$3.6B Pay Exiting LA as 64% Employees Live Outside LA
Los Angeles: Around $3.6B pay to the workers going out of LA as 6/10 municipal employees did not reside in Los Angeles. A report from the Controller’s office released this data.
Controller Kenneth Mejia’s office gave his staff the task of conducting a residency analysis of the 2022 City of Los Angeles Employee Payroll. The analysis revealed that approximately 32,066 employees, or 64 percent of the total payroll—roughly $3.6 billion—lived outside the city, excluding the Department of Water and Power.
Meija’s office states that city workers are not obliged to reside in the city.
About 6,350 employees, or 20% of the 32,066 city employees who lived outside the city, made less than $50,000 annually.
The report lists a number of advantages for city workers who choose to live in their place of employment, including the ability to recycle tax money back into the community; an increase in the city’s budget due to increased local revenue; support for the local communities that city workers serve; shorter commutes and quicker response times in the event of an emergency; and a decrease in traffic, greenhouse gas emissions, and stress on employees and their families.
The report highlighted that nearly this percentage of workers in the respective departmnets live outside the city-
- Library – 63% of workers that take home a total of $47M in payroll.
- Council – 66% of workers that take home a total of $23M in salary.
- Aging – 72% of workers that take home a total of $2.6M in salary.
- Recreation- 70% of workers that take home a total of $109M in payroll.
Although Mejia stated he thinks civil service reform is necessary to expand those opportunities beyond entry-level positions—usually lower paying positions compared to other city jobs—the city has programmes like Targeted Local Hire that are intended to hire from local communities.
According to the controller’s report, the city “suffers from chronic staffing vacancies where one out of every six jobs are unfilled,” which highlights the significance of hiring locally. The report recommends providing incentives for workers, particularly first responders, to reside in the communities they support.
“Where people choose to live is the product of many factors- including affordability, lifestyle choices, and family ties. But a close match between city staff and the communities they serve strengthens not only the economic health of Los Angeles, it also strengthens the bond of connection and public trust,” said Mejia.
