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LA WATCHDOG - The City has refused to clean up its act and adopt reforms that would eliminate the Structural Deficit. The City will now be plagued by budget shortfalls of at least $250 million a year for the next four years (and probably beyond). This will result in annual budget crises that will require cuts to essential services such as public safety and the repair and maintenance of our infrastructure.
Instead, the City is embarking on a “treading water” strategy of gradually increasing our taxes and fees by over $1 billion a year. These new revenue streams will be used to fund unsustainable budget busting labor agreements and to support the city’s bloated and inefficient bureaucracy, resulting in a “service bankruptcy.”
In March, the City mailed ballots to property owners to approve an increase in the Street Lighting Assessment to $125 million.
The June primary ballot includes three measures that are expected to raise $80 million. Measure TT and Measure TC will increase the hotel tax by $50 million while Measure TC would raise $30 million by applying the City’s business taxes to unlicensed pot shops.
[Note: the City could lessen the need for higher taxes by collecting over $400 million unpaid taxes, interest, and penalties from registered dispensaries.]
The City is considering other taxes which may appear on the already crowded November ballot. These include a shared rides tax (Uber), a delivery tax (DoorDash), a vacancy tax on unoccupied residences and stores, a ticket tax on large venues, and a 50% increase in the Parking Occupancy Tax. If approved by the voters, these taxes would raise an estimated $400-500 million for the City’s General Fund.
In addition, the firefighters’ union appears to have gathered enough signatures to place a measure on the ballot that would increase the City’s sales tax by a half-cent. This would increase the Fire Department’s budget by $400 million (43%). This tax is favored by Mayor Bass and many members of the City Council.
Combined with the County’s Measure ER that would raise the sales tax by a half-cent, our sales tax would increase to 10¾%, one of the highest in the nation. Angelenos would be tagged for $400 million of the $1 billion raised countywide from this tax.
Not included are measures to authorize bonds that will increase our property taxes.
It is obvious that the Mayor and the City Council are taking us for suckers who will buy their baloney arguments for increased taxes. But now is the time to say NO MAS to the City’s tax increases on the June ballot and the Street Lighting Assessment. Rather, it is time to demand meaningful reform that will eliminate the Structural Deficit and pave the road for a sustainable budget that provides adequate services to Angelenos.
(Jack Humphreville writes the LA Watchdog column for CityWatch, where he covers city finances, utilities, and accountability at City Hall. He is President of the DWP Advocacy Committee, serves as the Budget and DWP representative for the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, and is a longtime Neighborhood Council Budget Advocate. With a sharp focus on fiscal responsibility and transparency, Jack brings an informed and independent voice to Los Angeles civic affairs. He can be reached at [email protected].)
