The Los Angeles City Council today approved a $7.2 billion budget for the city.
The council made close to $70 million in cuts to several city departments. It delays layoffs until next year, but also cuts 400 unfilled city positions. And it increased parking fines.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa first proposed the budget. It closes a $238 million deficit but leaves next year’s budget nearly $200 million in the red.
The budget also increases the city’s emergency reserve fund by $7.5 million, just shy of the city’s 5 percent goal.
“In a perfect world, this would not be my choice of budgets,” said Paul Krekorian, chair of the City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee. “But we don’t live in that world. We live in a world of limitations right now and the economic reality that causes us to have to take pain and difficult measures to live within our means and I think that we’ve done that.”
Listen to more of the interview with Councilman Krekorian below: