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LA Mayor Karen Bass and the City Administrative Officer are asking the city's general managers to propose cuts from each department amounting to 5%, for the next fiscal year, 2026-2027.
The memo states that departments should consider “eliminating vacant positions and reducing expense spending prior to proposing the elimination of filled positions.”
The instructions also includes a chart that shows the dollar amounts that a 5% cut would amount to. For example, the fire department it would be $44 million, and for transportation, that target amounts to nearly $10 million. There were no reduction amounts listed for some departments, including the mayor’s office, the City Council, the library department and ethics.
Read the 66-page budget instruction memo dated Oct. 6 here.
Ben Ceja, with the CAO’s Office, provided the memo to The LA Reporter. He also wrote that “in our capacity as staff to the Mayor as she develops the Proposed Budget, the CAO (City Administrative Office) has provided instructions for departmental budget submissions. Consistent with prior years and our discussions with the Mayor's Office, those submissions are intended to include all of the information necessary for the Mayor to make decisions about spending, revenues, and balancing the budget.”
Budget reduction target chart included in the budget instructions for the upcoming year.
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