The Los Angeles budget is in the spotlight as several forest fires Anger is raging in the city amid revelations that Mayor Karen Bass cut the fire department’s budget last year while prioritizing spending on the city’s homeless population.
For the 2023-2024 financial year, Los Angeles budgeted $837 million for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), which represented approximately 65% of the $1.3 billion homeless budget.
An analysis last year by the Los Angeles city comptroller found that about half of the homeless budget was unspent.
Between the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 budgets, the LAFD budget was reduced by more than $17 million, from $837,191,237 to $819,637,423.
Bass had proposed a larger budget cut for the LAFD, of about $23 million, but that proposal did not pass.
FOX Business reached out to Bass’ office for comment on the reasoning behind these reductions.
LOS ANGELES AREA COLLEGE CAMPUS CLOSES AS WILDFIRES SPREAD
The budget for the homeless was also reduced in the 2024-2025 budget, but remains higher than the LAFD budget.
Los Angeles is currently at the center of four ongoing wildfires – the Eaton, Palisades, Woodley and Hurst fires – which have ravaged countless homes and businesses and claimed two lives.
The fires have prompted evacuation orders for more than 30,000 people and come as California faces an insurance crisis after several insurers fled the state, largely because of costs associated with losses linked to forest fires.
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Of California’s 20 most destructive wildfires, seven occurred in the past five years, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported. In terms of economic cost, the 2018 Camp Fire caused $10 billion in damage, the 2017 Tubbs Fire cost $8.7 billion, and the 2018 Woolsey Fire cost $4.2 billion. billion dollars.
FOX News’ Anders Hagstrom and Kristen Altus contributed to this report.