The Los Angeles City Council made its first move Tuesday toward eliminating hundreds of jobs at the Police Department and other city agencies, while stopping short of a more sweeping plan that would have targeted nearly 1,900 workers.
Facing a projected $675-million deficit, council members agreed to seek new employee furloughs, drain much of the city’s reserve and borrow $150 million to cover the cost of ongoing operations. But they scaled back the portion of the budget-balancing plan devoted to job cuts, identifying 843 positions — three-fourths of them at the LAPD — for possible elimination if other cost savings cannot be found.
The package of budget-balancing measures, which passed on a 13-2 vote, decreased the number of positions targeted at the LAPD from 1,679 to 628 — 355 officers and 273 civilians. Councilmen Joe Buscaino and John Lee voted against the proposals, saying they do not want any LAPD jobs to be contemplated for layoffs.
Tuesday’s decision means that LAPD Chief Michel Moore and top managers in the city attorney’s office, the Animal Services Department and the Bureau of Engineering will need to prepare and submit lists of possible layoffs to personnel officials by Jan. 11, city budget analysts said.
Read the full story on LATimes.com.