Mayor Urges Department Cuts

Warning that the city of Los Angeles faces a potential budget deficit of $245 million next year, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called Monday on all department heads to find ways to slash waste and streamline operations.

In a letter to the 34 general managers of city agencies, Villaraigosa spelled out goals for his first budget, which will cover the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006. He asked for savings, but he also wants to find money to expand the police force.

For the first time, the mayor acknowledged that his budget may include some “new sources of revenue,” a phrase that is often used at City Hall to describe tax and fee increases.

A Villaraigosa spokesman declined to explain what the mayor meant by the term and refused to say whether tax increases were being considered.

In recent months, Villaraigosa has talked about seeking a half-cent increase in the county sales tax to pay for more police. Some city officials have said the city should begin charging a direct fee for trash collection.

“He believes we need to identify waste, fraud and inefficiency before we go back to the voters,” said Joe Ramallo, a mayoral spokesman. “But eventually we will need more revenue.”

The mayor wrote that he hopes to find ways to pay for expanded school safety programs, more job training and education aimed at keeping kids out of gangs and more recycling and conservation. He hopes as well to find funds for other measures, such as traffic-light synchronization to reduce congestion.

“Realizing these goals in the face of the city’s complex community and financial challenges will not be easy, but these goals are achievable,” Villaraigosa wrote.

“I challenge you to work with me and my staff to develop fiscally responsible recommendations that will move us toward these goals.”

The mayor, who took office July 1, said his team of city administrators “has also been evaluating potential new sources of revenue.” So far, the team has evaluated 150 “efficiency and revenue” options, the mayor said in the letter, without describing them.

“Departments are to explore and identify new revenue streams that can be used to support city services,” Villaraigosa told the managers.

The mayor also asked managers to determine whether current fees cover the cost of services and to explore charging residents and nonresidents different fees.

In calling on department heads to ask “tough questions,” Villaraigosa urged them to consider such steps as “eliminating obsolete services or those unrelated to my core service priorities,” as well as outsourcing work and merging city offices.

Councilman Bernard C. Parks, chairman of the City Council’s Budget Committee, said he agrees more cuts have to be found, adding that skyrocketing gas prices and other factors are threatening to push the next budget into the red.

“We still have to continue on the course of belt-tightening,” Parks said.