Included in the city’s requests are expected relief items, such as a $291 million state loan to help the city pay for debris removal and repairs to damaged city property pending FEMA repayment.
But some of LA’s funding list shows city leaders haven’t yet learned their lessons from decades of misguided policies that are making recovery and rebuilding costlier and more difficult.
For example, the city is asking for $40 million “to incentivize electric upgrades and appliances (e.g., heat pumps, induction cooktops, battery storage) that increase reliability during outages.” As if homeowners cooking with natural gas appliances fueled the wildfires.
This is the “California Way” at work – while homeowners are looking to quickly rebuild and get back on their feet, politicians prioritize another taxpayer-funded green subsidy so they can virtue signal on climate and dictate what appliances residents must use in rebuilt homes. Ask any victim and I’m sure switching from gas appliances to electric is low on their priority list.
LA also asked for $12-$15 million to operate a one-stop rebuilding center and more than $38 million to waive certain permitting fees. While these are good things, it begs the question, does it really cost city government that much to operate just one center? Certainly, the city is using property, furniture and computers it already owns, while redeploying existing city staff.
While a one-stop center is a great idea, affected residents find little comfort when they show up there to the center to find 12 different agencies they must contend with. Gov. Newsom has wisely acted to waive CEQA and Coastal Commission requirements to expedite rebuilding. In reviewing the city’s funding request, lawmakers should demand an equivalent streamlining effort at the city level to cut bureaucracy and speed rebuilding.
Then there’s the $700 million the city seeks to support power grid “upgrades” in the Palisades area for “resiliency, reliability and capacity.”
This is an important effort both in LA and the rest of the state as history has shown power lines can spark wildfires. Despite the urgency, power line upgrades are slow going because Newsom and lawmakers force utilities to instead spend billions that could fund these projects on electric vehicle subsidies, building charging stations, and other green mandates. Significant funds are need as it can cost upwards of $5 million per mile to bury or up to $500,000 per mile to harden. Worse, as PRI board member Dan Kolkey writes, “Newsom’s decision to prioritize zero-emission vehicles over resources for wildfire safety contributes to California’s high electricity rates.”
Finally, it is salt in the wounds to see Los Angeles ask for $40 million to rebuild the infamous Palisades reservoir that was out of commission on the night of the fires and which stood empty for a year prior, leading to fire hydrants running dry. Victims are still wondering why LA officials didn’t make reservoir repair a priority far in advance of this tragedy.
LA’s funding request comes as the city is financially “in trouble,” according to City Controller Kenneth Mejia. An estimated $140 million budget shortfall, declining tax revenues, reduced federal funding, and city overspending by $300 million has LA has created a $1 billion budget problem absent the added expenses of the wildfire response and recovery.
Upon meeting lawmakers in Sacramento, Mayor Bass told reporters that, “it is not as though we expected to walk away with a check, but we absolutely walked away with encouragement and support.” While right to expedite legitimate emergency funds, lawmakers would be wise to scrutinize the Mayor’s check requests very carefully. Real programs helping actual wildfire victims should be the priority. The wildfires should not be an excuse for the state to bailout LA’s years of fiscal mismanagement – which could happen absent a transparent budget process.
Tim Anaya is the Pacific Research Institute’s vice president of marketing and communications and co-author of The California Left Coast Survivor’s Guide.
