Rabbi Amy Bernstein offered a prayer before the Mayor gave her State of the City speech.
Palisades KI Rabbi Amy Bernstein was one of three spiritual leaders who offered a prayer before the Mayor’s State of the City Speech in City Hall on April 21. She spoke about the source of life, strength and hope at this time, just like ancestors during Passover in ancient Egypt. “Many of us have nothing,” she said. “Give us the strength to go forward . . .may we rebuild . . may we come out of this stronger.”
President of the Los Angeles City Council Marqueece Harris Dawson introduced the 43rd Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass.
Despite Bass’ optimism during her speech, the picture was grim. L.A.City is facing a $1 billion shortfall.
The synopsis: it’s time to take away the credit cards and perks, including raises for labor unions, and slash essential services for all Angelinos, except the homeless, because there is no money.
But before L.A. Mayor Karen Bass actually has to give pink slips to 1,700 city workers, she’s making one last-ditch attempt and going to Sacramento to ask for money.
How did L.A. end up in this financial freefall? Simple math. More money is going out than coming in.
Projected revenue is down. About 35 percent of revenue comes from hotel and property taxes. One of the areas contributing a large share of property taxes to the City’s coffers was Pacific Palisades. Unfortunately, because of the mismanagement of a fire, compounded by extreme Santa Ana winds, there is no community of Palisades left to pay into the city piggy bank.
It makes sense to get this community back online as soon as possible and Bass announced that she is calling on the Council to pass an ordinance to waive all plan check and permit fees for those rebuilding.
CTN contacted the Mayor’s office this afternoon and asked when Palisadians could anticipate the Council passing the ordinance. (When there is a response, the story will be updated.)
In early stories, CTN was told rebuilding fees/permits could range from $40,000 to $80,000, which are hefty for people who have lost everything and who are also fighting for insurance money.
“We must reform how are city works,” Bass said and announced two new initiatives designed to further accelerate rebuilding. A self-certification program that will reduce redundancy in the planning process.
“We will use AI-technology to accelerate and support the City’s Plan Check Review process,” she said and noted if those programs are successful, they could be expanded citywide.
Bass spoke about the importance of a public-private partnership with JJ Rednick and Steadfast in rebuilding the Palisades Park and Recreation Center.
She thanked the Army Corp of Engineers for their rapid and efficient debris removal and called the wildfire recovery in the Palisades on track to be the fastest in California history.
Mayor Karen Bass promised to ask the Council to pass an ordinance to waive permit/building fees for Pacific Palisades residents impacted by the Palisades Fire. during her speech in City Hall.
WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING?
Costs have increased with large liability payouts anticipated that $320 million being paid this year.
Labor contracts added $259 million in costs. According to Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, “eighty-five to 90 percent of the city’s budget is labor costs.”
To save money, Bass has proposed consolidating the departments of Aging, Economic and Workforce Development, and Youth Development into the Community Investment for Families Department.
She has also wanted to reduce governmental bureaucracy saying that a single street repair could involve up to 10 different departments. “This is a broken system that we have to fix,” she said.
POLICE/CRIME:
It was not a good day to highlight the reduction in crime. A vandal, armed with a chainsaw cut down several mature trees and left them lying in the road at Hope and Ninth Street, Grand Avenue and Fifth Street, Broadway and Cesar Cavez Avenue and Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street over the weekend.
On the positive side: Bass said homicides fell 14% and gang-related homicides fell 45%. Citywide Property Crimes, which includes Burglary, Motor Vehicle Theft, Theft from Motor Vehicle, and Theft, decreased by -7,259 crimes (109,025 Property Crimes in 2023). Burglaries decreased by -1,092 crimes (15,340 Burglaries in 2023). Motor Vehicle Thefts (MVT) decreased by -1,963 crimes (26,827 MVTs in 2023).
LAPD Chief of Police Jim McDonnell was hired by Bass in October and as of the end of November 2024, LAPD reported a four-year-high of applications to join the LAPD. But that department is expected to shrink from 8,733 to 8,639 officers next year.
FIRE DEPARTMENT:
According to city officials, the Fire Department will see an increase of funding by 12.7%, adding 277 new positions. This will include pickup trucks with a small water tank, hose and medical supplies that can respond to the increasing number of calls for help from unhoused people.
HOMELESSNESS:
About one third of all city fires are caused by the homeless, according to data from the fire department.
But with encampments driving emergency calls, Mayor Bass feels something must be done because financially it is unsustainable to continue to transport people to ERs. (That sentiment was articulated in a 2006 New Yorker story “Million-Dollar Murray,” which advocated housing first. That policy only seems to be effective if it is combined with social workers, nurses, psychiatrists and vocational and substance abuse counselors who are available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day to the people enrolled.)
“The homeless crisis is a humanitarian crisis,” Bass said. “We must figure out how to prevent Angelinos from ending up on streets.”
The homeless budget still remains one of the city’s largest line items.
The budget is not final. City Council must consider and approve the budget by June 1, 2025.
City Hall was packed with city officials and other dignitaries to hear L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ State of the City Address.
What does “self certification” mean? Mayor Bass mentioned this along with waiving of permit fees …
The same thing happened to me, but with utility bills. My landline phone bill continued even though my house burned down and had no electricity, water, or gas. The Department of Water and Power was going to charge me for water usage after January 7, 2025. I had to remind them that the house no longer exists—you can’t bill for water that was never used.
As for the telephone company, I’ve reminded them many times that I no longer have service. They assured me more than once that it would be fixed “by 2 p.m.” That was weeks ago. Meanwhile, they continue to send bills—including past due notices—for a service I cannot possibly use.
You might think that Mayor Bass would offer to take a cut in salary. However, that might not allow her to bring souvenirs back from Ghana…
Great article. Lovely connection between the rabbi’s words and permit fee waivers.
I truly believe that the Palisades will rebuild and come back stronger.
The homeless crisis is a different story. You’ll never fix the problem if you keep misdiagnosing the root cause. Our streets have a drug problem. People with scattered and damaged brain cells as a result of illicit drug consumption will never be “housed”. It’s absolutely impossible. Not once did I hear her say the word “drugs” in her speech. Drug laws need to be enforced and carried out. If this simple fact is not acknowledged, then nothing will ever change.