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Governance Reform Task Force offers Measure G budget-hearing recommendations; CEO says short-term items are feasible
Summary
The GRTF presented five recommendation areas to improve public budget hearings under Measure G, including clustered scheduling, central posting of materials, accessible visuals, performance metrics, and public education. The CEO's office said many short-term steps can be implemented ahead of February budget presentations.
The Governance Reform Task Force (GRTF) presented its initial recommendations on Tuesday to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, laying out steps to make Measure G'mandated public budget hearings more accessible, transparent and outcome-oriented.
Nancy Yap (chair pro tem), Shadi Cardan (assistant executive officer overseeing the task force), Julia Mokridge (cochair of the budget-presentation subcommittee) and Sarah Sadwani summarized five primary recommendation areas: (1) structured, cluster-based scheduling and a fixed annual window for departmental presentations; (2) advanced posting of materials and a centralized CEO budget web page; (3) simplified, ADA- and language-accessible presentation templates; (4) integration of performance measures and outcome reporting; and (5) expanded public engagement, educational materials and post-presentation surveys (SEG 1264'SEG 1570).
The task force reported strong survey demand for accessible budget information: an external public survey gathered about 1,853 responses and indicated 92% of respondents described accessible budget information as very or extremely important. The group asked the board to direct the CEO to implement recommendations feasible for fiscal year 2026'27 and to report back within 180 days on longer-term items.
Supervisor Hahn thanked the task force and asked which suggestions could be prioritized immediately. The task force and the CEO's office said cluster scheduling, simplified visuals and templates, and improvements to public-comment procedures are achievable for the upcoming budget cycle. "We think most of them should be able to be implemented for the 2026 budget cycle," task force members said; the CEO's office (Edward Yen and chief budget officer Mason Matthews) said that program-based budgeting inputs are being collected now and outcomes reporting should begin to appear next budget year once data matures (SEG 1808'SEG 2123).
Board members applauded the participatory approach and emphasized the need to use the recommendations to make budget hearings meaningful for residents and stakeholders. Supervisor Horvath noted that the county spends more than $50 billion annually and that improved presentation and metrics would help the public understand how dollars translate to services.
The board received the recommendations and directed the CEO's office to begin implementing feasible short-term proposals; item 18 was approved on a unanimous (5-0) vote. The task force said it will continue to review long-term reforms including participatory budgeting and other ideas and expects to return with additional recommendations and a working document on an ethics commission in the coming months.
The CEO's office cautioned that full integration of outcomes and performance data will require at least one full budget cycle to gather "actuals" and to mature the new program-based budgeting system, though staff said they will begin incorporating higher-level outcome discussions during the 2026 presentations.
