European powerhouses Spain and Portugal.
Before the weekend, there were already plenty of questions about U.S. forward Folarin Balogun and the red card he received in last week's Round of 32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina that should have sidelined him this game with an automatic suspension:
Was his contact with the Bosnian defender's leg intentional? Had the video referee followed regulations when he scrutinized the play in slow motion? Should it have been escalated all the way to a red card when the referee on the field initially thought there was no foul at all? Why had Balogun been punished so severely when other seemingly similar plays in this World Cup had avoided punishment altogether?
By the time the U.S. team had arrived in Seattle, Balogun and his teammates seemed to set those questions aside and accept their fate: The American men would prepare for their biggest game in a generation without their leading scorer.
Then came Sunday's one-two punch of stunning and controversial developments.
First, a FIFA disciplinary panel made the surprise announcement that Balogun's one-game suspension would be suspended for a year-long probationary period, allowing the striker to play against Belgium.
Then, soon after, reports broke that President Trump spoke personally with FIFA President Gianni Infantino after the Round of 32 game. According to an official with knowledge of the extraordinary call, who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation, Trump directly asked Infantino about the red card and the one-game suspension. (FIFA has not responded to NPR's request for comment.)
By Sunday afternoon, when Belgian coach Rudi Garcia arrived at the Seattle stadium for a routine pregame press conference, he was in disbelief at the news. "I didn't know that, in the FIFA offices, July 5th was April Fool's Day," he said.
Christian Pulisic (center) of the United States participates during a training session for the 2026 World Cup at Husky Soccer Stadium on Friday in Seattle.
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Jamie Squire
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Getty Images
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The bare-bones statement from the FIFA disciplinary committee did not explain why Balogun's suspension would be delayed. The lack of transparency, followed so soon by reports of the Trump-Infantino call, led to an uproar in the world of football.
The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said Sunday it was "astonished" by FIFA's surprise decision and vowed to pursue "all potential options" for recourse. "The Belgian federation isn't only defending itself or the national team — it is defending all of football, its integrity and its ethics," Garcia said.
"Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match," the RBFA said in an updated statement Monday, "[we are] deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in [defense] of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole."
For its part, the U.S. team was content to put its head down and accept the good news.
"It was a fair decision because it was never a red card. It was a mistake," said U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino on Sunday. "Everyone has said it, 99.9% of people, that it was an unfair punishment."
FIFA had already been criticized in this World Cup for delaying a suspension for Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo, who received a red card during a qualifying match last November. The resulting three-game suspension could have sidelined Ronaldo for Portugal's first two World Cup games, but FIFA put the suspension on hold under the same regulation that allowed Balogun to play.
Belgium is the toughest opponent the U.S. has faced so far at this World Cup. The Belgians entered the tournament ranked No. 9 by FIFA; the U.S. was No. 17. In March, the two teams met in an international friendly match in which the Americans took an early 1-0 lead, but shortly after, Belgium took control and won easily, 5-2.
"The result didn't quite go our way. But that's OK, we learned from it," said U.S. defender Chris Richards on Sunday. "Ultimately, we're looking to the game tomorrow as a tough one, but also going into this game with confidence because of what we've done so far in the tournament."
A win would send the U.S. through to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002, which remains the deepest run by an American men's team in the modern era of the World Cup. There, the U.S. would face the winner of Monday's early match between European powerhouses Spain and Portugal.
Yet a U.S. victory — especially one that hinges on Balogun's performance — would surely be dogged by criticism and questions about whether the result was fair, given FIFA's extraordinary intervention.
After Norway advanced to the quarterfinal with a 2-1 win over Brazil on Sunday afternoon, coach Ståle Solbakken called the decision to allow Balogun to play "a big mistake by FIFA."
"What about the next red card? What happens then? Is there going to be some committee somewhere that is going to take that card away?" he said. "It's a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup."
Copyright 2026 NPR
The Huntington's corpse flowers, one of which is seen here in 2023, are preparing to bloom again.
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FREDERIC J. BROWN
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AFP via Getty Images
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In this edition:
New-wave swing dancing, the Indiana Fever take on the Sparks, a rare corpse flower double-bloom and more of the best things to do this week.
Highlights:
Stinky and rare, the corpse flower is about to make its annual appearance at the Huntington Gardens. This year there’s a super unusual double bloom, so don’t miss your once-a-year chance to see — er — smell it.
Arguably the biggest name in women’s basketball right now — Caitlin Clark — heads with her Indiana Fever to Crypto.com this week to take on the L.A. Sparks.
Lindy hop your way into America’s 251st year with a night of dancing to some artists you might not think of when it comes to swing music — like David Bowie, Talking Heads, Hall & Oates, George Michael, and even Vampire Weekend and Olivia Dean.
