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WESTSIDE - In politics and in government, there are those who talk the talk, and those who walk the walk.
In the case of freshman LA City Councilwoman Traci Park (CD-11), she does both.
Her fierce independent streak and boundless energy she brings to the job of representing the 11th Council District, Traci Park is not afraid to rock the boat, which has the status quo downtown crowd nauseous and seasick.
Describing the 2025-26 LA Municipal Budget for what it is, a bloated spending plan and "bottomless pit" that has become "embarrassing," Park was one of just three council members with the common sense, courage and conviction to not rubber stamp this package of institutional and structural failure that prevails at the local level.
Only Park and her colleagues John Lee and Monica Rodriguez looked into the face of this financial abyss and sided with everyday Angelenos tired of a municipality that offers little in terms of reliable city services or addressing core concerns like the encampment crisis that is consuming budget dollars at an alarming rate with no productive results, as the cottage industry of homelessness is a collection of fat cat service providers that have no incentive to fix the problem anytime soon!
Park voted against the 2025–26 spending plan due to concerns over its fiscal sustainability and the adequacy of funding for essential services.
She argued that the proposed budget, which totals $13.95 billion, did not sufficiently address the city's structural deficit or provide adequate resources for critical areas such as public safety, homelessness, and infrastructure. Park emphasized the need for a more balanced approach that ensures long-term financial stability while meeting the city's pressing needs.
The 2025–26 budget is best characterized by a projected shortfall of nearly $1 billion, primarily resulting from decreased revenues, increased liability costs, and the financial impact of recent wildfires.
To address this gap, the budget includes proposals to reduce spending, potentially leading to layoffs of some 1,000 municipal employees, though public safety personnel are exempt from these cuts.
LA Mayor Karen Bass has indicated that these measures are necessary to bring the city's finances into balance and to implement fundamental changes in how the city operates.
Park's opposition to the budget reflects her concerns about its long-term fiscal health and the adequacy of funding for essential services, highlighting the challenges Los Angeles faces in balancing immediate needs with sustainable financial planning.
While this budget crisis may seem temporary, where will Los Angeles secure the funding to ensure the city is not embarrassed by the obvious street encampment and RV crisis that isn't going away, and is LA really in a financial position to adequately host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2027 NFL Super Bowl or the 2028 Summer Olympics?
For the signature program to address homelessness by Mayor Bass has hopelessly failed, when you consider it costs taxpayers upwards to $7,000 per month to house one individual, which is usually a single room minus any menu of services or the decade back-up of constructing housing due to the mandated costs of prevailing wages as well as the style of construction that is not prioritized such as modular homes.
In this 2025–26 fiscal package, Los Angeles has allocated approximately $950 million for homelessness services. This marks a reduction from the nearly $1.3 billion allocated in the previous fiscal year. A significant portion of the funding supports the Inside Safe program, which aims to move individuals from street encampments into temporary and permanent housing.
By any reasonable standard this policy has failed and failed miserably.
The decrease in funding is attributed to the conclusion of Proposition HHH, a 10-year program that financed the construction of affordable housing for homeless residents. With these funds no longer available, the city faces challenges in maintaining and expanding homelessness services. City officials have indicated that without additional funding, they may need to consider reducing the number of shelter beds in the coming years .
To address these challenges, Los Angeles is exploring alternative funding sources, including Measure A, a county-level tax measure aimed at raising over $1 billion annually to combat homelessness. However, voter skepticism and concerns about the efficient use of funds have led to divided public support .
Additionally, audits revealing mismanagement by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) have prompted city officials to take more direct control over homelessness spending. This includes bypassing LAHSA for direct contracts with service providers to ensure more effective use of resources .
As the city continues to grapple with these financial and operational challenges, the effectiveness of the Inside Safe program and other initiatives will be closely monitored to determine their impact on reducing homelessness in Los Angeles.
In the meantime, Park has become the protector of the tax dollar, understanding that a results-driven approach to homelessness must replace the current fiasco of endless spending with no tangible results that has become accepted, enabled and endorsed by a majority of the LA City Council.
While this council trio that represents fiscal sanity is a far reach from the eight required to actually move sound fiscal policy forward, Councilwoman Traci Park is fighting the right fight to end the endless dysfunction of city government that has accepted sustained failure, especially in the area of acute homelessness as something that has to end now.
(Nick Antonicello is a thirty-two-year resident of the Venice neighborhood who covers the current encampment and RV crisis. Have a take or a tip? Contact him via e-mail at [email protected].)
