Facing a nearly $1-billion budget shortfall, last week Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass proposed a city budget for the upcoming fiscal year that would include over 1,600 layoffs and department cuts, including the Youth Development Department (YDD), which oversees programs for young people.
Under the Bass’ proposed budget, the YDD, which runs the LA City Youth Council – comprised of 30 Angelenos ages 16 to 25 who serve one-year terms – would be shuttered and folded into the Community Investment for Families Department, along with the Department of Aging and the Economic and Workforce Development Department.
The budget for YDD programs – which includes annual events that help young people obtain jobs and internships, including the Youth Expo and Youth Summit – would decrease from $2.3 million to less than $1.6 million, and nearly half of its 18 staff members would be laid off.
“First of all, the mayor is not a policy maker; she’s the executive of the city, and so her consolidating these departments – absent any policy discussion by the [LA City] Council – is basically a dictatorship type of move,” LA City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol. “That’s generally not how it works. … It would be unprecedented.”
Rodriguez, who pushed for the creation of the youth-focused department, which was launched four years ago, said the YDD is vital for supporting and protecting young people by overseeing the effectiveness and safety of youth-centered services and programs across the city.
“Serving the needs of young people is not a priority for this mayor,” said Rodriguez. “When she was running for office, she actually committed to these young people to support them with this [youth] department and has already [reneged] on that promise.”
Regarding the consolidation of the Economic and Workforce Development Department, Rodriguez said the mayor’s budget would eliminate part of the workforce that helps attract new small businesses to working-class neighborhoods, such as Pacoima, which is part of her district.
“I believe this Council should have a full conversation and understanding around this [budget], because the city legislative analyst in its report of the mayor’s proposed budget said there’s no clear financial benefit to this consolidation; we can’t determine that,” said Rodriguez. “The mayor just flippantly saying, ‘We’re doing this for cost savings’ – how different is that than Elon Musk saying [regarding] DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency], ‘We’re going to eliminate the Department of Education because we’re going to save money.’ But at what cost?”
Rodriguez said her colleague, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who serves on the budget committee, requested a budget memo indicating that “this has got to be a policy conversation so that we can understand the full impact of what is being proposed with this merger.”
“This Council has an obligation – in its scope, in its authority as the legislative body – to have that policy conversation and not just adopt [the budget] unilaterally because the mayor proposes it,” she said. “I’m hoping that my colleagues will heed that opportunity to do their job.”
The San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol contacted the mayor’s office to request comment about the planned consolidation of YDD under the proposed budget. Bass’ press secretary Clara Karger provided the following statement:
“Mayor Bass met with the Invest In Youth Coalition about the proposed reorganization of the Youth Development Department. She reaffirmed her commitment that the services of the Youth Development Department will continue in the Community Investment for Families Department. These services will be bolstered because silos between departments will be eliminated, allowing youth to take advantage of existing programs, like the annual Youth Expo and other resources.
“Mayor Bass remains committed to keeping an open line of communication with community members and organizations to ensure local government is responsive to the needs of residents.”
I, like so many Angelenos, am concerned about across the board cuts to city services and employees being laid off due to the proposed budget by the mayor. The Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates published their annual White Paper (2025) advising against across the board cuts that could have a negative impact on city services, and delivery.
I urge the city council to PROTECT City Services and avoid cuts that would prove detrimental to our communities.
I also recommend that people read the Budget Memos released by City Administrative Officer to be kept informed of what is going on with the budget process.
I know that there are a lot of difficult decisions that need to be made. But I think there is an opportunity here for the City to take a closer look at the contracts that the City has with contractors doing work on City infrastructure and in the City right-of-way.
While I have many suggestions, one of the lowest hanging fruit is that there is a provision that for projects that cover less than 100 square feet, the payment from the City comes out of the City’s general fund. It seems to me that these funds should not come from the general fund, but from specially allocated dollars for City projects. I think that if we take a closer look at the contract fee arrangements with the City and contractors, we will find a lot of dollars that could be used more efficiently (and we could save some jobs).
Furthermore, it seems to me that the way that certain projects are overseen by City inspectors could be more efficient and could provide better outcomes fo
r the constituents rather than create aberrant outcomes.
For example, currently, different inspectors are responsible for overseeing the work on B-permits and U-Permits. If a U-permit is required (where the right-of-way needs to be cut into for utility work), then the same inspector should be overseeing the restoration of the sidewalk and street with the B-permits. These are just two examples.
But I challenge the City Council to take a meaningful look at the structures and oversight of contracts and projects rather than cut things because they are in a panic!