The Brief

When Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass unveiled her proposed city budget for the next fiscal year, the most dramatic part was that it would eliminate more than 2,100 vacant city jobs.

If approved by the City Council, it would be the largest reduction of city positions since the Great Recession.

Cutting those vacant positions — many of which would come from the ranks of people who maintain city streets and parks — is necessary to deal with shrinking revenue and growing labor costs, Bass said.

And it would save an estimated $180 million.

“We are not reducing any services,” the mayor said last week during an appearance on LAist’s Airtalk program.

But not everybody agrees.

"Unfortunately, virtually every department will be hit with reductions in their ability to deliver current (and future) services," Deputy City Controller Rick Cole said in a statement released last week on the day Bass announced her $12.8 billion budget.

He continued: "Today, departments are coping with the record high level of vacancies with unsustainable levels of overtime by existing staff, temporary work-arounds and deferral of lower-priority work that cannot be indefinitely postponed.”

It's unclear to what extent city services would be affected by the mayor’s budget proposal, but at minimum the spending plan would remove some of the financial flexibility now enjoyed by general managers.

A 'cushion' for other budget priorities

In introducing her spending plan, Bass said it comes “amidst national, state and local economic uncertainty driven by broad economic trends and the coming national election.”

Under the proposal, 417 positions in the Bureau of Street Services would be axed — the most of any city agency. The bureau fills potholes and fixes sidewalks, among other things.

The Recreation and Parks Department would lose 307 positions, the Sanitation Department would lose 250 jobs and the Transportation Department would lose 137 posts.

It isn’t just about city authorities choosing not to fill a vacant job. Eliminating those positions means department managers would lose part of their respective budgets — and possibly lowering the chances of getting that money back in the future. In the case of the Bureau of Street Services, the agency would lose about $34 million in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The way it works now, department heads sometimes use the money earmarked for vacant positions for other needs, like paying employees overtime. The Los Angeles Police Department, for example, regularly uses money allocated for vacant positions to cover for officer overtime. (None of the department’s vacant positions would be eliminated under the mayor’s proposed budget.)

It’s a “cushion to fund other priorities,” according to Miguel Santana, who served as the city’s chief administrative officer from 2009 to 2017. He explained that money that doesn’t get used in one budget cycle gets “swept” into the following fiscal year.

Sometimes those other priorities are important and sometimes they are on the “nice-to-have list,” he said.

But carrying that money over from one year to the next is not good budgeting, Santana said.

“Having huge vacancies is not generally a smart practice — especially if you know you can’t fill those vacancies,” he said. “It doesn’t show a true reflection of what it costs to run the city operations.”

He also said carrying so many vacancies on the books doesn’t give department managers any incentive to become more efficient.

Why the jobs are going away

The city has been unable to fill thousands of vacant positions for a variety of reasons, including a tight labor market, lower interest in government public service and slow hiring processes.

Vacancies in the city also grew during the pandemic.

A decade ago, the vacancy rate for city jobs was 10%, excluding the Department of Water and Power, L.A. World Airports, and the Harbor Department. Just before the pandemic, it was 11%.

Today, there is a 17.4% vacancy rate citywide, or 9,786 unfilled positions, according to a September report by L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia.

Cole said each of these positions is important to a well-functioning L.A.

"Eliminating needed positions just because they are currently vacant will create an ongoing hole in the ability of virtually every department to maintain today’s level of services," he said in the statement.

But managers can always ask the mayor and City Council to put jobs back on the books, Santana said, adding eliminating vacant positions is not unusual.

“It is not uncommon — particularly during periods of financial constraints,” he said.

Former City Controller Wendy Greuel praised the mayor’s move to wipe out vacant positions.

“I have been impressed that the mayor has shown that she is fiscally responsible,” Greuel said. “It allows her to look specifically at positions and those that are not important.”

The City Council plans to conduct a series of hearings on the mayor’s budget in the coming weeks. The first of those hearings, in front of the council’s Budget, Finance and Innovation Committee, is scheduled for Tuesday.

L.A. County leaders on Tuesday greenlit public transparency about payouts to county executives in response to LAist revealing a secretive $2 million settlement with the county’s CEO.

