One hundred days into President Trump's second term, DOGE hasn't delivered on its promised savings, efficiency or transparency in meaningful ways. But it has amassed unprecedented power over data.
Where things stand: Elon Musk's vision of DOGE taking a chainsaw to government spending has hit repeated snags and many of DOGE's initiatives have been reversed or delayed after legal setbacks and backlash in the court of public opinion.
What's next: Last week, Elon Musk said he would spend less time on DOGE and focus on Tesla, as the 130-day clock on his appointment as a "special government employee" runs down. "The DOGE team has made a lot of progress in addressing waste and fraud," he said.
Read on ... for more about how a meme became a force in government.
When President Trump returned to the White House in January, he promised to "restore competence and effectiveness" to the federal government by establishing a Department of Government Efficiency.
In the lead-up to his inauguration, DOGE evolved from a meme to an outside commission to a White House office given carte blanche to upend the executive branch in the name of combating perceived waste, fraud and abuse.
Last week, Musk said he would spend less time on DOGE and focus on Tesla, as the 130-day clock on his appointment as a "special government employee" runs down. "The DOGE team has made a lot of progress in addressing waste and fraud," he said.
In an interview with TIME last week, Trump called DOGE a "very big success." "We found hundreds of billions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse," he said. "It's a scam. It's illegal, in my opinion, so much of the stuff that we found, but I think DOGE has been a big success from that standpoint."
Despite those claims, 100 days into Trump's second term, DOGE has not delivered on its promised savings, efficiency or transparency in meaningful ways.
Musk's vision of DOGE taking a chainsaw to government spending has hit repeated snags. An initial savings goal of $2 trillion was lowered to $1 trillion before being downgraded again recently to $150 billion — less than a tenth of Musk's original promise. Even that number may be difficult to reach, given DOGE's history of inaccurate and overstated claims combined with Trump's desire to shield spending on Social Security and Medicare, which are major drivers of the federal budget.
Many of DOGE's initiatives have been reversed or delayed after legal setbacks and backlash in the court of public opinion. Since Jan. 20, dozens of federal lawsuits have challenged DOGE's activities or mentioned its actions, according to NPR's review of district court dockets across the U.S.
Still, DOGE has already reshaped the federal government in significant ways — and is amassing unprecedented power over government data. With Trump's blessing, Musk's group has tried to grant itself virtually unfettered access to the most sensitive personal and financial systems the federal government maintains.
From a meme to the White House
DOGE's very genesis was marked by inefficiency: A week after the November election, Trump announced the entity would be co-led by Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate.
"Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Not only did DOGE have two leaders, they had competing visions of how to accomplish its goal. Ramaswamy pushed to work through the courts and Congress, WIRED and The Washington Post reported. But by Inauguration Day, Ramaswamy had left and Musk's version prevailed: directly reshaping the federal bureaucracy through mass firings, similar to what he did when he bought Twitter in 2022, and by seizing control of technology across agencies.
While DOGE was originally described as operating outside the government — a sort of blue-ribbon commission that would make recommendations — an executive order Trump signed on his first day in office gave DOGE a home in the White House and a mandate for direct action.
Musk speaks alongside President Trump in the Oval Office on Feb. 11.
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Andrew Harnik
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But the DOGE spelled out by Trump's order and the DOGE that has embedded itself across and beyond the executive branch share few similarities, NPR's reporting over the first 100 days of the administration has found.
Some agencies have upwards of a dozen DOGE-affiliated personnel, while others have just one or two. A small number of DOGE-linked staffers have been working at multiple federal agencies at the same time.
DOGE's nebulous organizational structure extends beyond rank-and-file employees: Musk's role as the de facto head of DOGE has been touted by the White House but downplayed by Justice Department lawyers when legally expedient. Still, Trump has repeatedly described Musk as leading DOGE, and the bulk of its work has been in service of Musk's stated goal to dramatically slash the federal deficit by the Sep. 30 end of the fiscal year.
'Savings' claims were off from the start
There's little evidence to support the claim that DOGE is saving agencies significant money or changing the fact that the federal government spends more money than it collects — mainly on non-discretionary programs like Medicaid and Social Security. In fact, as of March 31, government spending is up 10% from the same period last year while revenue is only up 3%, leading to a 23% increase in the deficit, according to Treasury Department data.
Even after Musk's latest downward revision of DOGE's savings goal to $150 billion, that number is unlikely to be reached.
As of late April, out of $160 billion in claimed savings, DOGE's "wall of receipts" has data to account to just $63 billion in purported claims.
