Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat elected in November 2022 on a platform of addressing the Los Angeles homelessness epidemic, said on Monday, April 17, that she would propose allocating a "record" $1.3 billion in the next year to help the city's homeless population find permanent housing and access to necessary services.
The mayor's future budget might be utilized to acquire hotels or motels to turn into homes while the city searches its inventory for assets that could house homeless people.
These comments were made four months into the former congresswoman's first term in office, at her annual speech to the City Council on LA's status.
Help for the Homeless
According to Fox News, Mayor Bass noted that the budget would support drug misuse treatment beds for the unhoused, but she did not say how many. She claimed her hallmark program, Inside Safe, gives homeless individuals motel rooms and a road to permanent housing with support for over 1,000 registrants.
She said Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom had pledged 500 temporary housing units to the city, and the Biden administration has given the city and county over $200 million for homeless initiatives.
Bass' optimism is typical for a first-term mayor, but it masks mounting obstacles that might change her time in office.
In November 2022, Bass beat wealthy businessman Rick Caruso to become LA's first Black female mayor. She focused on ending homelessness, lowering crime, and building affordable homes for working families.
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City's Homeless Expenditures
Since former Mayor Eric Garcetti approved a 2021 budget with almost $1 billion in homeless expenditures, the homeless population has grown. Bass' dilemma is visible in most neighborhoods: homeless individuals living in trash-strewn encampments or rusting RVs along roadways, beneath underpasses, and near highway exits.
Over 40,000 citywide homeless people have drug or alcohol addictions, and roughly a third have major mental problems. Every day, five homeless people die.
Concern About Potential Tax Revenue Reduction
Though economists disagree, AP News said others predict a recession that may cut municipal tax income at a time when Bass is increasing homeless expenditures.
City Controller Kenneth Mejia's report also noted the need to restore aging streets and sidewalks and raise retiree pension expenses, which currently consume fully 15% of the city's general fund budget.
Car thefts and shootings are on the rise as police manning has decreased. Bass warned that the number of police personnel might fall to below 9,000 - an average not seen since 2002.
Bass said her budget for the year starting July 1 calls for hundreds more cops, a recruiting push, and incentives. It also funds a team of social workers and clinical psychologists to respond to emergency calls without police officers.
