Fiscal Upsurge, Old Woes

The good fiscal news for the Los Angeles city and county governments is that a robust economy has helped beef up the tax base. That is allowing both governments advantages that have been unheard of since the recession: more money for improved services and enough left over for a rainy-day fund or to stop raiding other program money.

In the city, Mayor Richard Riordan has unveiled a $2.8-billion budget for the coming fiscal year that adds police officers, firefighters and recreation directors while also strengthening the city’s reserve fund.

In the county, Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen’s proposed $14.3-billion budget commits money to a broad array of new hires, including several hundred new social workers for the child welfare agency. The budget provides $30 million to help wean the county from using pension fund rebates to help balance its budget.

In the city, the budget includes additional spending for expanded hours at 30 libraries and new books, more after-school programs and the elimination of swimming pool admission fees.

But the trumpets of good news mask lingering problems, especially for the county government, which is still recovering from near-bankruptcy in 1995. The county Health Department is the most prominent example. Its budget remains balanced only because of a federal waiver of nearly $300 million that expires at the end of the coming fiscal year. That balancing includes a shortsighted proposal to end the county’s long-standing commitment to accept all indigent patients from other hospital emergency rooms.

In the city, there are other problems, most notably the shortage of affordable housing, for which the mayor has no current plan.

Certainly improved local finances offer some relief. But long-term city and county problems still need to be put in order of priority and hard work must begin anew.