The Los Angeles City Council approved a budget of almost $15 billion for the 2026-27 fiscal year, a spending plan promoted by Mayor Karen Bass that prioritizes public safety, addressing the homeless crisis and strengthening the city's financial reserves in the event of possible emergencies.

The budget, valued at approximately $14.9 billion, was approved with 12 votes in favor and one against. The only vote against was that of Councilwoman Traci Park, who criticized that the plan does not allocate enough resources to the Fire Department or basic services in neighborhoods affected by fires and homeless encampments.

The plan maintains Bass's strategy of hiring 510 new officers for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), with the goal of compensating for retirements and resignations.

However, the authorities recognize that the number of police officers will continue to be below pre-pandemic levels: it is projected that by June 2027 the corporation will have about 8,555 agents, compared to the nearly 10,000 that operated in 2020.

During the budget discussion, Park assured that the approved spending “requires Angelenos to accept a slower emergency response, dirtier beaches and greater spending on homeless programs that have failed.” In addition, he also maintained that the City Council is postponing urgent investments in the Fire Department despite the lessons left by the Pacific Palisades fire of 2025, where thousands of homes were destroyed.

In contrast, Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, defended the financial plan, saying, “This budget sends a clear signal that the city is taking its fiscal responsibilities and its future seriously.”

One of the main adjustments made by the Council was to increase the city's reserve funds. The emergency fund increased from $490 million to $515.9 million, while the budget stabilization fund increased from $9 million to $14.5 million. With this, total reserves are equivalent to approximately 9% of general fund revenues, approaching the fiscal goal of 10% established by the city.

The budget also preserves resources for the “Inside Safe” program, Bass' main strategy to address homelessness, in addition to expanding unarmed crisis response teams, safe parking programs for people living in vehicles and urban infrastructure projects such as sidewalk repair, tree trimming and street lighting modernization.

The mayor has defended the budget continuity approach, arguing that the city is beginning to recover after facing a deficit close to $1 billion in 2025.

Bass said in presenting the budget that “we have worked hard to change the direction of Los Angeles on homelessness, public safety and basic services, and this budget builds on that work so we can continue moving forward.”