This is a story which I have been reporting and it bears worth watching. As I have discussed, this is not an isolated problem and is in fact a problem for cities, counties and states throughout the US.
Expect massive lay-offs; reductions in service; higher taxes and fees; and, pay and benefit reductions. This will limit any potential recovery in the US. Most states have a July 1 new fiscal year, so expect the largest impact from July 1st on.
And on top of that Europe bears watching as any downturn there will also have an impact here.
From http://www.latimes.com/:
A divided Los Angeles City Council voted Monday to move ahead with plans to eliminate 761 positions while continuing to seek concessions from the unions that represent thousands of city employees.
On an 11-4 vote, the council pressed forward with an array of cuts, eliminating dozens of child-care positions, reducing library hours and drastically scaling back the number of trees that will be trimmed.
The job cuts are scheduled to go into effect in the fiscal year that starts July 1. The council also approved between 16 and 26 furlough days over the next year for certain civilian employees.
The city's employee unions tried unsuccessfully to secure passage of an alternative budget backed by Wesson, which called for zero layoffs and furloughs.
The council decided to rely, at least tentatively, on his plan for deriving tens of millions from a plan to lease 10 public parking garages. Although Villaraigosa pinned his hopes on generating $53 million for the budget from that initiative, the money would not arrive until Oct. 1 at the earliest.
If that money does not materialize, the council would need to reduce the payroll by another 1,000 positions, officials said.
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