Earlier this month, the Los Angeles City Council Budget and Finance Committee put the finishing touches on Mayor Eric Garcetti’s revised 2021-22 fiscal year budget. The $170 million in funding that was demanded by The Making Los Angeles Whole plan was included in the final budget to address the needs of families and communities adversely affected by COVID-19.
The Making Los Angeles Whole plan centered on families, workers, businesses and youth most impacted by the pandemic. The Making LA Whole Coalition says LA City Council’s 2021-22 fiscal year budget is a good first step that Garcetti should support.
“The leaders and members of the Making LA Whole Coalition demanded our City leaders make a bold and substantial reinvestment in our families, women and youth as the City begins to work towards recovering from the seismic inequities and systemic inequalities laid bare by the pandemic,” stated Aurea Montes-Rodriguez, executive vice president of Community Coalition.
“We look forward to working with City leaders including the mayor and council president to ensure an equitable recovery for Los Angeles, especially in the most impacted communities,” said Maria Brenes, executive director of InnerCity Struggle.
One major concern is the inclusion of a $40 million increase to the LAPD budget.
“While we applaud the historic investments in our communities, the augmentation of LAPD is disturbing. Making LA Whole’s plan opposes any increases to law enforcement, especially in a period when public safety ought to be reimagined. We continue to call on the city to reexamine its addiction to over-policing,” says Alberto Retana, president/CEO of the Community Coalition.
More than 50 civic, labor, community, and civil rights groups came together with Los Angeles residents as a coalition to address how $1.3B in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) should be allocated.
“President Biden charged his administration to ensure the benefits of the ARP package ‘go out quickly and directly to the American people, where they belong.’ As we approach budget season in full force, The Make LA Whole Coalition doubled down on our collective vision and called on the City of Los Angeles to direct much-needed dollars toward our poor and working-class families that were hit hardest by COVID,” said Charisse Bremond Weaver, president & CEO of Brotherhood Crusade.
“We know that the government is key in addressing the systemic inequality that COVID-19 laid bare. And the pandemic exacerbated many of those inequalities, so our rebuilding efforts which will shape our city for generations to come must continue to put women and families first,” said April Verrett, president, SEIU Local 2015.
