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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Los Angeles City Council Meeting – May 20, 2026: Budget Hearings and Public Comment

City Council — Wednesday, May 20, 2026

BodyLos Angeles, California

SessionCity Council

DateWednesday, May 20, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:58:45

Transcript — VerbatimClick a line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

The unemployment people had given up and he said to the people of America, there's nothing to fear but fear itself, and this galvanized the people and brought the country up.

0:14

And then when the bombing of Peroga Harbor happened, everybody went crazy.

0:20

And we have to look like the people that bombed Pearl Harbor.

0:25

And he saw us as the enemy.

0:28

And as great a man as Roosevelt was, Roosevelt was a human being.

0:35

He got swept up in the hysteria.

0:37

There are people on the West Coast that look exactly like the people that bomb Bar.

0:43

Who knows what could be a spy?

0:46

They might be planning to bomb San Pedro.

0:52

After a year of that unjust imprisonment, the government realizes there's a wartime manpower shortage.

0:59

And here are all these young people, men and women that they've categorized just arbitrarily as enemy aliens.

1:09

We're Americans, born, raised, and imprisoned by America, born here.

1:16

They just made up this enemy alien thing.

1:19

But now they need us.

1:21

So they come down with a loyalty questionnaire.

1:25

What's the matter with this government?

1:27

They should have passed back before they imprisoned us, before they took our homes, destroyed my father's business.

1:39

Hearing this story, I keep telling people the ideals of democracy are noble.

1:46

A government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

1:50

That's us, the people.

1:54

And my father said, we have to be involved, all of us.

1:58

At that time, the civil rights movement was going on.

2:01

He said what the black people are doing is that they are out speaking up for themselves.

2:10

They have a history.

2:11

That's a part of American history.

2:14

And you said, you when you get the vote, you are the part of the people that speak for this country.

2:23

We have to participate.

2:32

I am so grateful to be sitting here with Hina Knowles to have a chance to hear a little bit more about your work and the creation of the Waco Theater Center.

2:41

The creation of the Waco Theater Center has been a dream of mine since I was a teenager because I had a mentor actually gave me exposure to the arts.

2:51

And it made me feel seen and heard.

2:53

So I know the effect of the arts on the community and especially on kids who don't have great opportunities.

3:01

And that is what Waco is all about.

3:05

We started this charity very small in a little tiny 100-seat theater.

3:11

And the challenge was that our students that we mentor, we had to bust them, so we spent all our money on busting them to North Hollywood.

3:20

And so this is a dream come true because we're in that community.

3:23

We can do community programs.

3:25

How cool is that?

3:30

I came out here to go to one of the shops on the main street here, which I thought was amazing because it was all these black-owned artistic businesses.

3:39

So that was exciting within itself.

3:42

And then my friend Mark Bradford brought me here.

3:45

And of course, it was before all the renovations, and I was like, oh my God, this is just sitting here.

3:52

It looked completely different.

3:54

And so when I heard that it was being restored, it was music to my ears.

3:58

And when there was an opportunity for us to help manage this place, it was like a dream come true.

4:04

And for it to be a place where this community can easily access.

4:10

And so that's what we're hoping for this place.

4:12

We're praying that it is a cultural community center, which it was meant to be in the first place.

4:18

The history, the legacy that is in this building, if the walls could talk.

4:29

We are so lucky here in the city of Los Angeles to be able to celebrate and to be able to do that through our theaters, through our art center, through our grantee program, through public art.

4:39

It's all about helping people feel comfortable and confident with where they are and who they are.

4:46

I really have to commend the city of Los Angeles.

4:49

What you've done here is historical.

4:52

It's selfless and it's inclusive and it is really amazing.

4:57

So I really commend the city of Los Angeles for that.

4:59

I think that it will be a beacon of pride for many people to bring commerce here, to bring attention to this wonderful street with all these beautiful businesses.

4:59

I feel like it's going to be contagious.

5:13

That touches my heart.

5:15

I just cannot wait.

5:16

I mean, we just got to get started.

