CAO presents year-end FSR showing $68.3M gap; council approves amendments and pauses some decarbonization funding

At a meeting of the Los Angeles City Council Budget and Finance Committee, the City Administrative Officer's office presented the year-end Financial Status Report for fiscal year 2024–25 and the committee approved the CAO's recommended technical amendments and related budget transactions as amended.

The CAO presentation, led by Nick Campbell, said the city faces a remaining budget gap of $68.3 million consisting of $51.7 million in projected departmental overspending and $16.6 million in non‑departmental and special fund overspending. Campbell said the report's recommendations address $52.7 million of that overspending and identified actions to close the remaining $15.6 million by year end. "This year the city has had to make many difficult decisions to address fiscal challenges," Campbell said, citing the January windstorm and wildfires and lower-than-expected revenues.

The report said April receipts were about $39 million below the revised plan but, after adjusting for certain accounting items and unrecorded LA tax receipts, were about $16 million below plan. The most significant negative variances were in sales tax, transient occupancy tax and documentary transfer tax; business tax receipts may offset some of the shortfall, the CAO said. The CAO reported cumulative reserves at 6.56 percent and the…