I’m proud to say that a number of arts allies were in the room on Monday while the LA City Council Budget Committee yesterday.
So how bad is the budget crisis? So bad that Budget Committee head Bernard Parks has asked City Administration Officer Miguel Santana to come back to him with a plan that includes cuts to police and fire. Police and fire services make up 70% of the City of LA’s budget. This got major traction on TV news last night. I think people are finally beginning to get how drastic this situation was.
Parks request for a budget “with no restrictions” is indicative of the fact that the Council is not “gung ho” to slash and burn City departments to make this work, and that they’re still exploring ideas, although a bit desperately.
I’d like to give a shout out to the folks who came out and wrote letters of support for the Department of Cultural Affairs with us last night at the Grand Annex. I know that lots of people couldn’t make it, but that you worked the Arts for LA “Email a Councilmember” page and got the message out that way. It’s still not too late to send a message there.
UPDATE: Arts for LA has their own post on Monday’s meeting. 1800 letters have been sent via their website!
Technorati Tags: Bernard Parks, City of LA, Budget Cuts, Department of Cultural Affairs, Miguel Santana, LA City Council
