LA’s ballooning budget shortfall could require property selloff

City controller recommends getting “creative to leverage vacant city properties”

Richard Llewellyn and Ron Galperin (City of LA, Wikimedia)
Richard Llewellyn and Ron Galperin (City of LA, Wikimedia)

Los Angeles’ revenue shortfall brought on by the pandemic will be at least $400 million, and could be as much as $600 million this year.

That’s according to City Administrative Officer Richard Llewellyn, who said L.A. needs to “aggressively” cut servicers to close the looming gap, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

In a separate report, Controller Ron Galperin recommended the city get “creative to leverage vacant city properties and special funds” in order to help close the shortfall. He added the city should use its debt capacity to invest in infrastructure projects to create jobs and stimulate the economy.

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Galperin last year pushed L.A. to develop vacant city-owned properties. He said the majority of the 7,500 properties L.A. owned were vacant.

Galperin proposed creating a city agency tasked with buying, selling, and developing properties.

Previous estimates put the revenue gap between $200 million and $400 million. The budget shortfall could result in layoffs, and Mayor Eric Garcetti has told city departments to prepare for them. Garcetti’s office wants the federal government to provide assistance to offset the budget problems. [LADN] — Dennis Lynch