The five contract cancellations with the most claimed savings, accounting for nearly $7.5 billion in the DOGE tracker, actually amount to just under $1 billion in potential savings. They include a contract that was never awarded, one that was already terminated and another that doesn't appear to be canceled at all, as DOGE continues to use misleading math.
Cutting contracts and stopping spending
NPR's reporting shows the contracts DOGE has terminated and spending it has frozen largely reflect policy disagreements with the Biden administration rather than waste, fraud or abuse. In some cases, DOGE targeted spending on the types of software modernization and efficiency efforts that its mandate claims to support. It eliminated 18F, a tech unit inside the General Services Administration that helped improve digital services across agencies, including developing the IRS' free online tax-filing software.
According to the DOGE tracker, many of the contracts terminated would not actually result in any money saved.
Protesters gather on the National Mall for the "Hands-Off" protest against the Trump administration on April 5.
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Dominic Gwinn
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AFP via Getty Images
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Federal employees say it appears little thought has been given to many of the cuts beyond trying to reach Musk's savings target.
"They are roving in search of cuts they can put up on their wall to get that number up, whether it's cutting staff, contracts, leases, grants, programs, offices, whatever," said one General Services Administration worker who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from the Trump administration.
An opening salvo haphazardly targeted tens of thousands of workers still in probationary periods because they had recently been hired or promoted into new roles.
While challenges to those terminations have worked their way through the legal system, some agencies have said court-ordered reinstatement caused "significant administrative burdens." The Supreme Court and a federal appeals court paused those rulings this month, clearing the way for firings to continue.
Then there was the "fork in the road" resignation offer for federal employees to get paid through September without having to work, similar to a push Musk made after taking over Twitter. Some workers who accepted the offer have since been told they can't actually take it.
A terminated federal worker leaves the offices of the U.S. Agency for International Development in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28 after being laid off following Trump's order to cut funding to the agency. That decision that was driven by DOGE's work.
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Bryan Dozier
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A Department of Agriculture employee, who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation in their job, was approved to take the resignation offer and was supposed to go on administrative leave on May 1. On Apr. 23, the employee received an email notifying them their job was considered "mission critical" and asking them to "reconsider their enrollment." They still plan to resign.
"At this point, it's their loss after firing [probationary employees], rehiring, uncertainty, mental anguish, being kept in the dark about decisions that affect your livelihood," the employee said. "It isn't fair to Americans because we will all feel the effects of agencies that can't run effectively, but that's not my fault. It's the fault of the decision makers."
At some agencies, workers say the number of people who are leaving, between firings, buyouts and early retirements, is affecting the government's ability to provide services to the public.
"People are dropping like flies in terms of those who are eligible for retirement," said an employee at the Internal Revenue Service, to whom NPR granted anonymity because they fear retaliation from the Trump administration. "That makes a lot of work for everyone else, especially since they can't hire. So many people can't do their jobs because of the lack of people."
"Extreme levels of fraud" — but no proof
Another Musk-driven initiative asked employees to send weekly emails to the Office of Personnel Management outlining five things they accomplished. Those emails sparked confusion among workers and Cabinet officials who gave conflicting guidance on whether their employees should comply. Musk and Trump claimed the email was meant to identify federal workers who don't actually exist — an allegation for which they provided no evidence.
"We think there are a number of people on the government payroll who are dead, which is probably why they can't respond, and some people who are not real people. Like, there are literally fictional individuals that are collecting paychecks," Musk said in a February Cabinet meeting.
Musk has similarly claimed, without providing proof, that the Social Security system is plagued by "extreme levels of fraud," including benefits checks going to dead people and recipients who are impossibly listed as well over 100 years old in the SSA database. His claims have been debunked by the Social Security Administration's inspector general and its acting commissioner, Leland Dudek.
Nowhere to work and nothing to work with
Federal workers who still have jobs have been ordered back into offices, only to face shortages of desks, internet bandwidth, and even toilet paper. Dozens of workers across multiple agencies told NPR the return to office mandate has made them less productive and flies in the face of previous efforts to encourage telework, including under Trump's first term, which the federal government estimates has saved hundreds of millions of dollars in reduced costs.
"The goal of remote work and telework was to bring down the taxpayer burden, to be more efficient," said a Food and Drug Administration employee who asked to remain anonymous for retribution. The employee was assigned to an office with insufficient space. "This is not sustainable. They are going to have to get bigger spaces," said the employee, who requested anonymity because they feared retribution for speaking publicly.
