Yaroslavsky Warns of Crisis, Calls for Cuts

Asserting that Los Angeles is on the brink of an “unparalleled” fiscal crisis, City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky said Monday that the city must make deep cuts in its budget or face a $100-million deficit next year.

“I see cuts coming in every department,” said Yaroslavsky, chairman of the council’s Budget and Finance Committee. “We have a crisis. We are spending in the red right now.”

The city’s financial problems are related largely to the economic slowdown in the nation and the region, leading to a drop in tax revenues.

The slowdown has had a “devastating” effect on the city’s reserve fund--now $3 million with seven months left in the fiscal year, he said. The crisis in the Persian Gulf also has added $4 million to the city’s gasoline bill, he said.