County supervisors unanimously approved a proposal by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath to have the county proactively inform the public about such settlements once they’re finalized and to look into creating a public website to describe them.

Among other things, the approved motion requires that all future settlements with county executives include language making it clear the agreement will be proactively disclosed to the public.

The backstory

The directive cited coverage by LAist revealing that two months ago, county CEO Fesia Davenport had quietly gotten a $2 million settlement payment from the county. As reported by LAist, Davenport’s settlement deal was labeled “confidential” and was not publicly reported out by the county.

The settlement was in response to her claims the supervisors harmed her reputation and caused her distress by putting a measure before voters — which was approved — that will create an elected county executive position. It’s among multiple reforms to restructure county government under last year’s voter-approved proposition, known as Measure G.

Davenport did not return a message for comment.

‘Public trust’ cited

“Transparency is central to strengthening public trust, without exception,” Horvath said in a statement after Tuesday’s vote. “Since joining the board, I have actively taken steps to ensure the public is included in the work of the county, especially concerning the use of public funds.

“Creating a clear process for department executive settlements is a commonsense action fundamental to good governance.”

David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition, commented on the decision, calling transparency the "oxygen of accountability in government."

“There is no reason why the county should not be proactive about posting and disclosing settlements that have been reached, especially with former executives or staff,” Loy said.

Davenport was one of several county executives to receive sizable settlement payouts over the past few years. Four additional county executives received payouts, according to Davenport’s claims that led to her settlement.

Costco now is one of the largest companies to sue the Trump administration over tariffs, hoping to secure a refund if the Supreme Court declares the new import duties illegal.

The Supreme Court is weighing the future of President Donald Trump's tariffs on nearly all imports. Justices seemed skeptical about their legality during last month's oral arguments. Lower courts previously had found Trump improperly used emergency economic powers to set most of the new levies.

Dozens of companies across industries have filed lawsuits to seek refunds in the event the Supreme Court finds Trump's tariffs illegal. The list includes makeup giant Revlon, the canned foods maker Bumble Bee and Kawasaki, which makes motorcycles and more. Now Costco has joined the queue.

"This is the first time we're seeing big companies take their heads out of the sand publicly," said Marc Busch, a trade law expert at Georgetown University. For the most part, small companies have been leading the legal action against tariffs, he said, adding, "It's nice to finally see some heavyweights joining in the fray."

In its suit filed with the U.S. Court of International Trade, Costco did not specify how much it's already paid in tariffs, but the retail giant worries that even if the Supreme Court eventually unravels Trump's tariff regime, it may not be able to recoup all that money.

Costco executives in May had said that about a third of what is sold in the U.S. comes from abroad, predominantly non-food items.

NPR's Scott Horsley contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 NPR

The L.A. City Council voted 8-4 on Tuesday to continue allowing the Los Angeles Police Department to be armed with 40 mm foam bullet launchers and tear gas.

California law enforcement agencies are required to track and publicly document how they use military equipment, including less-lethal bean bag shotgun rounds, drones and armored vehicles, under state law AB 481 passed in 2022. The law also requires city leaders to approve or disapprove military equipment use annually. That vote came in front of the council Tuesday.

Another law passed after the George Floyd protests of 2020 restricted the use of crowd-control weapons, including tear gas and foam bullets, unless specific criteria are met. In 2020, a federal judge also imposed an injunction restricting LAPD’s use of force at protests, citing the “unfortunate history of civil rights violations by LAPD officers.”

Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez — who introduced an amendment asking city leaders to ban the LAPD’s use of 40 mm foam bullet launchers and tear gas — said military equipment use is allowed only in specific instances but that the police department has deployed the weapons “in ways that should make everyone here on this body pause.” He cited examples of weapons used against journalists and protesters during this summer’s protests against federal immigration activity in L.A.

“In recent months, we’ve watched this equipment deployed in ways that echo the same intimidation tactics we condemn in ICE raids — tactics that erode trust and violate basic legal protections,” he said. “Our residents should be able to exercise their rights without being met with [foam] bullets or tear gas.”

