LOS ANGELES (CNS) – As elected officials consider spending reductions and layoffs to address a nearly $1 billion shortfall in Los Angeles’ budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, Mayor Karen Bass’ office Friday said she will take a pay cut and hold off on scheduled raises for her staff.
“The mayor is taking a pay cut and Mayor’s Office staff are not taking their regularly scheduled cost of living adjustments office-wide in June 2025 (4%), December 2025 (2%), and June 2026 (4%),” Zach Seidl, a spokesman for Bass, said in a statement.
Her office did not detail how much of a pay cut Bass would take, nor when it would go into effect.
Bass’ annual salary is about $301,000.
The mayor’s proposed $13.9 billion budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year includes eliminating more than 2,700 city positions with 1,647 layoffs and the elimination of 1,053 vacant positions.
Among the proposed layoffs are 403 civilian support staff at the Los Angeles Police Department, 262 transportation employees, 130 workers at the Bureau of Street Services, 114 city planners and 159 sanitation workers.
Despite the personnel cuts, the proposed budget would be an 8.2% increase over the adopted spending plan for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The City Council’s five-member Budget and Finance Committee is reviewing the proposed budget, calling for reports on possible savings and other ways to prevent layoffs. Bass has also lobbied state legislators for a $2 billion relief package.
Los Angeles is facing a deficit due to a 35% reduction in tax revenue, overspending, an increase in liability payouts, labor costs and fire recovery efforts.
As a result of labor contracts, city employees will see an increase in salaries, costing an estimated $250 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
The committee is set to resume deliberations Monday. The new fiscal year begins July 1.
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