Written by Chelsea Cody, OurLA, Jan, 21, 2010

It’s a good thing LA Times reporters at city hall are resourceful enough to get their hands on interdepartmental letters floating around between political offices otherwise we might never know that the Mayor and City Council leaders are preparing to eliminate 1,000 more jobs by July of 2010 in a desperate attempt to plug up the gaping and growing holes in the city budget.

Since 2,400 employees were given the option to take early retirement last month more layoffs and furloughs are on the way among other desperate attempts to keep the city out of bankruptcy, according to a letter.

The Times publishes several sections of the letter:

“Revenues are significantly lower than original projections and we are prepared to make tough decisions, including layoffs and cuts in less-essential city services to our constituents,” states a letter being circulated among city leaders. A draft copy was obtained by The Times.

“We will consider the elimination, consolidation, or outsourcing of city assets and services, furloughs and layoffs where permissible, continued managed hiring with consideration of a hard hiring freeze and public-private partnerships that will generate revenue.”

The letter, which has been signed by several members of the council, makes proposals for addressing the budget crisis that have not been previously discussed in public hearing – as it insists that new means for addressing the city’s falling city tax revenues are necessary.

Steps already taken by the city to close this year’s budget gap include furloughs, cutting salaries and city services.

Another choice quote from the Times story comes from Councilman Bernard Parks:

“The threat of bankruptcy is real,” said Parks, who heads the council’s Budget and Finance Committee. “How likely it is depends on how well we manage things over the next few months.”

Getting through the next few months may very well require the city to dip into its emergency reserve and further weaken the city’s credit rating in order to pay bills.

Read the full LA Times story, here.

Related Links:
Ron Kaye LA: This Is No Way to Run a City