5:22

Founded in 1885, Little Tokyo became the center of Japanese American life before World War II and remains one of only three surviving Japan towns in the United States.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural████████████████16%

Public Comment███████████████15%

Miscellaneous█████████████13%

Community Engagement████████████12%

Budget And Finance█████████9%

Arts and Culture███████7%

Animal Welfare██████6%

Parks and Recreation█████5%

Budget and Finance█████5%

Summary of Proceedings

Los Angeles City Council Meeting – May 20, 2026

The Los Angeles City Council held its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. The meeting focused on public hearings for items 1 through 5, with extensive public comment on the city budget (Item 1) and general municipal matters. Council members took procedural actions on several agenda items, including a vote on a lien item and continuances.

Consent Calendar

Approval of the minutes from May 19, 2026, was moved by Councilmember Rodriguez and seconded.
Commendatory resolutions were moved by Councilmember Lee and seconded by Councilmember Price.

Public Comments & Testimony

Public comment was taken on Items 1 (budget), 4, and 5 (LADBS lien items), as well as general public comment. Over 60 speakers signed up; the Council extended comment by one hour to accommodate them. Key positions and statistics included:

Fashion/Garment Industry: Multiple speakers (e.g., Birma Santiago, Gloria, Maria, Sofia Bravo, Francisco Masilla) urged investment in Los Angeles’ garment and fashion industry, calling for a $1.7 million pilot program to support small businesses, workforce development, and ethical production. They noted the city has not made similar investments to New York’s $120 million preservation effort.
Animal Services: Jackie Navratil (Lux Pause) reported a 31% increase in dead animal pickup by sanitation, costing millions annually; 49,000+ animals entered city shelters last year; and animal-related liability payouts increased 65-fold to over $7 million. Lynn Chow documented shelter conditions and urged funding for Dogs Playing for Life (DPFL) and spay/neuter programs. Alana Klein (Community Animal Medicine Project) noted LA Animal Services’ budget is just 0.2% of the city’s total and called for full funding, including an increase in spay/neuter vouchers. Gabby Weiss (Bobby Street Cats) criticized the lack of transparency in the sterilization fund and called for upstream prevention.
Fire Department Staffing: Doug Coates and Rich Ramirez (United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112) stated that LAFD response times have doubled to 8 minutes (vs. the 4.5-minute standard), the city has the same number of firefighters as in the 1960s, and staffing is 0.87 per 1,000 residents versus the recommended 1.8. They urged funding for additional drill towers and academies.
TGI Wellness & Equity Initiative: Many speakers (Chichi Any Permanent, Byron Jose, Chelsea Velez, B. Corriel, Jessica, Ayanna, Lucky Alexander, Pamela Moyeda, Alex Bass, and others) thanked Councilmembers Hernandez and Hutt for the $500,000 placeholder but stressed this falls short of the original $4 million ask. They requested full funding for housing, mental health, re-entry, and community-based services for transgender, gender diverse, and intersex Angelinos.
Public Bank Feasibility Study: Monica Ballesteros (Move LA), Hugh Brockington, Trinity Tran, Jake Hart, Javier Sarmiento, Beverly Roberts, and others urged the Council to fully fund the $325,000 remaining for a feasibility study. They argued that a public bank could recapture $1 billion annually in debt payments to Wall Street, generate a 10x multiplier through fractional reserve lending, and fund affordable housing, transit, and small business loans. They thanked the nine council members who already contributed discretionary funds.
Immigrant Legal Services (Rep LA): Godfrey Plata (LA Forward), Alexandra Morales, Lilith Melconian, Kerson Navidad, and others asked the Council to increase funding from the proposed $1.5 million to $3 million, noting that last year’s allocation left over 660 individuals on a waitlist at Chirlau alone and that current funding is insufficient to meet the rise in immigration enforcement.
Day Labor Centers: Nancy Suniga, Joshua, and others thanked the budget committee for increasing day labor center funding but asked for future growth to support case management, legal services, and infrastructure as centers have become community hubs during immigration raids and wildfire smoke events.
LAPD and Public Safety: Several speakers (including the speaker who identified himself as an organizer with Working Families Party and others) opposed the $3.6 billion proposed LAPD budget, calling for defunding and reinvestment in unarmed crisis response. Godfrey Plata celebrated the expansion of unarmed crisis response to 15 divisions by end of FY 2627.
Miscellaneous: One speaker (Joe Manzano) requested a meeting regarding neighborhood boundaries in CD14. Another speaker read the names of 322 trans homicide victims since 2017. A speaker criticized the lack of council file numbers on agendas for general public comment. One speaker (Herman) used profane and derogatory language and was repeatedly warned; the Council President apologized to the chamber.

