Voters approve $345 million fire tax as all 8 Los Angeles ballot measures pass

Los Angeles voters approved all eight ballot measures on Tuesday, including a plan to raise the citywide sales tax by 0.5% to fund the Fire Department. Measure FD, which received support from the firefighters' union, will add an estimated $345 million to a dedicated special fund. The revenue is restricted to spending on staffing, facilities, equipment, and other core functions of the department. Supporters cited a need for thousands more firefighters to handle growing call volumes and argued that the agency has been underfunded.

Six other measures on the ballot amended the Los Angeles City Charter. These changes originated from recommendations made by the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission to the City Council. The commission had proposed additional reforms, including ranked-choice voting and an expansion of the City Council, but council members voted in June to leave those controversial items off the November ballot. Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, described the passing amendments as non-controversial but important. He noted that none of the measures faced coordinated opposition during the campaign.

Charter Amendment LA shifts the city from a one-year to a two-year budget cycle. It also allows the City Council to eliminate or change the Board of Public Works while granting the director of Public Works more authority. The amendment removes restrictions that previously barred the city from engaging in certain commercial activities. The goal is to simplify the planning and execution of infrastructure projects. Yaroslavsky noted that the city attempted to reorganize this department more than 30 years ago when he served on the City Council.

Charter Amendment EE reduces the number of required City Council meetings from three per week to one. It also increases penalties for campaign finance violations and expands the authority of oversight offices for the police and fire departments. The measure requires more signatures for ballot referendums and bars ethics commissioners from running for local office for five years after their terms end. These changes are intended to improve accountability within city government.

Charter Amendment PL consolidates seven existing Area Planning Commissions into a single Neighborhood Appeals Commission. This move is designed to streamline the planning process and reduce the timeline for proposed developments. The amendment also aims to lower annual costs associated with commission staffing and resources.

Charter Amendment PRK doubles the minimum budget for the L.A. parks department over the next decade. A city-commissioned study released last year found that the parks budget had grown more slowly than other city agencies. The study also reported that department staffing had shrunk even as the agency took on responsibility for more park space and facilities. Diego Andrades, a former Charter Reform commissioner, stated that this measure was purely recommended by the public and was not initially on the commission's list of priorities.

Charter Amendment PRT adds new members to the Board of Airport Commissioners from communities near LAX and Van Nuys Airport. It updates lease rules for the Airports Department, the Department of Water and Power, and the Harbor Department, while adding transparency requirements to Harbor leases. Supporters argue these changes will increase community influence over major infrastructure and help attract investment around the airports and waterfront.

Charter Amendment SC aligns campaign finance rules for Los Angeles Unified school board elections with those governing mayoral candidates. The amendment removes duplicative language from the city charter regarding school board elections. Supporters say the change does not substantively alter election rules but simplifies the legal framework.

Measure TE exempts victims of the January 2025 Palisades Fire from the city's mansion tax. This tax was created by Measure ULA in 2022 to raise funds for affordable housing and homelessness prevention. The exemption applies to properties owned as of January 7, 2025, and sold before January 6, 2030. Andrades said the success of these ballot measures builds momentum for the City Council to pursue remaining charter recommendations in future elections.