$7.2 Billion Budget Adopted by City Council

The Los Angeles City Council Monday approved a $7.2 billion budget that delays layoffs but makes close to $70 million in cuts to services and shrinks the city's workforce by more than 400 positions.

The budget, first proposed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and amended by the council's Budget and Finance Committee, closes a $238 million deficit, but leaves next year's budget $199 million in the red.

The budget relies on $83 million in one-time revenues, including more than $76 million that still needs to be approved by the federal and state governments and might not be available until January or later. The budget increases the city's emergency reserve fund by $7.5 million, bringing it to 4.8 percent of the city's general fund budget, but shy of the city's 5 percent goal.

The council approved the budget on a unanimous vote after an hours-long discussion.

Villaraigosa's original proposed budget called for the elimination of 669 positions, including 269 layoffs.

The mayor's draft was amended last week by the Budget and Finance Committee, which approved a plan to delay the layoffs until Jan. 1 after budget officials scraped together roughly $16 million in revenues and found additional cuts to make in city departments.