Candidates for LA County supervisor give their thoughts on the county budget

As part of this newspaper’s endorsement process, we invited the candidates for Los Angeles County supervisor to provide their written thoughts, only lightly edited for length, on major public policy matters.

Here we present their responses to the question: How has the county done in terms of budgeting and spending? What changes do you propose?

Konstantine Anthony: The county tends to spend far too much on policing and enforcement and not enough money on actual crime prevention strategies like childcare, after-school activities, and job training.

John Cruikshank: The county’s budget has ballooned to $47 billion while our core problems are getting worse. I propose holding our county CEO accountable for every department to make sure they are performing their assigned duties and prioritizing the taxpayer’s money to resolving our most important and pressing issues.

Alex Villanueva: The board has done an irresponsible job in both budgeting and spending, by expanding recklessly the size of the county’s budget while at the same time diminishing the capacity to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of county residents. It’s time to end the ideologically corrupt “Care First, Jail Last” agenda and the creation of paper departments such as the “Justice, Care, and Opportunities Department” while starving vital functions in probation and law enforcement.

Kathryn Barger: Supporting sound budgeting practices is one of the most critical aspects of County government to ensure that we continue to provide essential programs and services for our 10 million residents. I am very proud that during my tenure on the Board of Supervisors, Los Angeles County has enjoyed a high credit rating, due in large part to our history of strong operations which has resulted in high fund balances and reserve levels; coupled with a modest level of outstanding debt relative to our annual budget. Preserving the County’s high credit rating is important to sustain lower interest costs and greater investor demand.

During our annual Budget deliberations, my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors and our Chief Executive Office, have continued to prioritize saving for our rainy-day fund, further strengthening our financial reserves. However, there have been instances in which some board members have recommended new funding for programs and services that will impact our net County costs. I am committed to being vigilant to ensure we can maintain any proposed program or service with ongoing funding that will not impact our ability to meet our needs.

Over the last several months there has been growing concern regarding the rate of inflation, high interest rates and the slowing housing market. These are all valid concerns which impact the County Budget. In addition, we are facing significant legal liability stemming from allegations of abuse within the Departments of Children and Family Services and Probation. These are all significant financial concerns that we should be cognizant of when developing our budget and proposing new spending.

With that in mind, I continue to advocate for fiscal responsibility in our budgeting, and I remain committed to saving money in our reserves through the rainy-day fund to weather any potential future storm on the horizon.

Marlon Marroquin: As far as LA’s budgeting, it’s clear that it’s not just about cutting back projects or services. It’s really about the details and making sure we’re not shortchanged. My time in the private sector has taught me a lot about spotting deals that don’t really add up. I’ve seen too many situations where good-sounding numbers turn out to be bad deals for communities like ours.

As supervisor, I plan to bring this practical, no-nonsense approach to our budget discussions. I’m all about making sure we’re getting fair deals and that District 5 interests are well represented. Think of me as someone who’s always going to be looking out for us, making sure that when I’m in the room, I’m thinking about what’s best for the folks back home. My aim is to ensure our district isn’t just another number in these deals but a strong voice for smart and sustainable financial decisions.

Clint Carlton: I believe we have done a poor job with budgeting and spending. Every pressing issue that we have, is either we are spending the money the wrong way or not adjusting the budget for more funding. I believe we must take a deep dive with homelessness. In 2017, our county residents were promised that the Measure H Tax would combat homelessness. That Tax has brought in a revenue of between $250,000,000 and $600,000,000 every year since 2017. It will be ending in 2027, and we have nothing to show the tax payers. We have to put a sense of urgency on homelessness. The same sense of urgency that the county took during the pandemic is the same sense of urgency that I want on homelessness, crime, and safety.

Chris Holden: Our counties homelessness and housing crisis has only gotten worse under the current incumbent Republican Kathryn Barger. It is clear that throwing money at problems is not enough. The Board of Supervisors needs to be more effective at implementing solutions and programs that work. I was appalled at reports that the L.A. County Board of Supervisors and county CEO had only invested 21 percent of the $900 million that voters mandated to invest in affordable housing, good-paying jobs and mental health. As chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, I believe that the county could interpret funding streams more broadly that would allow investments for community-based organizations and front-line funders. We also need to reimagine county programs that relate to youth justice and reform of the county’s troubled juvenile and probation programs.

Holly Mitchell: I passed a governance motion to have a comprehensive and independent review on how the County conducts the business of serving the public, this will include a review of our policy and budget making process with the goal of increasing transparency and accountability to taxpayers. And the governance motion will look into ways for better representation for our residents.

For years the county has focused on distributing funds equally across the county’s five districts. The challenge with doing this is that it often doesn’t align with the unique needs of every district. For example, the devastating impacts of COVID-19 did not spread equally across the county, some communities and many small businesses were impacted more severely, especially in my district.

This is why I continue to advocate for an equitable budgeting process. I am proud to have passed the motion calling for an Equity Dashboard to track how the county is investing the significant one time funds from the American Rescue Plan Act back into our communities that need it the most. It is important that we lead by example in creating the change we want to see. This is why my office hosts our own budget town halls to keep constituents in my district informed on how they can engage in the process and to capture their input on the priorities for their community.

Budgets are value statements. We spend money on what we care about and it is important that we have a budgeting process that allows for good public policy and the delivery of services for the millions of residents relying on the County.

Janice Hahn: The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passes a balanced budget every year. During the budget process, the Supervisors, with input from their constituents, lay out their priorities for spending. Our CEO then takes our input and presents her budget and makes sure it is balanced. This year’s budget is $43 billion with about a quarter going to health, a quarter to public safety, and a quarter to public assistance. And recently the voters of L.A. County voted to ensure that a percentage of the budget goes to trying to keep people, particularly young people, out of jail.

So on top of those priorities, we are upholding the will of the voters by investing $300 million a year by funding job training, after school programs, and investments in small businesses — just to name a few. The changes I would make would be more transparency, input, and accountability from the residents and taxpayers to not only understand but be a part of the annual budget process.

Perry Goldberg: The County has neglected the revenue side of the budget, taking it as a given. I would grow the revenue side substantially by enabling the transformation of privately owned land in the Antelope Valley into thousands of live-work small farms that grow the tax base and the economy. The increased tax revenues will allow the County to increase the number of personnel, which is desperately needed in many areas.

Many Superior Court judges, for example, are handling thousands of cases, which prevents them for giving the cases the attention they deserve. Similarly, we need more sheriffs so that they are able to deter crime and better respond to crime, combating the perception I’ve heard from many voters that the sheriffs are ineffective.

The county also has done a poor job of spending money to address the housing crisis. The county simply does not have a spending plan that is scaled to the size of the problem, and each year the crisis is getting worse. I would force the county to not only do a homeless count each year but also projections as to where we think the spending will get us by the next year. I will not be satisfied until the planned spending gets us to zero homeless. In addition, money can be better allocated.

My plan to enable the creation of live-work opportunities for those who can work will help the county focus its spending on those who are unable to help themselves, providing them (for example) with needed mental health and substance abuse services.

Katrina Williams: According to the LA County fiscal budget for 2022-2023 the county allocated $607,000,000 for homeless services. However, LA County homeless count for 2023 reported 75,144 individuals continue to remain homeless. The current budget for homelessness has been used to open more shelters versus contracting small non-profit housing providers with “real” homes individuals could reside in. As the new supervisor for the 2nd District, I would implement permanent supportive housing programs (PSH). The PSH programs would provide housing with supportive services onsite.