For more than a year, Los Angeles political leaders have expressed concern about the large number of vacant seats in city government, saying the situation is seriously interfering with their ability to serve their constituents.

At one point, some members of the City Council began considering the idea of ​​providing staffing, as the labor shortage affected about one-fifth of the city's positions. recruitment bonus To all new employees.

Now, the impending budget shortfall, driven largely by new raises for civil servants, could force city council members to make sudden U-turns and hold up hiring at many city agencies.in 7 page report City Administrator Matt Szabo, announced last week, also recommended that the city prepare a plan to eliminate all unfilled “non-essential” positions in the city.

Sabo, the city's top financial analyst, declined to say how much vacancies would have to be cut from the budget. He said the city's general fund budget, which covers basic services, currently has more than 2,100 unfilled civilian positions, both critical and non-essential.

In his report, Szabo said the continued fiscal woes are due in part to lower-than-expected tax revenues from the city's general fund, $158 million less than expected for the current budget year. Then he said. He also noted that two new salary arrangements had increased costs. One with LAPD rank-and-file employees and the other with civilian employees represented by the LA City Federation of Labor Unions.

“Given the overall fiscal impact of revenue shortfalls, overspending and the continued risk of economic downturn, the city needs to take immediate action to reduce spending,” he wrote in the report. Ta.

The coalition agreement, which includes seven pay increases over the next five years, has not yet been approved by city council members. If the two countries sign this deal, or a similar deal expected next year, the fiscal gap could widen by up to $400 million in the 2024-25 budget, according to Szabo's report.

“Off-budget spending associated with a coalition government is likely to exceed what many departments can absorb,” he wrote.

Under the proposal, public safety jobs would be considered essential, and police stations, fire departments and health departments would be largely or completely off-limits. Positions related to building inspections, library services, airports, ports, and the Ministry of Water and Power are also exempt as they have a variety of funding sources.

Meanwhile, the push to reduce the workforce could impact agencies that handle urban planning, park maintenance, engineering, city building maintenance, youth development and more, Szabo said.

The City Council's Budget Committee is scheduled to take up Szabo's recommendation on Wednesday, and further discussion is scheduled for Friday's City Council meeting.

So far, the proposal has faced some backlash.

Councilman Hugo Sotomartínez, who sits on the city's Human Resources Committee, opposed the idea that certain positions should be exempt, arguing that all city agencies should be treated the same. That means the council will have to seriously consider cutting the roughly 300 police positions currently vacant, he said.

Sotomartinez said in an interview that voters have very different views on which services are important and which are not. He also argued that the proposed cuts could have been avoided if the City Council had rejected the LAPD's pay raise package last summer.

“That's why I voted no,” he said. “I said, 'If we raise wages outrageously, other bargaining units will demand the same thing.' And that's exactly what's happening.”

Mayor Karen Bass negotiated a contract with the police department last summer that included cost-of-living increases and higher starting salaries for the department, which currently has fewer than 9,000 officers (down about 1,000 over the past five years). Claimed to be helpful. City Council members Nitya Raman, Eunice Hernandez and Soto Martinez voted against the deal, calling it fiscally irresponsible.

Szabo's latest budget report reflects the see-saw nature of the city's hiring decisions in recent years. In 2020, faced with a financial crisis stemming from business closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, the city council agreed to provide up to $80,000 in severance pay to about 1,300 workers.

The following year, the city received a windfall with more than $1.2 billion in COVID-19 relief funding from the federal government. Tax revenues recovered in the months that followed. By 2022, city officials were beginning to realize that rebuilding the city's workforce was a daunting task.

Last year, city human resources officials reported high vacancy rates at agencies that provide street lighting, garbage collection, animal services, urban planning and many other services, with nearly one in five jobs remaining unfilled. reported. City Commissioner Kenneth Mejia said in a separate report that the number is about one in six.

In a statement released Tuesday, Mejia responded to Szabo's report by urging city leaders to develop a five-year strategic plan to address fiscal challenges.

“Without a long-term approach to fiscal consolidation, short-term decisions will plunge Los Angeles into an unrelenting decline in public services, harming residents' quality of life and economic prospects.” said.

Asked about Mejia's comments, Bass spokesman Zach Seidle said, “Theatrical hyperbole and doomsday predictions do not represent the city's current budget situation.” Bass said he believes the city can balance the budget, provide services and pay employees a living wage.

Seidl also defended the decision to give raises to police officers.

“In a city of over 3 million people, the most responsible thing we can do is invest in keeping Angelenos safe,” he said in an email.

Mr Szabo said the proposed cuts could have “minimal immediate impact” on the service. But the cuts could affect city officials' plans to improve services or launch new programs, he said in the report.

The budget-cutting plan comes weeks before the Legislature is scheduled to vote on a pay increase package with the Los Angeles Federation of Labor Associations, which represents six labor groups. The coalition represents six labor organizations, the largest of which is Service Employees International Local 721, which represents janitors, mechanics and workers. traffic police officers and many other workers. The deal would increase the cost of living by more than 24% over five years.

SEIU Local 721 President David Greene said the planned pay increase package would be a “huge step forward” in recruitment and retention. He said in his statement that he looks forward to working with city leaders to “develop hiring priorities” and find new funding sources.

“Angelenos deserve reliable and consistent city services, and that's exactly what we fought for at the bargaining table,” he said.

Sotomartinez said he was prepared to vote in favor of the coalition deal. He said those six unions received a “fair deal based on precedent” set out in last summer's LAPD contract.

“I absolutely support that agreement because I don’t think workers should be treated differently,” he said.