There’s an old adage that a budget is actually a statement of an entity’s values, expressed in monetary terms. And this is particularly true when local governments work to figure out how to allocate their funds for the coming year.
Currently, the City of Los Angeles is going through its annual budgeting process, and as it does every year, the city’s Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates group, made up of representatives of our 99 Neighborhood Councils and other interested stakeholders, hold an annual Neighborhood Council Budget Day to discuss the Los Angeles City budget and help residents understand it and the process through which it’s determined. If you’d like to learn more about how the city spends its money, why, and how it may affect our neighborhood, Neighborhood Budget Day is a great place to start.
This year’s Neighborhood Council Budget Day will be held online, and – as always – it’s open to all and free to attend. Here are the details, as outlined by the Budget Advocates:
“Leaders from the City of Los Angeles, its 99 Neighborhood Councils, and stakeholders will gather on June 17 for a discussion of the Los Angeles City Budget. Sponsored by the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates and held yearly, the event brings transparency to the City Budget and how services are funded. The event is free and open to the public.
The theme for the 2023 event is Restart, Reform, Refocus… Budget Day will be online this year with the plenary session running from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Keynote speakers include Mayor Karen Bass, Controller Kenneth Mejia, City Council President Paul Krekorian, and Chair of the City Council Budget, Finance, and Innovation Committee Bob Blumenfield.
The plenary session will include a panel discussion on the theme moderated by Liz Chou of the Los Angeles Public Press. The panelists are City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, Chief Deputy Controller Rick Cole, CAO Office’s Chief of Finance Jacob Wexler, Mayor Bass’s Senior Budget Director Bernyce Hollins, the Mayor’s Senior Advisor and Director of Neighborhood Services Jacqueline Hamilton, and from the Department of Human + Civil Rights and Equity/L.A. REPAIR Omar Cardenas.
The plenary session will be followed by regional breakout sessions from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with participants discussing City services and budgetary issues in their communities with their neighbors. Participants will gain greater insight into where the City’s money is going and how that affects their neighborhoods.
Neighborhood Councils are the most locally elected representatives in Los Angeles and they function as advisors to the City government. The Budget Advocates engage with Neighborhood Councils and their stakeholders to:
● Bring transparency to the City’s budget process
● Engage with the Neighborhood Councils and their stakeholders on the City’s financial condition
● Advocate for the Neighborhood Councils and their stakeholders with the City’s elected officials and departments on services and budgetary issues
Register for this free event at tiny.cc/budgetday23 for what promises to be a great opportunity to gain a deeper understanding on how the City’s money is used to pay for the services on which its residents depend.”
More information is available at https://www.budgetadvocates.org/ or by emailing [email protected].
