The Los Angeles budget deficit 2026 raises urgent questions for Latino families as city leaders approve six-figure salaries while basic services and housing remain underfunded.
When Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell was sworn in 2024, he received a $450,000 salary.
The city of Los Angeles faces a projected mid-year budget deficit of $263 million for fiscal year 2025-26. This figure is an update of the initial deficit of nearly $1 billion that officials declared they had “closed” through budget maneuvers and labor agreements in September 2025. According to some council members, activists, and organizations, the city needs more resources to fix the problems with streetlights, garbage collection, potholes, affordable housing, and many other basic services… but according to city administrators, there is no money.
What there certainly is money for is paying some department heads who, despite being widely criticized for their work, have had exorbitant salaries approved by both Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council for a city supposedly operating on a limited budget.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council approved a $473,600 annual salary for Fire Chief Jaime Moore, about $18,000 more than his predecessor, Kristin Crowley, earned.
In a 12-0 vote, the City Council approved Moore’s salary, who took over the Los Angeles Fire Department from interim chief Ronnie Villanueva in October 2025. Mayor Karen Bass appointed Villanueva after she demoted Crowley from her position in February 2025 for handling of the Palisades Fire.
Council members Heather Hutt, Curren Price and John Lee were absent during the vote.
Mayor Karen Bass recommended Moore’s salary, which the Executive Employee Relations Committee approved on Jan. 27. City officials considered a salary range between $303,595 and $538,369 for the fire chief that factored in the rate of inflation.
Crowley previously earned an annual salary of $367,100. County records showed that Anthony Marrone, the chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, earned a $475,000 salary in 2024.
When Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell was sworn in 2024, he received a $450,000 salary. Initially, the Board of Police Commissioners, which oversees the Los Angeles Police Department, had recommended a salary of $507,500 for McDonnell. The decision to lower the police chief’s pay came as a result of the city’s budgetary concerns.
Also, in 2024, Janisse Quiñones general manager of the Department of Water and Power, was hired and sworn in with a $750,000 salary. City officials recommended her pay, citing a need to remain competitive with utility executives.
The Los Angeles Fire Department and Mayor Bass have been criticized for their response during and after the Palisades Fire, which burned more than 23,000 acres, killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of structures.
In January, Moore acknowledged the fire after-action report was edited to reduce criticism of LAFD’s leadership.
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