LOS ANGELES — Today, L.A. City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, alongside City Controller Kenneth Mejia, joined a broad coalition of community groups at the UCLA James Lawson Jr. Worker Justice Center to demand a 2026 City budget that reflects the people's priorities. More than 30 labor and advocacy organizations were in attendance to highlight their priorities for this next fiscal year ahead of the release of the Proposed Budget in April, including Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, IDEPSCA, Represent LA, Public Bank LA, LA Forward, LA’s Best, CARECEN-LA, ACCE, CHIRLA, UTLA, and more.
This event follows a year of successful advocacy that secured vital funding for the Unarmed Model of Crisis Response (UMCR), preserved immigration services through RepresentLA, and restored hundreds of city jobs in neighborhood services in the City’s Adopted Budget.
“Budgets are a statement of our values, and for too long, Los Angeles has prioritized one department at the expense of the essential municipal services that actually make our neighborhoods safe: fixing streetlights, repairing sidewalks, cleaning up illegal dumping, and keeping our communities clean and livable,” said Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez. “As Angelenos are being both abandoned and attacked by the federal administration — with cuts to healthcare, food assistance, and terror against our immigrant neighbors — our City budget must fill the gaps, not widen them. That means investing in the services people rely on every day and expanding programs like our Unarmed Model of Crisis Response so the right responders show up to the right calls while we build a city rooted in care first.”
“For years, our office has warned the City about its major financial challenges and the bold changes needed to get us back to fiscal health,” said City Controller of Los Angeles Kenneth Mejia. “We need a long-term, strategic, and collaborative approach to budgeting. The public shouldn’t wait until the budget hearings in the spring to make their voice heard. That’s why my office created mylabudget.lacontroller.app, where you can make a budget that reflects your priorities and send it to your Councilmember today.”
"We call on the City to put its money where its mouth is and invest $45 million toward a citywide expansion of its Unarmed Models of Crisis Response program,” said Godfrey Plata, Deputy Director of LA Forward. “Every year, 911 fields tens of thousands of calls that can go to trained mental health clinicians and unarmed crisis interventionists instead of armed police. By diverting these calls, we can free up LAPD and LAFD capacity for true emergencies, provide a care-based, compassionate response to Angelenos in crisis, and avoid costly lawsuits that drain our general fund.”
As a member of the Budget and Finance Committee, Councilmember Hernandez has pushed for new revenue solutions that strengthen the City’s financial stability. She was among the first to invest discretionary funds to launch Los Angeles’ public bank feasibility study, an effort that has since gained support from nine City Councilmembers committing funds to move the project forward.
“At a time when immigrant communities are under attack, the City of Los Angeles must invest in our values,” said Luz Castro, Public Bank Los Angeles. “A public bank – owned by the people and accountable to the city – will allow us to put our public dollars to work for the public good locally, supporting community partners to promote economic development. A public bank can help create real, lasting economic security for immigrants and all Angelenos.”
“Since 2020, Angelenos have voiced that they want our city to invest in housing, youth programs, and community resources. No time is more important than now for our mayor to listen and take heed,” said Melina Abdullah, Co-Founder and Director of Black Lives Matter Grassroots. “The People's Budget (peoplesbudgetla.com/survey) is about documenting where Angelenos want our tax dollars to go. We are appreciative of Councilwoman Hernandez for choosing to receive the People’s Budget findings this year and serve as a courageous voice on City Council.”
“As ICE raids intensify across Los Angeles, we cannot pretend that day laborers are invisible or disposable,” said Maegan Ortiz, Executive Director of the Institute of Popular Education of Southern California (IDEPSCA). “Day labor centers are not just job sites — they are lifelines. When immigrant workers are being targeted simply for trying to feed their families, our City’s budget must reflect whose side we are on. Investing in day labor centers is an investment in dignity, stability, and the economic backbone of Los Angeles.”
“City funding to provide immigration attorneys for Angelenos has never been more urgent than now,” said Shiu-Ming Cheer, Deputy Director at the California Immigrant Policy Center. “We have all seen the violent and unlawful ICE raids and federal immigration enforcement actions that tear families and communities apart. Increased funding for the RepresentLA program will help ensure that more people facing deportation are able to defend their rights.”
Councilmember Hernandez also emphasized that the City’s financial health is constrained by the limitations of the City Charter. She recently submitted more than 20 recommendations to the Ad Hoc Committee on City Charter Reform and addressed police accountability and the modernization of the budget process in her remarks at a town hall. She is calling for a shift from reactive, year-to-year budgeting to long-term fiscal planning that invests in the core municipal services Angelenos depend on every day.
For photos and videos from today’s event, click here.