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Committee approves direction to integrate climate-justice considerations into city budget process
Summary
The committee voted to concur with a report directing the CEO to integrate climate justice and equity metrics into the city’s budget process and to coordinate with the mayor’s equity team and relevant committees.
The Committee on Budget and Finance on Feb. 18 voted 5-0 to concur with a report instructing the chief executive to incorporate climate-justice and equity considerations into the City of Los Angeles budget process and to coordinate with the mayor’s equity and climate teams and with the Committee on Energy and Environment.
John Chan of the Office of the Chief Operating Officer described the report as an operational review that examines city programs through a climate-justice lens and references existing city equity indices. Ted Soden (appearing for the City Attorney/SAO team) said his office is coordinating with equity and climate staff to use those indices as part of budget review and recommended that the committee rely on subject-matter experts from the equity team for technical input.
Why it matters: Council members said they wanted assurance that the city’s budget release schedule and the equity indices would be used to produce actionable guidance for department budget submissions. Staff noted the mayor’s budget release is scheduled for April 20 and that the report would inform the committee’s review of department budget proposals.
Committee action and follow-up
The committee concurred with the Committee on Environment and directed the CEO to report back on equity and climate-budget integration as part of upcoming budget materials. Staff agreed to provide committee briefings and to rely on the equity team’s expertise in interpreting indices and producing recommendations for budget instructions.
Ending
The item passed unanimously and staff said they will return with information that aligns the upcoming budget release with the committee’s equity and climate-review expectations.
