Budget and Finance Committee · Held
Los Angeles City Council Budget and Finance Committee meeting, September 1, 2026
From official records: The Los Angeles City Council's Budget and Finance Committee approved 31 of 38 items on Sept. 1, 2026, including a $13.5 million LAPD settlement in the Zelaya case, $33.4 million in construction project transfers and Street Services permit fee increases worth about $2.8 million a year. Eunisses Hernandez voted no on two LAPD grants; five items were continued to Sept. 15 and two discussed in closed session, with chair Katy Yaroslavsky absent (journal).
As of October 2, 2026, outcomes for the September 1, 2026 meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee of the Los Angeles City Council come from official records posted so far, such as council files, recorded votes and filed statements. Some results may be missing until the full minutes are posted and read.
| Agenda | Official agenda (posted August 28, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Council Journal | Official Journal |
| Video | Recording |
| City Council districts | Council District 4, Council District 14, Council District 15 |
Committee members, per the journal: Katy Yaroslavsky (chair), Bob Blumenfield, Heather Hutt, Tim McOsker and Eunisses Hernandez. Yaroslavsky was absent for every vote. All votes were 4-0 except items 7 and 13, where Hernandez voted no. Settlement amounts in the item list come from the motions the Council adopted Sept. 9 (for example settlement motion).
1. Raise Street Services permit fees to full cost, about $2.8 million more a year for the General Fund
- What it does: Adjusts existing Street Services Investigation and Enforcement Division permit fees and creates new ones to recover full costs, with yearly inflation updates, and asks the City Attorney for the ordinances (committee report).
- Money: Building materials, overload, special event, haul route and water discharge permits brought in over 95% of the division’s permit revenue. Full cost recovery would raise annual revenue from about $2.3 million to about $5.0 million; the 2026-27 budget already assumes $2.8 million more (committee report).
- What happened: Approved, 4-0; Katy Yaroslavsky absent (journal).
- What’s next: The Council adopted it Sept. 16, 2026, 14-0, with Heather Hutt absent (CF 26-0467).
2. First construction projects report for 2026-27: $33.4 million in transfers, including $10.1 million in MICLA borrowing
- What it does: Approves the CAO’s first construction projects report of 2026-27, amended to move $2,006,190 in federal CDBG money to Phase II restoration of the Ziegler Estate, a City-owned National Historic Landmark at 4601 N. Figueroa St. used as a childcare center (committee report).
- Money: $33.4 million in transfers and appropriations: $21.0 million from special funds, $10.1 million in MICLA funds and $2.3 million in capital program funds. The CAO says the MICLA borrowing is $34,276,223 at about 5.5% over 20 years, $57.4 million with interest (committee report).
- What happened: Approved as amended, 4-0 (journal).
- What’s next: The Council adopted it Sept. 9, 2026, 11-0, with Bob Blumenfield, John Lee, Monica Rodriguez and Hugo Soto-Martinez absent (CF 26-1124).
3. Conflict waiver so outside counsel can defend the City and Mayor Bass in former Fire Chief Kristin Crowley’s suits
- What it does: Lets the City Attorney sign a conflict waiver so Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP, already retained, can defend the City and Mayor Karen Bass jointly in Kristin Crowley’s two Superior Court suits. The firm also represents E. & J. Gallo in sponsorship talks for the City-owned Greek Theatre; the City Attorney found the matters unrelated (committee report).
- What happened: Approved, 4-0, in open session (journal).
- What’s next: The Council adopted it Sept. 9, 2026, 11-0, with four members absent (CF 26-0625).
4. LAPD accepts a $2.24 million state Department of Justice tobacco enforcement grant
- What it does: Lets LAPD apply retroactively for and accept $2,235,844 from the state Department of Justice 2025 Tobacco Grant Program, Nov. 21, 2025 through June 30, 2029 (committee report).
- What happened: Approved, 4-0 (journal).
- What’s next: The Council adopted it Sept. 4, 2026, 11-0, with Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Imelda Padilla, Traci Park and Yaroslavsky absent (CF 26-0979).