However, even as the administration has demanded workers return to the office, it's also looking to shrink the federal government's real estate footprint by up to 25%, an NPR analysis found. Some federal employees have been told the offices they are assigned to work in may close in the near future – and some planned closures have been reversed after public outcry.
A 2019 photo of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development building in Washington, D.C. The Trump administration has put the building up for sale as part of its effort to trim the federal government's real estate holdings.
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Alastair Pike
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AFP via Getty Images
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Many workers say their ability to do their jobs is also being stymied by a freeze on government-issued payment cards, which has disrupted their ability to buy supplies and services, book travel, and carry out statutorily mandated work. Routine spending now has to be approved by leadership at some agencies, leading to long delays.
"We are literally jumping for joy over here in our local office because HQ/DOGE has approved our expenses to pump [a] vault toilet at one of our field offices," said one worker at the Bureau of Land Management, who requested anonymity because they fear retaliation from the Trump administration. "It took weeks to get this approved when it was not an issue before."
DOGE in court
While DOGE has changed how the federal government operates, its own work has largely been conducted in secret, with most of the information about its actions coming from court filings.
An NPR review of thousands of pages of filings in federal lawsuits over DOGE's actions finds an alarming pattern across agencies, where DOGE has given conflicting information about what data it has accessed, who has that access and, most importantly, why.
In a case against the Office of Personnel Management, the Treasury Department and Education Department, a federal judge found agencies shared data with DOGE affiliates "who had no need to know the vast amount of sensitive personal information to which they were granted access."
Another judge wrote that DOGE gaining broad access to Social Security data instead of a more narrow approach "is tantamount to hitting a fly with a sledgehammer." In a different case, the court expressed concern that sensitive Treasury Department data was potentially shared outside of the agency, in violation of federal law.
In more than a dozen court cases alleging DOGE illegally accessed sensitive personal and financial data at agencies across the government, filings reveal evidence of DOGE staffers violating data-sharing rules and skirting required training.
Other court documents reveal that a small number of DOGE employees have essentially unlimited access to different federal systems that could be combined to create dossiers about American citizens and noncitizens in violation of privacy laws.
What is DOGE doing with government data?
Concerns about data abuse are not just hypothetical. This month, a whistleblower provided evidence that DOGE may have taken sensitive data from the National Labor Relations Board and hidden its tracks.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have alleged that other whistleblowers have evidence that DOGE is creating a master database of Americans' private information.
Already, DOGE appears to be using its access to disparate datasets, including Social Security records, to advance baseless claims about noncitizen voting and massive fraud within government programs.
Its data access is also being used to further the Trump administration's immigration policies: The Department of Homeland Security announced last week that DOGE helped overhaul an immigration database to serve as "a single, reliable source for verifying non-citizen status nationwide."
As Musk steps back, DOGE's work continues
It's too early to say what the long-term impact of DOGE will have on the federal government. Trump's order gives the temporary DOGE organization a deadline of July 4, 2026 to accomplish its goals.
What is certain is that DOGE has already reshaped the federal workforce: More than 100,000 federal workers have been fired or taken buyouts to leave the civil service so far, though ongoing court battles mean that number is likely to change in the coming months. Add in planned reduction-in-force efforts across agencies and close to 10% of the 2.5 million-person federal workforce could be gone by the end of the fiscal year.
Musk speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on March 24.
Legal and logistical challenges to DOGE's efforts could still block some of its efforts. But in the meantime, changes are already underway that will be hard to unwind, from cutting off funding for scientific research to a reduced foreign policy influence as the U.S. cedes soft power to other countries. Additionally, a number of people who have worked at Musk's companies are installed in key positions at agencies throughout the government.
As for Musk, he said he expects to still spend "a day or two a week" on government work.
"I'll have to continue doing it for, I think, probably the remainder of the president's term, just to make sure that the waste and fraud that we stop does not come roaring back, which will do if it has the chance," he said.
Have information or evidence to share about DOGE's access to data and other activities inside the federal government? Reach out to these authors through encrypted communications on Signal: Stephen Fowler is available at stphnfwlr.25 and Shannon Bond is available at shannonbond.01. Please use a nonwork device. Copyright 2025 NPR
Jorge "Coqui" H. Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on Wednesady to demand the Dodgers not visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.
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J.W. Hendricks
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The LA Local
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Topline:
Less than 24 hours before season opener, longtime Dodgers fans demand the team divest from immigration detention centers and decline the White House visit.