The summer of Wes Anderson in L.A. (this weekend is the two-night Hollywood Bowl celebration) kicks off with a 30th Anniversary screening of Bottle Rocket at the Academy Museum.
The World Cup mania continues, and we’d be remiss to not keep you up-to-date on where to check out all the games — whether that’s watching in person or tuning in. I am almost at my soccer-watching capacity, but I’ll admit this New York Times story about how hosting the World Cup in the Americas means every team is someone’s home team really got me.
Keep the party going post-Fourth with music picks from Licorice Pizza. On Tuesday, the legendary Don Was is at the Lodge Room, indie singer-songwriter Thomas Dollbaum is at the cool all-ages Pasadena venue Healing Force of the Universe, and Souls of Mischief play their first of two nights at Blue Note Los Angeles (they’ll be there Wednesday, too).
Also on Wednesday, Royel Otis plays the Greek, and Kurt Vile plays the Novo, or you can feel like it’s “so yesterday” and fly to the Forum for the amazing early-2000s bill of Hilary Duff with La Roux! That’s happening on Thursday, too.
Wednesday, July 8, 7 p.m. Crypto.com Arena 1111 S Figueroa Street, Downtown L.A. COST: FROM $92; MORE INFO
Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever will be in town this week.
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Andy Lyons
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Getty Images
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Arguably the biggest name in women’s basketball right now — Caitlin Clark — heads with her Indiana Fever to Crypto.com this week to take on the L.A. Sparks. If you need a break from all the soccer (hi, it’s me), swap it for some of the best basketball around.
Smoke Show with Jodie Sweetin
Thursday, July 9, 7:30 p.m. Lyric Hyperion 2106 Hyperion Ave., Silver Lake COST: $17.85; MORE INFO
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The Lyric Hyperion
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Eventbrite
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Full House star Jodie Sweetin heads to camp with comedians Lisa Chanoux, Ify Nwadiwe and Jessica Saul. What started as a Netflix Is a Joke show has grown into a full competition where comedians compete in a series of themed challenges, and the winner is determined by you, the audience. There’s also a short meet-and-greet with Sweetin included.
The corpse flower bloom
Ongoing The Huntington 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino COST: $29; MORE INFO
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Courtesy The Huntington
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Stinky and rare, the corpse flower is about to make its annual appearance at the Huntington Gardens. This year there’s a super unusual double bloom, so don’t miss your once-a-year chance to see — er — smell it. You can even livestream the bloom here. But there are many great reasons to go to the Huntington this summer, smelly flower or not. The third iteration of the museum’s Stories from the Library exhibit recently opened, where visitors will encounter rare materials that examine “how people have made meaning from imperfect objects and from the moon.”
Big Fan with Michael Schur
Tuesday, July 7, 7 p.m. Chevalier Books 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Larchmont COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Mike Schur will be discussing his new book this week.
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Michael Loccisano
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Getty Images
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Fans of Michael Schur’s shows, like The Good Place and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, will want to check out his latest book with Joe Posnanski, Big Fan: Two Friends, 82,490 Miles, and the Wild, Wonderful Sports We Love. In the book, the two friends travel and talk about baseball, basketball, chess, darts, football and many more pastimes. Schur will be at Chevalier’s for a conversation with writer and actor Mike O’Malley (Glee).
Postmodern Swing
Thursday, July 9, 8 p.m. Culver City Foshay Lodge 9635 Venice Blvd., Culver City COST: $14; MORE INFO
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Marina Zvada
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Unsplash
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Lindy hop your way into America’s 251st year with a night of dancing to some artists you might not think of when it comes to swing music — like David Bowie, Talking Heads, Hall & Oates, George Michael, and even Vampire Weekend and Olivia Dean.
Bottle Rocket 30th Anniversary
Monday, July 6, 7 p.m. David Geffen Theater Academy Museum 6067 Wilshire Blvd., Miracle Mile COST: FROM $5; MORE INFO
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Sony Pictures
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FilmGrab
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The summer of Wes Anderson in L.A. (this weekend is the two-night Hollywood Bowl celebration) kicks off with a 30th Anniversary screening of Bottle Rocket at the Academy Museum. The director himself will be there, plus actor Luke Wilson and producer James L. Brooks will also appear. It’s sold out, but there may be standby tickets available day-of.
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Gab Chabrán
covers what's happening in food and culture for LAist.
Published July 6, 2026 5:00 AM
Carne asada tacos, loaded with guac and salsa, and a bottle of house-made jasmine tea — the full Tacos Royale spread.
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Gab Chabrán
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LAist
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Topline:
Tacos Royale, a charcoal-fired Sonoran asada stand that opened in mid-June near the Silver Lake–Echo Park border, is running an In-N-Out playbook — a tight menu, obsessive ingredient sourcing, and cult branding — built on USDA Prime steak and a $7.49 taco. Founder Saúl Pérez García isn't shy about the comparison or the ambition behind it.
