In her second State of the City address, Mayor Karen Bass attempted to strike a balance between optimism and realism while addressing many issues affecting Los Angeles.
“We still have a long way to go, Los Angeles,” she said. “But let me start by saying: The state of our city is stronger today because we have made change and disrupted the status quo.”
During her annual address, Bass discussed issues top of mind for many Angelenos: safety, the homeless crisis, the Olympics and the city’s budget deficit. Although she will announce the budget proposal in a few days, Bass made it a point to protect her goal of hiring officers for the LA Police Department and keeping public safety as a priority.
“Supporting our sworn staff is very important to me,” she said. “The status quo simply cannot protect Angelenos. We are taking action to change this… My budget for next year maintains our LAPD staffing goals.”
Bass also indicated that she will continue to support her “Inside Safe” program. She claimed it saved lives and asked former homeless residents and those who helped them to stand during the speech.
Despite touting her success, she asked the public to make donations and help LA buy or lease buildings that could be used to get people off the streets. She said, “We will not hide people; we will house them.”
“We are asking the most fortunate Angelenos to join this effort with personal, private and philanthropic funds to help us acquire more properties, lower the cost of capital and accelerate housing delivery,” Bass said. “This is the mission of our new capital campaign ‘LA4LA.'”
The mayor spoke about the consequences beyond the human toll of leaving people on the streets.
“The costs for stores and restaurants whose customers stay away out of fear,” Bass says. “The costs if no tourists come to visit. The costs if the office and their employees leave the city center.”
In Bass’s first year, she negotiated a salary deal for LAPD. The City Council will soon vote on pay increases for civilian city workers. However, Bass said that in order to free up money, the city would eliminate hundreds of vacant positions.
‘If we want to house people; if we want to keep our city safe; “If we want to fix our streets, we must pay our workers fairly,” she said.
Finally, she assured me that the city would be ready for the World Cup in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028. However, she and the council members agreed that getting there would involve brutal choices.
“Look at a deficit that could be $700 to $800 million — that’s a big deficit,” said Councilman Bob Blumenfield. I have faced large deficits before, both here at the city level and when I chaired the State Budget Committee. I know we can handle it, but it means difficult choices.”
