Fiscal Responsibility & Management
Fiscal Responsibility & Management
Mayor Villaraigosa will protect and wisely invest tax dollars, eliminate waste and inefficiency in government and maximize City service levels.
Upon taking office, Mayor Villaraigosa inherited a $295 million structural deficit and immediately began rooting out waste in City government. By placing strong managers and leaders on his staff and around City departments, the Mayor and his team cut more than $200 million from the deficit in two budget cycles without raising taxes, and signed two consecutive, balanced budgets that prioritized public safety.
In the coming fiscal year, with the City facing a looming financial crisis, the Mayor remains committed to expanding public safety and providing essential city services. He believes that in this demanding economic environment, we have no choice but to step up to the challenge, and start thinking broader to ensure our safety and future growth as a City. We must prepare ourselves for the tough actions which may be necessary in the budget ahead.
By challenging departments to innovate and find efficiencies, and demonstrating that Los Angeles can do more with less, Mayor Villaraigosa has shown that progressive policy and fiscal restraint can go hand in hand.
Modeled on a similar effort by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Performance Management Unit closely tracks the initiatives and objectives of City departments to ensure that they are aligned with the Mayor's goals.
Universal Metrics
In August 2007, Mayor Villaraigosa began a citywide data collection process called to root out waste in City departments and find efficiency and effectiveness gains. This reporting system analyzes trends and compares City departments to each other and previous financial periods. These metrics are meant to identify both problems and best practices to benchmark results. Currently, reporting covers payroll and hiring strategy; workers’ compensation; and accounts payable, accounts receivable and liability claims.