Why it matters: On the surface, it's a taco stand in a Sunset Boulevard parking lot. In practice, it's a deliberate bet that L.A. will embrace a premium, design-forward taqueria the way it embraces In-N-Out — discipline and cult loyalty, but at triple the price.
Why now: Barely a month in, Pérez already has regulars returning three and four times a week, and his sights are set well beyond Sunset — he wants to grow to be akin to "the 10% of In-N-Out," some 80 locations across America, drive-thrus and all, while keeping the operation family-owned and never franchised. Whether L.A. will pay premium prices for an everyday taco is the open question.
At the intersection of Sunset and Rampart, on the Silver Lake/Echo Park border, a taco stand is attempting to run an In-N-Out playbook with Sonoran asada.
This is Tacos Royale, and it may be the most ambitious taco in Los Angeles right now — a tight menu, total ingredient obsession, and cult branding, down to the red-and-yellow, lowrider-script on everything. Founder Saúl Pérez García calls it "a fine dining or steakhouse experience in a taco. For $7."
Tacos Royale sets up on Sunset Boulevard near the Silver Lake–Echo Park border, Thursday through Sunday.
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Elvis Martinez
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Courtesy Tacos Royale
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That's the bet: In-N-Out's discipline and cult devotion, but built on USDA Prime over mesquite instead of a 99-cent burger.
It's only been open since mid-June, Thursdays to Sundays, but his ambition is to create a chain that's as big as "10% of In-N-Out" — about 80 locations across America, drive-thrus and all, family-owned and never franchised.
His background
Pérez is no newcomer to L.A. kitchens. He's a self-taught cook who likes to call himself a "creative entrepreneur." When Pérez is not slinging tacos, he runs his own furniture and interior design business. He's also worked at The Butcher's Daughter in Venice, Ceviche Project, and chef Enrique Olvera's ATLA and then launched the Sinaloa-Chinese mariscos truck La Hija del Marondo at 8th and Grand.
He says the Tacos Royale branding has been carefully crafted. "I'm trying to innovate in a retro brand," Pérez said. "Old-fashioned lettering with a modern Cali style. Traditional, modern Cali taquería."
Even the drinks get the full treatment: house-made coconut horchata, bottled in Tacos Royale's lowrider-script branding.
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Elvis Martinez
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Courtesy Tacos Royale
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He developed the name himself and hired an artist from Mexico City to hand-make the logo, landing somewhere between Southern California lowrider script and the red-and-white, neon-lit taquerías now everywhere in Mexico.
What sets the food apart
Pérez's whole operation runs on two things: "Good meat, good tortilla."
A cook grills carne asada over mesquite charcoal at Tacos Royale, a technique central to the Hermosillo style.
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Elvis Martinez
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Courtesy Tacos Royale
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The tortilla is made privately for Royale by a tortillería in Sylmar, created with his cousin — chef Eloy Aluri from Hermosillo — using an ancestral four-ingredient Sonoran recipe: wheat flour, beef tallow, salt, water. The meat is USDA Prime, cooked low over mesquite charcoal, rested and finished in the pan, never burned.
"If you do a taco with no charcoal, it's not Hermosillo style," he said. Even the salt is sourced: sun-dried Colima sea salt, from Mexico's Pacific coast, which he calls "the purest salt in the world."
USDA Prime steak, grilled over mesquite and finished with Colima sea salt — sourced from Mexico's Pacific coast, which founder Saúl Pérez García calls "the purest salt in the world."
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Elvis Martinez
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Courtesy Tacos Royale
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The OG taco's add-on is the veneno — Sonoran beef cracklings cut from the trim off each Prime chuck roll, slow-fried in beef tallow and finished over charcoal.
"It's beef chicharrón, not pork," Pérez said.
It eats savory first — heavy on salt and smoke — with a faint sweetness from the rendered fat, like beef-flavored peanut brittle seen through the lens of a traditional chicharrón.
Beneath the meat sits a thick layer of "Signature Party Beans" — made with beef tallow, California chile, Peruvian beans, and cheese. Pérez named them for the frijoles de fiesta served at Sonoran celebrations — baptisms, quinceañeras, weddings.
The price question
This isn't cheap: $7.49 a taco, $15.75 a burrito, combos at $24.75. For comparison, an In-N-Out Double-Double runs about $6 — less than a single Royale taco — and a Double-Double combo lands around $11, less than half of Royale's. Pérez makes the case on ingredients: each tortilla costs him about 60 cents, compared to a nickel for a standard one, and his Prime runs roughly three times the price of regular taqueria beef.
