INSIDE: City of Los Angeles and L.A. County could get $1.35B and $1.9B, respectively, from the stimulus bill.
Los Angeles city could receive at least $1.35 billion in relief funds, as part of the federal coronavirus relief package, the city controller said Wednesday. That money, the controller also said, should be used to help cover the city’s budget shortfall.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the $1.9 trillion relief package on Wednesday and the bill will now head to President Joe Biden for his signature.
The relief bill included $350 billion overall in aid to city, state and other local governments. That includes $65 billion total “in direct and flexible relief to every city in the United States,” the California League of Cities said in a statement lauding the bill’s passage.
The funding comes as Los Angeles city and county, as well as other cities and counties across the region, face budget shortfalls.
Los Angeles County expects to receive about $1.9 billion, the office of the county’s CEO said in an email; county officials have not decided how to spend that money.
In the city of Los Angeles, officials have anticipated a budget gap of as much as $750 million or more, and had planned to bridge it by using rainy day funds, cutting department budgets and borrowing money.
“For Los Angeles, that ($1.35 billion) translates into preserving vital services threatened by our pandemic-driven budget crisis,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement, “protecting jobs jeopardized by this public health emergency; and placing us on stronger financial footing to ensure equity in our vaccination efforts and lift up our most vulnerable neighbors.”
City Controller Ron Galperin said Wednesday, in reaction to the news of the aid, that the city should remain “financially prudent” despite the aid. He recommended that the funds be used to “address our budget shortfall this year and the challenges we face over the next fiscal year.”
“Revenue losses have been staggering,” he said in a statement, “and will continue for at least a few more months.”
The aid should be used toward city services, especially for “historically underserve communities,” and to replenish reserves that the city has been dipping into through the pandemic, Galperin said.
“What remains,” he added, “should fund onetime programs and projects that create good local jobs in disadvantaged communities, enhance equity and hasten economic recovery citywide.”
The relief bill includes a formula that local governments can use to calculate how much aid they’ll get, according to an aide for the controller’s office, who said they have been following the legislation closely.
Cities throughout Los Angeles County were figuring out their totals Wednesday,
though a few already had an idea of how much they will receive from the federal government.
Torrance, for example, will receive $23 million, said Finance Director Sheila Poisson.
Manhattan Beach will receive about $6.6 million, senior analyst George Gabriel said, citing information from the League of California Cities.
Rancho Palos Verdes, meanwhile, estimates it will receive $7.8 million, city spokeswoman Megan Barnes said, though that figure can change.
“It’s our understanding that the final number won’t be known until President Biden signs the bill,” Barnes said in an email, “and the Office of Management and Budget determines what amount cities are entitled to receive.”
Overall, the funding could help shore up troubled financial situations in many cities, said Carolyn Coleman, executive director and CEO for the League of California Cities.
“This funding is a lifeline for cities that have been on the front lines for nearly a year,” Coleman said in a statement, “spending billions to protect public health, deliver essential services, protect vulnerable populations, and help small businesses survive, while experiencing billions of dollars in revenue shortfalls due to the shutdown of our local economies.”