More details: More than 30 people joined Richard Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. “We are demanding that the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together we have the power to make a change.”
Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium.
“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.
Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.
More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team.
“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”
Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”
Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.
Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.
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J.W. Hendricks
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The LA Local
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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers.
“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.
The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants.
The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.
When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a “slap in the face.”
“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”
According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.
“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”
The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place.
Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.
“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.
Destiny Torres
is LAist's general assignment reporter and brings you the top news you need for the day.
Published March 25, 2026 3:38 PM
The warmer weather and high water flow are causing an early outbreak of black flies in the San Gabriel Valley.
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Courtesy SGV Mosquito and Vector Control District
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Topline:
The warmer weather and high water flow are causing an early outbreak of black flies in the San Gabriel Valley, according to officials.
What are black flies? Black flies are tiny, pesky insects that often get mistaken for mosquitoes. The biting flies breed near foothill communities like Altadena, Azusa, San Dimas and Glendora. They also thrive near flowing water.
What you need to know: Black flies fly in large numbers and long distances. When they bite both humans and pets, they aim around the eyes and the neck. While the bites can be painful, they don’t transmit diseases in L.A. County.
A population spike: Anais Medina Diaz, director of communications at the SGV Mosquito and Vector Control District, told LAist that at this time last year, surveillance traps had single-digit counts of adult black flies, but this year those traps are collecting counts above 500.
So, why is the population growing? Diaz said the surge is unusual for this time of year.
“We are experiencing them now because of the warmer temperatures we've been having,” Diaz said. “And of course, all the water that's going down through the river, we have a high flow of water that is not typical for this time of year.”
What officials are doing: Officials say teams are identifying and treating public sources where black flies can thrive, but that many of these sites are influenced by natural or infrastructure conditions outside their control.
How to protect yourself: Black flies can be hard to avoid outside in dense vegetation, but you can reduce the chance of a bite by:
Wearing loose-fitted clothing that covers the entire body.
Wearing a hat with netting on top.
Spraying on repellent, but check the label. For a repellent to be effective, it needs to have at least 15% DEET, the only active ingredient that works against black flies.
Turning off any water features like fountains for at least 24 hours, especially in foothill communities.
See an uptick in black flies in your area? Here's how to report it
SGV Mosquito and Vector Control District Submit a tip here You can also send a tip to district@sgvmosquito.org (626) 814-9466
Greater Los Angeles Vector Control District Submit a service request here You can also send a service request to info@GLAmosquito.org (562) 944-9656
Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control Submit a report here You can also send a report to ocvcd@ocvector.org (714) 971-2421 or (949) 654-2421
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Robert Garrova
explores the weird and secret bits of SoCal that would excite even the most jaded Angelenos. He also covers mental health.
Published March 25, 2026 3:28 PM
Jeremy Kaplan and Florence at READ Books in Eagle Rock.
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Courtesy Jeremy Kaplan
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Topline:
Local favorite mom and pop shop READ Books in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say they’re just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.
The backstory: Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and their shop dog Florence.
What happened? The building where Kaplan and his wife Debbie rent was recently sold and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.
What's next? While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.
Read on... for what small businesses can do.
A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.
Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.
Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.
“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.
But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.
Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.
California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.
Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.
What can small businesses do?
Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.
Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.
“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.
She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.
“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.
Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.
While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.
Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.
Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.
By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.
When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.
“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.
“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”
Kavish Harjai
writes about infrastructure that's meant to help us move about the region.
Published March 25, 2026 3:12 PM
A field team member of the Bureau of Street Lighting installs a solar-powered light in Filipinotown.
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Mayor Bass Communications Office
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Topline:
The Los Angeles City Council approved a plan in a 13-1 vote on Tuesday to send ballots to more than half a million property owners asking if they are willing to pay more per year to fortify the city’s streetlight repair budget, most of which has essentially been frozen since the 1990s. The item still requires L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ signature, but her office confirmed to LAist on Wednesday that she’ll approve it.
Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.
Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.
Near unanimous vote: L.A.City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote on Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.
Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.
How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.
Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired.The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.
Topline:
The Los Angeles City Council approved a plan in a 13-1 vote Tuesday to send ballots to more than a half-million property owners asking if they are willing to pay more per year to fortify the city’s streetlight repair budget, most of which essentially has been frozen since the 1990s. The item still requires L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ signature, but her office confirmed to LAist on Wednesday that she’ll approve it.
Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.
Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.
Near unanimous vote: L.A.City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.
Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.
How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.
Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.
