Budget and Finance Commitee

JOURNAL – BUDGET AND FINANCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE Monday, November 24, 2025 ROOM 350, CITY HALL - 1:00 PM 200 NORTH SPRING STREET, LOS ANGELES, CA 90012 MEMBERS: RON S. GALPERIN GILDA HAAS DERRIC J. JOHNSON JESSICA LALL JOSEPH M. LUMARDA Armando Bencomo, Legislative Assistant - (213) 978-1080 (or Clerk.BudgetandFinanceCommittee@lacity.org) Submit written comment at LACouncilComment.com The audio for this meeting is broadcast live on the internet at https://clerk.lacity.gov/calendar. Additional information regarding Committee procedures provided at the end of this agenda. Spanish language interpretation is available at all Council and Committee meetings. Interpretation services in additional languages are available upon request, at no cost. Please submit your request to clerk.interpretation@lacity.org as soon as possible to allow time for scheduling. You will receive a confirmation reply if an interpreter is available. MULTIPLE AGENDA ITEM COMMENT GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT The BFAC provided an opportunity for Multiple Agenda Item and General Public Comments. ITEM(S) (1) Welcome and Introductions Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, will welcome members and lead introductions.  Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky called the meeting to order at 1:06 p.m., with the following Members present: Ron S. Galperin, Gilda Haas, Derric J. Johnson, Jessica Lall. Absent: Joseph M. Lumarda. Councilmember Yaroslavsky discussed the purpose, potential focus areas, and intent of establishing the BFAC. Councilmember Yaroslavsky also introduced each Member and discussed their respective professional background. Member Joseph M. Lumarda subsequently arrived at 1:21 p.m. (2) VOTE: BFAC Chair and Vice-Chair The Committee will nominate and vote to elect a Chair and Vice-Chair for the BFAC. The Clerk called for nominations for the election of Committee Chair. Member Lall nominated Member Galperin, which was seconded by Member Johnson. Member Galperin was elected as Committee Chair by a unanimous vote. (5) Yes; (0) No The Clerk called for nominations for the election of Committee Vice-Chair. Chairperson Galperin nominated Member Lall, which was seconded by Member Haas. Member Lall was elected as Committee Chair by a unanimous vote. (5) Yes; (0) No Chairperson Galperin presided over the Committee meeting thereafter. (3) Budget Overview Staff will provide an overview of the City budget and key financial priorities. Matthew Szabo, City Administrative Officer (CAO), presented an overview of the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget, and answered questions from Members. (The CAO presentation, dated November 24, 2025, is available in Council file No. 25-0314.) Andrea Galvin, Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA), discussed the role of the CLA’s Office during the budget deliberation process upon release of the Mayor’s Proposed Budget by April 20th of each Fiscal Year, discussed support and legislative research that can be provided to the BFAC by the CLA’s Office, and answered questions from Members. The Committee discussed the resources available among various City Offices and departments that can provide requested reports and information to the Committee. (4) Discussion: Committee Focus Areas The Committee will discuss a work plan, set goals and focus areas for the year, and consider focus area leadership, as needed. The Committee discussed a potential work plan and focus areas to be undertaken, and grouping into pairs of two for each focus area. One group will focus on economic development and asset management, such as establishing a community development corporation. One group will focus on financial management, such as the City’s Treasury, Temporary Revenue Anticipation Notes (TRAN), General Fund reimbursements, Cost Allocation Plan (CAP), potential consolidation of special funds, and outstanding debt. One group will focus on revenue sources, cost recovery, franchising opportunities, restructuring fees, expenditures, liabilities, workers compensation and overtime costs, and innovations that can yield short-term goals and results. The Committee also discussed the integration of equity and efficiencies into the focus areas, developing a set of criteria for evaluation of established goals, setting six-month increments over a two- year period for each goal, and monitoring the Charter Reform Commission’s efforts. University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Fellows Golden Bachelder and Prokriti Monolina were introduced and discussed their availability to provide support to the Committee. (5) Next Steps Identify next steps, meeting frequency, and confirm upcoming BFAC meeting dates. The Committee discussed the development of future Agendas and topics of discussion, and dissemination of information. The City Attorney discussed the parameters in which the Committee Members can communicate regarding the focus areas to maintain compliance with the Ralph M. Brown Act. Each pair will report back on the status and progress to the Committee for each focus area, to be scheduled as topics of discussion during the BFAC meetings. The Committee agreed to meet once per month, on Fridays at 1:00 p.m. Upcoming BFAC meetings are confirmed to be scheduled on Monday, January 12, 2026 and Friday, February 6, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. The meeting location(s) for future BFAC meetings will be confirmed at a later date. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 3:25 p.m. with all Members present. If you challenge this Committee's action(s) in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City Clerk at or prior to, the public hearing. Any written correspondence delivered to the City Clerk before the City Council's final action on a matter will become a part of the administrative record. Materials relative to items on this agenda can be obtained from the Office of the City Clerk's Council File Management System, at lacouncilfile.com by entering the Council File number listed immediately following the item number (e.g., 00-0000). Telecommunication Relay Services Telephone communication is one of the most important forms of communication in society today. Due to advancements in technology, telephone devices have evolved with new services and capabilities. Individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing, and individuals with a speech disability are following these trends and are rapidly migrating to more advanced telecommunications methods, both for peer-to-peer and third-party telecommunications relay service (TRS) communications. Telecommunications Relay Service is a telephone service that allows persons with hearing or speech disabilities to place and receive telephone calls. TRS is available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories for local and/or long distance calls. TRS providers - generally telephone companies - are compensated for the costs of providing TRS from either a state or a federal fund. There is no cost to the TRS user. What forms of TRS are available?There are several forms of TRS, depending on the particular needs of the user and the equipment available: TRS includes: Text to Voice TIY-Based TRS; Speech-to-Speech Relay Service; Shared Non-English Language Relay Service; Captioned Telephone Relay Service; Internet Protocol Relay Service; and Video Relay Service. Please visit this site for detail descriptions, https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs. Don't hang up! Some people hang up on TRS calls because they think the CA is a telemarketer. If you hear, "Hello. This is the relay service .. . " when you pick up the phone, please don't hang up! You are about to talk, through a TRS provider, to a person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, or has a speech disability. For more information about FCC programs to promote access to telecommunications services for people with disabilities, visit theFCC's Disability Rights Office website.