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$10.6 Billion Budget Is Largest in L.A. History

Tents and belongings of the homeless line a street in downtown Los Angeles, California on June 25, 2018, as a United Nations report on poverty and inequality says 185 million Americans are living in extreme poverty. - And in Los Angeles, which has one of the nation's largest homeless populations, the mayor said last week people may start getting arrested again for sleeping on the sidewalk now that the city feels it has enough new housing to meet settlement requirements. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)        (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
Tents and belongings of the homeless line a street in downtown Los Angeles, California on June 25, 2018.
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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
)

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This week, the L.A. City Council passed a $10.6 billion budget, the largest in the city's history. Mayor Eric Garcetti said a booming economy is bringing in record revenue, which the city will use to increase funding for things like street repair and police overtime

But he added that these aren’t good times for everyone. Garcetti said he expects that an upcoming count of Angelenos experiencing homelessness will show that more people are living on the streets.

The budget allocated $458 million towards effort to ease homelessness, a slight increase from last year. Some of that new spending will go toward trying to prevent low-income renters from falling into homelessness.

The budget also puts nearly $400 million into reserves, to prepare for the next recession, whenever it might hit.

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