Public commenters and unions warn mayor’s proposed budget will cut thousands of jobs and services

The City Council Budget and Finance Committee heard more than five hours of public testimony on the mayor’s proposed budget on the second day of a public-comment hearing, with unions, community groups and residents warning the plan would eliminate thousands of city jobs and key services.

Committee president Kari Giorvlaskis opened the session, noting the meeting was the second day of public comment on the budget and reminding speakers of time limits. Testimony that followed focused on layoffs proposed across multiple departments and the impacts those cuts would have on services, safety and ongoing programs.

Why it matters: Witnesses from labor unions, neighborhood councils and nonprofit service providers said proposed staffing reductions would make it harder to deliver core city services, delay or halt planning and housing programs, worsen public-health risks and force closures or downgrades of animal shelters. Many speakers linked the cuts to long-term risks and to loss of community investments made after the 2020–21 pandemic and recent climate-related disasters.

Union testimony and workforce totals

Yanina Weiler, introduced as the regional director for a county union division, told the committee — quoting presentation slides — that “this budget eliminates 2,700 y veintiuno puestos,” and that the proposed reductions include both filled jobs and funded vacancies. She said the reductions would “inevitable[ly]” stop public services and that the payroll share of the budget would fall while reserves and liabilities rose.

Labor representatives who followed described department-level impacts. Speakers said the city planning ranks faced deep cuts — testimony cited a reduction of more than 100 positions in planning and said EA (a bargaining unit representing planners and related staff) faced hundreds of proposed layoffs, including “848 trabajos que se están propuestos para eliminarse,” some of them filled positions. Union leaders and affected employees warned these cuts would slow permitting, delay housing and transportation projects, reduce grant-writing capacity and increase legal liabilities.

Youth, homelessness and community programs

Speakers from youth programs, neighborhood councils and the Alliance for Children’s Rights urged the council to preserve the Department of Youth Development (YDD) as a stand-alone department and keep its staffing intact. Testimony explained that YDD runs summer programs, job-training and youth summits; witnesses said cuts would remove leadership and services they view as critical to youth employment and crime-prevention strategies.

Representatives of homelessness-response programs and providers — including Inside Safe and organizations that run street-cleanup, camp-cleaning and housing navigation — said funding and staff cuts would interrupt ongoing encampment cleanups and housing placements. One speaker said Inside Safe’s work had rehoused dozens at a single Hollywood encampment and asked the council to maintain contracts and payments.

Animal services and rescue groups

Rescue organizations, volunteers and residents urged the council not to cut animal-shelter funding. Multiple speakers described shelters as already strained and warned that proposed reductions would force closures and increase euthanasia. Testimony included firsthand accounts from volunteers and rescue operators saying response times and basic care would deteriorate if staffing and operating funds were cut.

Worker protections, enforcement and contract compliance

Speakers representing worker centers and the city’s Office of Wage Standards urged preservation of enforcement staff. They said cuts to investigators and enforcement officers would undermine wage-theft enforcement and other labor protections, increasing exploitation of low-wage and immigrant workers and reducing recoveries that otherwise return money to city coffers.

Public-safety and liability concerns

Some witnesses cautioned that cutting civil service staff would shift costs rather than save money. Several speakers said reductions in planning, inspections, systems analysts and other technical staff would increase legal liabilities, degrade cybersecurity and slow permitting and hazard response. One union speaker told the committee that “the civil workforce did not create the deficit,” and argued layoffs would not solve structural budget challenges.

Calls for alternatives and transparency

Neighborhood councils, community advocates and some union leaders urged the committee to delay cuts, improve transparency around liability projections and consider alternative revenue options. Multiple speakers supported a city-conducted study of a public bank or other revenue measures to avoid deep cuts to services.

What the hearing produced

The session was a public-comment hearing; witnesses delivered testimony and submitted materials. There were no formal motions or committee votes during the hearing. Committee staff said subsequent meetings will review the mayor’s budget with departmental presentations and further hearings.

People quoted

- "Buenas tardes. A todos, bienvenidos al día 2 de Comentario Público," Kari Giorvlaskis, president of the City Council Budget Committee, opening the hearing. - "This budget eliminates 2,700 y veintiuno puestos," Yanina Weiler, identified at the hearing as a regional union director, quoting the coalition’s slides on proposed eliminations. - "Los civiles no crearon el déficit, por tanto, no tenemos que pagar por el déficit," Charlie Evans, secretary of Local 39, arguing layoffs would penalize civilian employees who did not create the shortfall.

Ending note

Committee members said the budget review and hearings will continue in the coming weeks, with staff, department heads and finance analysts scheduled to appear for follow-up presentations and to respond to the concerns raised during public comment.