LA Mayor Karen Bass' 1st State of the City address provides blueprint for 'New LA'
She's expected to discuss the city's homelessness crisis, public safety and future plans for the city.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Mayor Karen Bass delivered her first State of the City Address Monday, where she said Los Angeles still has work to do in fixing the homeless crisis, improving the LAPD and public safety and even in filling many vacant positions within city government.
"I am 127 days into my administration, and I cannot declare that the state of our city is where it needs to be," said Bass.
While Bass said there is still more work to do, she also painted a picture of hope and increased urgency'' as the city grapples with major challenges.
I am proud to report that together, we have brought change to the city of Los Angeles,'' said Bass. "We have increased urgency at City Hall. And we have a clarity of purpose, and have focused our work on the people's most pressing challenges.''
The mayor is required annually to publicly address the council on the state of the city before the release of the proposed city budget. Bass is expected to release her first budget proposal on Tuesday.
Not unexpectedly, homelessness -- a major element of her campaign, in which she vowed to house 17,000 people in her first year -- was a major theme of Bass' remarks.
She noted that, so far, her administration has brought about 1,000 Angelenos indoors through her Inside Safe Program, and that her proposed budget will aim to build on that.
"Tomorrow, I will release my first budget as mayor,'' she said. "Building on the success of Inside Safe, my budget includes a $250 million investment to scale Inside Safe citywide."
Bass also said that her budget overall includes an unprecedented $1.3 billion investment to "accelerate momentum" on the homelessness issue.
Bass also declared her number one job as mayor is to keep Angelenos safe'' -- but noted, the unfortunate reality is that LAPD is down hundreds of officers.''
Bolstering the LAPD's ranks will also place high on her priorities, she said.
This has been an ongoing trend here in L.A. and in cities across the country -- and so I'm concerned that the department's recent release of information (of officers' photos and other information) will cause more officers to leave," she said.
My budget proposal calls for urgent action to hire hundreds of officers next year on the way to restoring the department to full strength,'' said Bass.
Bass said the current situation the city faces could cause the number of officers in the LAPD to drop below 9,000, which hasn't been the case since 2002.
The city will also be looking to hire more 911 operators as well, to help reduce calls for service response times.
Along with her plan to hire more officers, Bass said she also has been working to provide officers with more mental health training to reduce the number of mentally ill people shot and killed by the LAPD.
"By adding these resources and building more trust between communities and the department. We will better meet our priorities of reducing property crime, maintaining the downward trend in violent crime, and increasing homicide clearance rates," Bass said.
Bass also said in the wake of recent weather events that have left flooding and potholes across the city, the government is looking to hire people to help make the city better.
And that doesn't just include road workers, it includes people to deal with garbage, fires, 911 calls and many more jobs that make L.A. healthier and happier.
"The biggest stars, the leading businesspeople, and the world's best and brightest all want to come to L.A. People from all over the world seeking a better life come to L.A. And make no mistake, people from all over the country come to L.A. in search of the American dream, too," said Bass. "I want all of them to experience a New L.A. But more importantly, I want Angelenos to experience a new L.A. One that is stronger, healthier, happier and safer. One that is affordable. This is the new Los Angeles we will build together. This is the new L.A."
City News Service contributed to this report.