7. LAPD accepts a $320,000 federal de-escalation curriculum grant, including an AI chatbot
- What it does: Lets LAPD retroactively accept $320,000 from the federal COPS Office for de-escalation and crisis response curriculum, Oct. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2027, including up to $150,000 for an AI chatbot vendor (joint committee report).
- What happened: Approved, 3-1; Eunisses Hernandez voted no (journal).
- What’s next: The Council adopted it Sept. 16, 2026, 11-3. Hernandez, Ysabel Jurado and Soto-Martinez voted no; Hutt was absent (CF 26-1012).
13. LAPD accepts a $100,000 Regional Threat Assessment Center subaward; LAPD to report on regional intelligence center requests
- What it does: Approves LAPD’s $100,000 Regional Threat Assessment Center subaward from the Sheriff’s Department. Hernandez added an instruction, seconded by Blumenfield, for LAPD to report at the end of 2026 on what it spends on the program and its ties to the Joint Regional Intelligence Center, and how many requests for LAPD data come through that center and how many are approved or denied (committee report).
- What happened: Approved as amended, 3-1; Hernandez voted no (journal). The vote block in the posted committee report lists Hernandez as yes.
- What’s next: The Council adopted it Sept. 16, 2026, 9-5, with Hernandez, Jurado, Curren Price, Nithya Raman and Soto-Martinez voting no (CF 21-0460-S5).
20. Study a Mitigation Response Fund, family resource centers and cost recovery after the Lineage warehouse fire
- What it does: Concurs with the Civil Rights Committee’s approval of a motion on a Mitigation Response Fund for the June 17 Lineage cold storage fire, mobilizing Family Resource Centers, and legal options to recover the City’s response costs (journal).
- Who brought it: Ysabel Jurado, seconded by Katy Yaroslavsky (journal).
- What happened: Approved, 4-0 (journal).
- What’s next: The Council adopted it Sept. 16, 2026, 14-0, with Hutt absent (CF 26-0906-S12).
21. City Attorney to brief the Council in closed session on suing Lineage over the Boyle Heights fire
- What it does: Asks the City Attorney to report to the Council in closed session within 15 days on suing Lineage Logistics and others over the fire, recovering City costs and grant money, other cost-recovery tools, a preliminary estimate of total City spending, expected legal hurdles, and state emergency funding (committee report).
- Who brought it: Ysabel Jurado, seconded by Eunisses Hernandez (committee report).
- What happened: Approved as amended, 4-0 (journal).
- What’s next: The Council adopted it Sept. 9, 2026, 11-0, with four members absent (CF 26-0906-S8).
37. Settle Nicole Juarez Zelaya suit over the 2019 death of Jacobo Cedillo after an LAPD encounter for $13.5 million
- What it does: Authorizes up to $13,500,000 to settle Nicole Juarez Zelaya v. City of Los Angeles, a federal case over the April 8, 2019 Van Nuys incident involving her father, Jacobo Cedillo, and LAPD officers. The money moves from the Liability Claims Fund to Police Liability Payouts and is paid to the Law Offices of Dale K. Galipo client trust account (settlement motion).
- What happened: Approved in closed session, 4-0 (journal).
- What’s next: The Council adopted the settlement Sept. 9, 2026, 11-0, with four members absent (CF 26-1181).
