In preparation for next year’s budget, Los Angeles County is bracing for the economic impacts of urban wildfires that are estimated to cost the region $250 billion, said county CEO Fesia Davenport at a budget hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
In anticipation of repairs to burned out infrastructure and other services that impact fire victims, Davenport asked each of the 38 county department heads to prepare cutbacks ranging from 3% to 8%, she told the Board of Supervisors.
Davenport indicated that many county departments can anticipate “substantial costs as departments confront sharply increased workloads, costs to replace county structures destroyed in the fires,” she wrote in a memo to the board dated Feb. 10.
Draft departmental budgets for fiscal year 2025-2026 do not yet include fire-related costs, she said. They won’t be figured into the upcoming budget until April, along with staffing contingency plans.
“We expect these will be multi-year costs reverberating well beyond the current budget year,” she said.
In addition, Davenport is very worried about a drop in county revenue due to declining property and sales tax revenues as a result of the Eaton and Palisades fires that destroyed about 16,000 structures, and the possibility of delayed tax payments resulting from emergency legislation.
The current county budget totals $49.2 billion. Davenport did not give an estimate of the size of the next budget. She said some departments may have to reduce the number of unfilled positions and some programs may be cut back or eliminated. She also mentioned the possibility of a hiring freeze.
“I would hope we minimize any layoffs,” said First District Supervisor Hilda Solis.
Lillian Cabral, an SEIU (Service Employees International Union) executive board member and county employee, said the county government has a 17% vacancy rate, with 12,000 positions unfilled. “It manifests a staff crisis to hire temporary employees,” who are contracted out, she said.
Fifth District Supervisor and Board Chair Kathryn Barger was concerned about freezing the hiring of more clinical social workers, designated as a need to help people with mental illnesses and the homeless.
“On LAC salaries for this, we are way behind some other areas,” she said.
Other negative factors affecting the FY2026 spending blueprint listed by Davenport included:
• Uncertainty of federal dollars due to President Trump and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. “There are potentially dramatic changes underway at the federal level under the new Presidential administration,” she wrote, adding these could have major impacts on the county’s next budget.
• The spending down of $2 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds. As a result, the county may have to either downsize or eliminate programs created with these funds that originated from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The county’s 24 labor unions covering 63 bargaining units have proposed cost-of-living increases of 22% to 45%. “The economic proposals submitted by labor partners to date are fiscally unsustainable,” she wrote. Davenport told the board a 1% increase in salaries and benefits would cost the county approximately $166 million.
• A huge, potential liability facing the county could arise from Child Victims Act claims under AB 218, which extended the statute of limitations for filing damages claims.
Davenport’s comments and memo were like a cloud over the unveiling of six departmental draft budgets that included supplemental requests for dollars or new hires. On Wednesday, Feb. 12, six more departments will present draft budgets, including the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The individual presentations were ordered by the voters who passed Measure G, a county reform measure on the November ballot that sought more budget hearings and an eventual expansion of the board from five to nine members.
“Today marks the start of a new era in the L.A. County budget process,” Davenport declared. The public heard from several smaller departments, including the Department of Beaches and Harbors.
That department manages 18 public beaches from San Pedro to Malibu and oversees Marina del Ray, home to 10,000 residents and 5,000 vessels.
The current budget is $84 million. Gary Jones, director of the Department of Beaches and Harbors, was asking for five new positions including waste water specialists to help the department operate septic systems that have been shut down and resulted in closed restrooms and showers. Eleven of 18 septic systems are inoperable, Jones said.
Recovery from the Palisades fire will cost the department about $40-$42 million, he said. The fire destroyed the Will Rogers State Beach main facility and the restrooms at Castle Rock Beach. The department also lost several trucks and tractors, he said.
Repairing erosion at Cabrillo and Torrance beaches — unrelated to the fires — will cost about $75 million including repairs at a third beach, he said. The department is pursuing grant dollars to pay for beach restoration. “There is not money within our budget to replenish the county’s beaches,” he said.
Kurt Floren, director of the Agricultural Commission/Weights and Measures, asked for five new positions to inspect electric vehicle charging stations. “We need to test them to ensure they are functional and accurate,” said Floren.
The county will continue departmental budget presentations before the board on Feb. 12, Feb. 21, Feb. 24, and March 4. In April, the CEO will present a recommended budget, with more deliberations in June. A supplemental budget comes to the board for final approval in September.