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LADOT says layoffs avoided but services limited under FY26 budget; overtime cuts, vacancies will change operations
Summary
LADOT told the Transportation Committee that 271 positions initially identified for elimination were preserved through restorations and vacancy repurposing, but the department faces reduced overtime, unfilled vacancies and program shifts that will slow some services.
A LADOT representative briefed the Transportation Committee on the department’s fiscal-year 2025–26 budget and outlined service impacts the department expects from adopted funding changes.
Why it matters: LADOT said budget adjustments preserved jobs that had been at risk of elimination but left the department with significant vacancies and a reduced overtime budget that will affect service delivery, special-event support and project development.
Key points presented by a LADOT department representative:
- Positions: LADOT said 271 filled positions that had been identified for elimination were preserved: 233 positions were restored and 38 were filled by using vacant positions. The department said it expects no layoffs among those 271 positions.
- Vacancies and service impacts: The adopted budget eliminated 152 vacancies for the coming fiscal year; combined with prior-year vacancy reductions, LADOT said the department has lost about 250 positions over two years and that remaining vacancies will constrain project delivery and day-to-day services.
- Overtime reduction: The budget includes a $7,600,000 reduction to the overtime budget, leaving the department approximately $9,000,000 for overtime in the year. LADOT said the cut will limit availability for traffic officers, ATSAC engineers and special traffic operations related to special events and some community support.
- Fund-shifting: LADOT said project-development, engagement and delivery staff were shifted to project-specific funding sources (grants, fee-funded programs) so that general-fund positions were preserved; the department is assessing which work will change as funding sources shift.
- Revenue measures: LADOT intends to recommend several fee increases to generate revenue and restore program capacity, including parking meter and parking-lot fee increases, a TDM (transportation demand management) fee and dockless-permitting fees. The department also plans to expand bus-lane and other enforcement programs to recover costs.
- Collections and enforcement: LADOT staff and a senior enforcement chief described ongoing collection challenges for unpaid parking citations. LADOT estimated roughly $125,000,000 in unpaid parking citations citywide that the department cannot currently collect, in part because vehicle-impound authority tied to unpaid citations was paused in February 2022 amid litigation and a Ninth Circuit decision about impoundment practices. The City Attorney indicated the Ninth Circuit ruled the old practice could be unconstitutional and suggested exploring civil-judgment processes in the Vehicle Code.
Committee discussion and follow-up: Council members thanked LADOT staff for preserving jobs and pressed the department on what services will be paused, how procurement can be sped up and how HLA obligations (Measure HLA implementation) will be met. LADOT said it will prioritize Vision Zero projects, grant-funded projects and Games-related work, and will prepare a detailed list of programmatic changes and expected service impacts in the coming weeks.
Ending: LADOT said it will provide final assessments of the program reductions and service timelines to council offices and will pursue revenue and enforcement changes to offset future budget risk.
