Community Leaders and Residents Demand the City Make Good on Its Promises

On the 30th anniversary of the LA uprisings, the Making LA Whole Coalition calls on the City to reverse budget cuts to community programs and deliver on last year's budget commitments

LOS ANGELES, April 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Making LA Whole Coalition, led by Community Coalition (CoCo), SEIU 2015, InnerCity Struggle, and Brotherhood Crusade, wrote to Mayor Eric Garcetti and the LA City Council requesting urgent changes to the proposed 2022-2023 funding levels. The Coalition called on the City to reveal the status of committed 2021-22 appropriations, expand funding for community-based programs in LA's highest-need communities, and create permanent solutions to the seismic inequities laid bare by COVID-19.

Thirty years after the LA Uprisings, the Making LA Whole Coalition is calling out the deep-rooted inequities that Los Angeles' working-class residents and communities continue to face every day.

"When budget cuts happen, equity is the first to go," said Alberto Retana, President and CEO of Community Coalition. "The challenges confronting our communities are ongoing, and our citizens deserve more than just one-time funding. We ask the City not to turn back now but to remain committed to solving the inequalities residents face."

Last year, the Coalition propelled monumental strides toward equity in the 2021-2022 budget, including a historic $170M investment in community-based programs. Ahead of appropriations season, the Coalition requests deserved transparency as to how last year's funds were spent and the status of remaining allocation. Any residual funding must remain in place until fully returned to the community.

The Coalition is further speaking out against Mayor Garcetti's FY 2022-2023 proposed budget cuts that would slash an estimated $100M from 2021-2022 funding for essential and priority community programs. In addition to these significant budget cuts, the Mayor's proposal reveals a funding increase in the proposed police budget, which the Coalition adamantly opposes. After taking significant steps to mitigate decades-long disinvestment in last year's budget, the City must not retreat but recommit to addressing the long-standing demands of families and communities adversely affected by these inequities.

These cuts will undermine the robust efforts underway to build an inclusive and equitable Los Angeles. It is long past time that community-based programs be placed on equal footing with all other City initiatives and not be subject to the vagaries of one-time investments. By allocating permanent resources where they are most needed, the City would protect critical community services from being cut in future budgets and create a vital foundation for equality among communities.

Please find the full letter to the Mayor's Office and City Council Committee on Budget and Finance here.

Contact: Libbie Wilcox
[email protected]

SOURCE Community Coalition