Critics Attack Mayor’s Budget

Department managers warned of closed playgrounds and diminished code enforcement as Los Angeles City Council members began their review of Mayor James K. Hahn’s $5.35-billion proposed budget Monday.

Council members sharply questioned the mayor’s plans to balance the budget using $5.8 million from a business tax trust fund, saying the city had promised the business community that that money would be used to reform the city’s system of business taxes.

Councilman Tony Cardenas called it a “disingenuous thing for the mayor’s office to do,” and said he would fight to restore the money.

Last week, Hahn unveiled his spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1. He said his budget makes public safety a priority and pays for a modest increase in police and neighborhood services despite nearly $80 million in cuts. As he drafted the spending plan, the mayor was forced to grapple with a shortfall of nearly $300 million, caused in part by a shift in property tax money to state coffers, and higher pension fund payments and personnel costs.

Now, it is the City Council’s turn to consider the budget, holding four weeks of hearings before voting on a final spending plan at the end of May.

As the council’s Budget and Finance Committee waded into deliberations, Chief Legislative Analyst Ron Deaton issued a report warning that Hahn’s budget actually relies on $254 million in one-time revenue sources, such as money from grants, not the $189 million outlined by the mayor. If Hahn’s spending plan is adopted, Deaton warned, the projected shortfall in 2005-06 would be “a staggering $294 million.”

Hahn told council members Monday that there was no quick fix to the city’s finances, but that his budget plan put the city on the right path.

Council members said they would keep an open mind. But several also expressed concern that the city’s financial picture could worsen if the state takes more money from local governments to balance its own budget.

“It’s not a pretty picture,” said Councilman Bernard C. Parks.

In written reports to the budget committee, meanwhile, department managers pleaded for more money and warned of potential service cuts if they were forced to live within the spending plans set for them by the mayor’s office.

Officials from the Department of Recreation and Parks said they might be able to clean park grounds only once a week, that tennis courts could fall into disrepair, and that some playgrounds might have to be closed.

The Department of Building and Safety warned that it wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demand for code enforcement. “Inadequate staffing has made it very difficult to provide timely and quality service which affect construction quality, building safety and the economic growth of the city,” officials wrote in a report to the committee.

Meanwhile, police officials revealed that the opening of the North Valley police station in Pacoima could be delayed. Construction was to be completed in December, but now may not be finished until February.

I’m pretty upset,” said City Council President Alex Padilla. “The Valley has waited long enough for this already.”