Earlier this month, Mayor Garcetti unveiled his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2014-15, his first as Mayor, available for your review here.

Today at 1pm, the City’s Budget and Finance Committee, of which I am a member, will begin a three week process of reviewing the proposed budget with the first of a series of a hearings. A link to the budget hearing schedule can be found here.

In a budget survey sent out last month, I asked you to let me know your priorities for the City’s upcoming budget. I received hundreds of responses, and despite a diversity of ideas, a clear consensus emerged: we need to remain focused on growing and improving the City’s physical and environmental infrastructure to make LA a safe, clean, green and friendly place for people and businesses while ensuring our long-term, fiscal sustainability. A visual representation of what you told us can be found after the jump.

While serving as the Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee in the State of California, I worked hard to bring the State from deficit to surplus during crippling economic times.  We were able to maintain core services but difficult decisions had to be made and ultimately valuable programs were diminished or even cut entirely.  Here in the City we face similar challenges; things are getting better as the economy recovers but we are still projecting a significant deficit. This is not a growth year, but rather a chance to reassess, refocus, and redouble our efforts to be more efficient.

As we move through budget hearings, I encourage you to participate in the process. Hearings are broadcast live on the City’s public access network on Channel 35 and are streamed online here.

As always, serving you and providing the highest level of constituent service is my priority as a City Councilmember.  Please contact me if I can be of assistance with any question or issue.