The Los Angeles budget prioritizes spending on the homeless over the fire department
Alex Villanueva discusses the local response to the devastating California wildfires on “The Big Money Show.”
Los Angeles’ budget is in the spotlight as more fires break out in the city as it turns out that Mayor Karen Bass cut the fire department’s budget last year while prioritizing spending on the city’s homeless.
For the 2023-2024 fiscal year, Los Angeles has budgeted $837 million for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), which is roughly 65% of the $1.3 billion homeless budget.
Mayor Karen Bass cut the Los Angeles Fire Department’s budget by more than $17 million last year. He originally proposed cutting it by $23 million. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images/File)
An analysis by the LA city administrator last year found that nearly half of the homeless budget was not spent.
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From the 2023-2024 budget to the 2024-2025 budget, the LAFD budget was reduced by more than $17 million from $837,191,237 to $819,637,423.
Firefighters battle wind and fire as houses go up in flames in Malibu, Calif., along the Pacific Coast Highway near Carbon Canyon Road in the Palisades Fire on Jan. 8, 2025. (David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Bass proposed a large budget cut to the LAFD, about $23 million, but it was not adopted.
FOX Business has reached out to Bass’ office for comment on the reason for the cuts.
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The homelessness budget was also reduced in the 2024-2025 budget but remained larger than the LAFD budget.
Homeless tents are seen on Skid Row in Los Angeles on Aug. 16, 2023. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Los Angeles is currently in the midst of four ongoing wildfires, the Eaton, Palisades, Woodley and Hurst fires, which have destroyed dozens of homes and businesses and claimed two lives.
Wildfires continue in Southern California (Fox Stories)
The fires have prompted the evacuation of more than 30,000 people and come as California faces an insurance crisis after many insurers fled the state, largely because of the costs associated with wildfire losses.
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Of California’s 20 deadliest wildfires, seven occurred in the past five years, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reports. In terms of economic costs, the Camp Fire of 2018 caused $10 billion in damage, the Tubbs Fire in 2017 cost $8.7 billion and the Woolsey Fire in 2018 cost $4.2 billion.
FOX News’ Anders Hagstrom and Kristen Altus contributed to this report.
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