Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa broke his silence on the city budget
crisis Thursday afternoon and ordered layoffs of 1,000 city employees
as soon as possible and the transfer of 360 others to proprietary
departments and special-funded positions.
He also opened the
door to the immediate retirement of any employee who wishes to do so
and urged the City Council to transfer $40 million in uncommitted funds
to the rapidly depleting emergency reserve fund.
“We are living beyond our means” the mayor said at a 4 p.m. news conference.
“We
have difficult choices to make. We must protect our economic future.
Unfortunately, instead of making progress we are headed in the wrong
direction. That ends today “
Villaraigosa acted one day after
the City Council balked at approving layoffs or taking other steps to
erase a $208 million budget deficit. In fact, the deficit grew by $4
million even as they debated for eight hours Wednesday over what
actions to take and is growing by nearly $400,000 every day.
Invoking his authority under the City Charter, the mayor said:
“I am taking immediate action toward balancing this fiscal year’s
budget, strengthening the city’s credit rating and restoring the city’s
long-term fiscal health.”
He said the layoffs would affect
1,000 filled city positions as recommended by City Administrative
Officer Miguel Santana last Friday.
Also, the jobs open at the
Harbor, Airport and DWP will be filled by transferring general fund
employees to those positions or others paid for with special funds.
Employees have until 5 p.m. to request transfers or file for expedited
retirement, which could attract workers already at the maximum
retirement benefit of 75 percent of final pay.
The transfers will be effective on Feb. 16, leaving little time for the Council to intervene on his action.
“I will reserve my right as mayor to transfer any employee at any time
as needed to protect the city’s general and reserve funds,” the mayor
added.
In his press release, the mayor said:
“I do not
relish these decisions, but neither will I shy away from them or
pretend they don’t exist. Angelenos all over our City are making
tougher choices between food or their prescription drugs, between
school supplies and a doctor’s visit for their child, or between their
electric bill and their rent. It is time that we at City Hall follow
their lead, set priorities, and make the tough choices necessary to
protect our core responsibilities.”