Discussion Items

Councilmember Nazarian moved to continue Items 2 and 3 for four weeks until June 17, 2026. The motion was approved.
Item 4 was held by Councilmember Padilla until after public comment. An amendment by Councilmember Rodriguez was later voted on.
Item 1 (budget) was held on the desk for a future vote.

Key Outcomes

Item 4 (LADBS lien): The amending motion by Councilmember Diaz/Rodriguez passed with 13 votes in favor.
Items 2 and 3: Continued to June 17, 2026.
Item 1 (budget): Held on the desk; no vote taken during this meeting.
The meeting recessed at the conclusion of public comment and votes, to reconvene on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at 10 a.m. for the conclusion of the May 20 meeting.

Meeting Transcript

The unemployment people had given up and he said to the people of America, there's nothing to fear but fear itself, and this galvanized the people and brought the country up. And then when the bombing of Peroga Harbor happened, everybody went crazy. And we have to look like the people that bombed Pearl Harbor. And he saw us as the enemy. And as great a man as Roosevelt was, Roosevelt was a human being. He got swept up in the hysteria. There are people on the West Coast that look exactly like the people that bomb Bar. Who knows what could be a spy? They might be planning to bomb San Pedro. After a year of that unjust imprisonment, the government realizes there's a wartime manpower shortage. And here are all these young people, men and women that they've categorized just arbitrarily as enemy aliens. We're Americans, born, raised, and imprisoned by America, born here. They just made up this enemy alien thing. But now they need us. So they come down with a loyalty questionnaire. What's the matter with this government? They should have passed back before they imprisoned us, before they took our homes, destroyed my father's business. Hearing this story, I keep telling people the ideals of democracy are noble. A government of the people, by the people, and for the people. That's us, the people. And my father said, we have to be involved, all of us. At that time, the civil rights movement was going on. He said what the black people are doing is that they are out speaking up for themselves. They have a history. That's a part of American history. And you said, you when you get the vote, you are the part of the people that speak for this country. We have to participate. I am so grateful to be sitting here with Hina Knowles to have a chance to hear a little bit more about your work and the creation of the Waco Theater Center. The creation of the Waco Theater Center has been a dream of mine since I was a teenager because I had a mentor actually gave me exposure to the arts. And it made me feel seen and heard. So I know the effect of the arts on the community and especially on kids who don't have great opportunities. And that is what Waco is all about. We started this charity very small in a little tiny 100-seat theater. And the challenge was that our students that we mentor, we had to bust them, so we spent all our money on busting them to North Hollywood. And so this is a dream come true because we're in that community. We can do community programs. How cool is that? I came out here to go to one of the shops on the main street here, which I thought was amazing because it was all these black-owned artistic businesses. So that was exciting within itself. And then my friend Mark Bradford brought me here. And of course, it was before all the renovations, and I was like, oh my God, this is just sitting here. It looked completely different. And so when I heard that it was being restored, it was music to my ears. And when there was an opportunity for us to help manage this place, it was like a dream come true. And for it to be a place where this community can easily access. And so that's what we're hoping for this place. We're praying that it is a cultural community center, which it was meant to be in the first place. The history, the legacy that is in this building, if the walls could talk. We are so lucky here in the city of Los Angeles to be able to celebrate and to be able to do that through our theaters, through our art center, through our grantee program, through public art. It's all about helping people feel comfortable and confident with where they are and who they are.

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