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell countered that such weapons are "a de-escalation tool, short of using deadly force. The last thing we want to use is deadly force."

He continued: "Taking a tool like this away from us puts us in a very bad position relative to city liability and relative to protecting our officers and the public that we serve.”

In 2024, Los Angeles was liable for more than $50 million in payouts related to civil rights violations and unlawful use of force by the LAPD, according to the city controller’s office.

 ”Rather than be swayed by emotion or swayed by the loud voices of a relative few," McDonnell said Tuesday, "we're here to protect 4 million residents of Los Angeles and all the visitors who come here."

How we got here

After this summer’s anti-ICE protests, the LAPD once again came under scrutiny for its use of foam bullet launchers and tear gas.

An LAist investigation found LAPD used crowd-dispersal tools on people who did not appear to pose a threat and, in some cases, did not appear to be protesting at all. LAist reporters witnessed LAPD officers firing less-lethal munitions into crowds and at protestors running away from police. They did not hear clear warnings about the use of crowd-dispersal weapons during some of the protests and could not locate evidence that adequate warning was provided during subsequent protests.

But at Tuesday’s council meeting, McDonnell said, these weapons are deployed as “a last resort to be able to restore order” and after people have been given time to leave.

The Los Angeles Press Club sued the LAPD after June’s protests, citing violations of journalists’ rights while covering protests. After a judge issued an injunction in that case prohibiting the use of force against journalists, the LAPD filed an emergency motion asking the judge to lift the injunction, stating it required “operationally impracticable standards.” The judge denied the LAPD’s request.

How to watchdog your police department

One of the best things you can do to hold officials accountable is pay attention.

AB 481 requires police departments — including those at transit agencies, school districts and university campuses, sheriff’s departments, district attorney’s offices and probation departments — to provide reports about the use of military equipment.

So how do you know if they're in compliance? It’s simple. Search for the law enforcement agency name and "AB 481" on any search engine, and a public page should pop up. Here’s the LAPD’s.

The city of Los Angeles has been working on major changes to its charter, which is basically the city’s constitution. The changes could bring sweeping reform to how the city works.

The Los Angeles City Charter Reform Commission has been meeting for several months on a wide range of topics, including City Council expansion, ranked-choice voting systems and land-use planning changes.

“It is weedy. It is academic. But the charter touches Angelenos’ everyday lives,” said Raymond Meza, who chairs the commission.

This week, the commission will host a town hall meeting in Echo Park in an effort to get more people involved in the process. It will take place outside on the northeast lawn of the park — weather permitting.

Despite getting a slow start, the commission is hosting multiple meetings in an effort to meet an April 2 deadline to submit proposals to the City Council. It’ll be up to the council to decide whether to place reform proposals on the ballot next November.

The commission has broken reform down into four subject areas, with committees for each.

They are:

• planning and infrastructure
• government structure
• better government
• personnel and budget

“We’re in an exciting moment,” said David Levitus of L.A. Forward, an advocacy group.

“Looking at the charter for reform is long overdue”

Reform Commission

The L.A. City Council created the commission last year after a series of scandals rocked City Hall. Former Councilmember Jose Huizar went to prison on federal corruption charges and secret audio tapes revealed backroom dealing on redistricting.

The panel is made up of four appointees by Mayor Karen Bass, two by the council president and two by the president pro tempore. Those eight selected an additional five through an open application process.

On Thursday, the full commission is expected to take up proposals for a two-year budget cycle and an expedited city hiring process. Advocates of the changes say extending budget planning from one to two years will allow city leaders to better anticipate spending and revenue.

They say the city hiring process is slow and byzantine.

Meza said the Echo Park meeting Saturday is an opportunity for members of the public to learn more about the process and speak at length with commissioners.

“We absolutely want to hear from people what is important to them as residents of the city of Los Angeles when it comes to their expectations of their city government," he said.

How to get involved

For a list of all upcoming meetings, go here.

To submit a public comment, you can email reformLAcharter@lacity.org.

There’s also a survey on the commission’s website at reformlacharter.lacity.gov.