One year ago, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass – then just four months into her term as the city’s top executive – acknowledged that the City of Angels wasn’t where it needed to be but that she was proud of the changes taking place in the nascent days of her administration.
On Monday, April 15, Bass – now into year two of her administration – declared during her second State of the City address that Los Angeles still has “a long way to go” – but that the city “is stronger today because we have made change and disrupted the status quo.”
Disrupting the status quo was the theme of Bass’ roughly 35-minute speech, delivered in the City Council Chamber. It covered a range of topics, from the 2028 Olympics and economic development to homelessness and public safety to city staffing levels and the budget.
Bass highlighted the fact that thousands more Angelenos who were living on the streets found shelter indoors in 2023 – her first year as mayor – compared to in 2022. To date, there have been 48 Inside Safe operations, two of which involved clearing RV encampments.
“For too long, Angelenos have been failed by quick fixes and unhoused people just being shuffled around. Angelenos deserve real solutions, and that means a sea change in the way L.A. approaches homelessness. This means committing to the goal of preventing and ending homelessness — not hiding, not managing, but ending homelessness,” she said to applause.
She referred to Inside Safe as “our proactive rejection of a status quo that left unhoused Angelenos to wait – and die – outside, in encampments until permanent housing was built.”
She then urged Angelenos – the wealthy and philanthropists – to join her administration in support of a new capital campaign called LA4LA to purchase more properties, lower the cost of capital and speed up construction of housing.
The first-term mayor also noted that there were fewer homicides and violent crime incidents in 2023 as compared to in 2022.
And as she spoke of the debt that Angelenos owe to first responders, she took a moment to acknowledge the tragic death Monday morning of Jacob Fuerte, a firefighter recruit who was hit on the 101 Freeway in a possible hit-and-run and said that she had ordered city flags to be flown at half-staff.
“Supporting our sworn personnel is deeply important to me. And the status quo simply cannot protect Angelenos. So we are acting to change it,” she said, noting negotiations over the past year to give raises and other benefits to recruit and retain police officers.
“As a result, we’re attracting record numbers of applicants to the police academy – and my budget for next year maintains our LAPD staffing goals,” Bass said. “We are sending a signal to our current officers and our community partners that we support them – that public safety is a priority for this administration.”
The State of the City address is viewed as a prelude to the unveiling of the mayor’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Bass has until Monday, April 22, to release her proposed 2024-25 spending plan for the city.
Already, city officials have been warned that they’ll need to address a budget deficit brought on by the overspending of $289 million this fiscal year, lower-than-expected revenues, and the need to budget for city employee raises that have been approved or that are anticipated. This includes raises for rank-and-file officers, sergeants, detectives and lieutenants as well as higher-ranking officers in the Los Angeles Police Department, bus drivers and other city workers who have been negotiating new contracts.
In January, the City Council directed all city departments to only fill essential positions moving forward. This month, members of the council’s personnel committee began discussing a proposal to eliminate nearly 2,000 vacant positions that are still on the books.
Bass said during her State of the City that her proposed budget will maintain LAPD’s staffing goals.
She also spoke of the need to pay city workers fair wages.
And she said that her budget will indeed eliminate long-held vacant positions to fix a “flawed” budget process.
During Monday’s State of the City, Bass also brought up the Olympics.
Although L.A.’s turn to host the Olympics is still four years away, “the lasting, 21st Century impact of these games are the billions of media impressions, streaming minutes, and clicks,” she said. “And those will cause billions of new and lasting opinions about L.A. — opinions that will either reflect a land of opportunity and beauty where people should visit and invest — or a city that at best is just getting by on its past glory.”
“So what is the city that we will showcase to the world? It’s the new Los Angeles that we are building together,” she continued.
Bass, who chairs the Metro board, made a plug during her address for the nation’s second-largest transit agency, saying that regional leaders are changing Metro’s approach to safety, cleanliness and customer service.
“This past year Metro accomplished what commuters have dreamed of for years – a regional connector in the heart of our city that links every corner of our region, and bursting with the promise of what’s possible as we expand public transportation in Los Angeles,” she said.
In terms of supporting businesses, Bass noted that the Banc of California, the third largest bank in the state, is relocating from Orange County to L.A., and that an executive directive she issued to support small businesses has spurred economic growth.
“Last year, I told you Los Angeles was open for business — this year, we can say that businesses are coming back,” Bass said.
Bass also announced Monday the creation of a new climate cabinet and other climate-related plans to advance the city’s goal of relying on 100% clean energy by 2035.