Every item
| # | Item | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raise Street Services permit fees to full cost, about $2.8 million more a year for the General Fund | Approved, 4-0 |
| 2 | First construction projects report for 2026-27: $33.4 million in transfers, including $10.1 million in MICLA borrowing | Approved as amended, 4-0 |
| 3 | Conflict waiver so outside counsel can defend the City and Mayor Bass in former Fire Chief Kristin Crowley's suits | Approved, 4-0 |
| 4 | LAPD accepts a $2.24 million state Department of Justice tobacco enforcement grant | Approved, 4-0 |
| 7 | LAPD accepts a $320,000 federal de-escalation curriculum grant, including an AI chatbot | Approved, 3-1 |
| 13 | LAPD accepts a $100,000 Regional Threat Assessment Center subaward; LAPD to report on regional intelligence center requests | Approved as amended, 3-1 |
| 20 | Study a Mitigation Response Fund, family resource centers and cost recovery after the Lineage warehouse fire | Approved, 4-0 |
| 21 | City Attorney to brief the Council in closed session on suing Lineage over the Boyle Heights fire | Approved as amended, 4-0 |
| 37 | Settle Nicole Juarez Zelaya suit over the 2019 death of Jacobo Cedillo after an LAPD encounter for $13.5 million | Approved, 4-0 |
| 5 | No-cost extension of a federal grant for trauma-informed police training on domestic and sexual violence | Approved, 4-0 |
| 6 | LAPD accepts a $277,500 federal port security grant, mostly for vessel repair | Approved, 4-0 |
| 8 | LAPD accepts a $500,000 federal de-escalation training grant, including a virtual reality system | Approved, 4-0 |
| 9 | Recreation and Parks applies for and accepts state Summer Food Service Program money for summer lunches | Approved, 4-0 |
| 10 | Create a Business Tax Advisory Committee to study business tax reforms | Continued to Sept. 15, 2026 |
| 11 | Office of Finance report on raising the business tax small business exemption threshold | Continued to Sept. 15, 2026 |
| 12 | One-year no-cost extension of the 2021 Connect and Protect behavioral health response grant | Approved, 4-0 |
| 14 | Supplemental federal grant for the LAPD Internet Crimes Against Children task force | Approved, 4-0 |
| 15 | LAPD accepts a $1.6 million federal DNA backlog reduction grant | Approved, 4-0 |
| 16 | Supplemental funding and extensions for the state urban search and rescue mobilization exercise agreement | Approved, 4-0 |
| 17 | LAFD keeps $435,808 left from a 2023 FEMA urban search and rescue grant | Approved, 4-0 |
| 18 | LAFD accepts a state agreement for swift water and flood rescue training | Continued to Sept. 15, 2026 |
| 19 | Shift County fire assistance grant money to the Boyle Heights WorkSource Center for Lineage fire recovery | Approved, 4-0 |
| 22 | Budget and Finance Advisory Committee progress report No. 1 | Continued to Sept. 15, 2026 |
| 23 | Darling Ingredients Inc. business tax matter, $206,471.02 | Approved, 4-0 |
| 24 | Audio Marco Inc. business tax matter, $114,150.75 | Approved, 4-0 |
| 25 | Settle Nelli Shekoyan sidewalk fall suit for $140,000 | Approved, 4-0 |
| 26 | Settle Karine Peshtmaljian sidewalk fall suit for $150,000 | Approved, 4-0 |
| 27 | Ronald Tull v. City, employment suit by an Urban Forestry Division worker | Discussed in closed session; continued to Sept. 15, 2026 |
| 28 | Settle Farmers Insurance claim over a Van Nuys Boulevard collision for $130,933.46 | Approved, 4-0 |
| 29 | Settle Mark Eugene Ferrell roadway fall suit for $150,000 | Approved, 4-0 |
| 30 | Settle Samanthi Addarapathiranage sidewalk fall suit for $200,000 | Approved, 4-0 |
| 31 | Settle Bruce McKinley Woods sidewalk fall suit for $350,000 | Approved, 4-0 |
| 32 | Judy Griffin v. City, on access to City park facilities for people with disabilities | Discussed in closed session |
| 33 | Settle Vianca Martinez police pursuit collision suit for $120,000 | Approved, 4-0 |
| 34 | Settle Geraldyne Lorna Harriston suit over the 2021 LAPD bomb squad detonation for $160,000 | Approved, 4-0 |
| 35 | Settle Noe Espino Perez traffic collision suit for $675,000 | Approved, 4-0 |
| 36 | Settle Andrew Mahoney disability discrimination suits against LAPD for $685,000 | Approved, 4-0 |
| 38 | Merrywood Drive closure claims and possible purchase of parcels to settle them | Discussed in closed session |