"How much are you spending at In-N-Out for a combo?" he said.
He frames Royale as "an affordable luxury taquería" — and points out his customers, the ones returning three and four times a week, aren't looking for the cheapest taco in town. Whether the rest of L.A. agrees is the open question.
Location: 2511 W. Sunset Blvd. Hours: Thursday–Sunday, 6 p.m. to midnight
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, center, at a City Council meeting with Councilmember Megan Kerr, left, and Councilmember Suely Saro, right, in Long Beach on Feb. 20, 2024.
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Thomas R. Cordova
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Long Beach Post
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Topline:
Get out your calculators, Long Beach. It’s budget season, and you have an opportunity to weigh in on how your tax dollars should be spent.
Why it matters: Your voice could be especially important this year as the City Council decides how to close a multi-million dollar deficit that top administrators say will force the first round of serious cuts in years.
Why now: The city on Wednesday released its schedule for adopting the 2027 budget, and it includes five community meetings where you can get up to speed and give feedback.
Read on... for more on the schedule for all the hearings.
Get out your calculators, Long Beach. It’s budget season, and you have an opportunity to weigh in on how your tax dollars should be spent. Your voice could be especially important this year as the City Council decides how to close a multi-million dollar deficit that top administrators say will force the first round of serious cuts in years.
The city on Wednesday released its schedule for adopting the 2027 budget, and it includes five community meetings where you can get up to speed and give feedback.
Wednesday, Aug. 5, 6 – 7:30 p.m. — Virtual (Zoom)
Thursday, Aug. 6, 6 –7:30 p.m. — Charles Lindbergh Middle School Auditorium, 1022 E. Market St.
Saturday, Aug. 8, 10 –11:30 a.m. — Silverado Park Community Center, 1545 W. 31st St.
Monday, Aug. 10, 6 – 7:30 p.m. — Renaissance High School for the Arts Auditorium, 235 E. 8th St.
Thursday, Aug. 13, 6 – 7:30 p.m. — Long Beach City College, Liberal Arts Campus, Room T1200, 4902 E. Carson St.
How the budget works
The budget is one of local government’s most central documents, adopted each September, in which the city projects how much it will spend in the coming year on day-to-day services like policing, firefighting, garbage collection and street lighting, and how it will raise money to pay for them.
Budgets must be balanced — the city cannot spend a dollar unless it has identified a way to bring one in. To cover any deficit, officials must raise revenue, cut expenses or draw from reserves.
The city charter requires that the mayor release his proposed budget by Aug. 2, though it’s expected he will release it on July 30; City Manager Tom Modica will formally present the plan to the City Council on Aug. 4 and council members are expected to adopt the budget on Sept. 8.
Throughout those 40 days, officials and the public will deliberate — or scrutinize — the plan in a series of hearings and listening sessions, inviting department leaders one at a time to make their pitch on what they want and coming out with a final plan on how best to spend a limited amount of money.
Here’s the schedule for all those hearings:
July 28 — Budget Oversight Committee, 1 p.m.
Aug. 4 — Budget Oversight Committee, 1 p.m.
Aug. 4 — Budget Hearing, 5 p.m.: City Manager’s Proposed FY 27 Budget; Human Resources
Aug. 18 — Budget Hearing, 5 p.m.: Health and Human Services; Community Development
Aug. 25 — Budget Oversight Committee, 1 p.m.
Aug. 25 — Budget Hearing, 3 p.m.: Parks, Recreation and Marine; Library, Arts and Culture
Sept. 1 — Budget Oversight Committee, 1 p.m.
Sept. 1 — Budget Hearing, 5 p.m.: Public Works; Proposed Capital Improvement Plan
Sept. 8 — Budget Oversight Committee, 1 p.m.
Sept. 8 — Budget Hearing, 5 p.m.: Budget Adoption
There will be agendas and live-stream links posted here.
What’s at stake this year
It’s a rougher-than-usual time for the city, which last year relied on reserved cash to even out a $40 million deficit. At a City Council meeting in April, the city manager said it’s “going to be a difficult year” and that the shortfall “is going to require general fund service reductions” — the first cuts of that scale since the pandemic.
Reductions, he said, are almost inevitable in 2027, and the council will need to hear out and come to an agreement on what should be cut to return to solvency. Officials projected a $61.3 million deficit this spring, driven by a steep drop in sales, property and utility tax revenue along with flat or diminished state and federal grants. Separately, the city faces pressure from rising payroll costs tied to workplace injuries, sizable liability payouts, and damage and vandalism to public property.
Last year, the city approved a $3.7 billion budget, most of which must go towards specific needs and cannot be used freely. Instead, the bulk of the annual jockeying centers on the city’s $760 million general fund.
More information on the budget process and community meetings is available here.
