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Grant Funded Full-time Equivalents FTE / Budget Policy

Council File 26-0559

In progress — the city has instructed its budget and finance staff to develop a formal policy for hiring and funding workers on grant-backed projects, with recommendations due within 30 days. The committee already signed off unanimously.

Introduced
2026-04-17
Last changed
2026-09-15
CFMS file status
File open See note on file status
Expires
2028-09-15
Committee
Budget and Finance Committee
Mover
HEATHER HUTT
Second
TIM MCOSKER

This is the City Clerk's status for the council file itself, not the outcome of the measure. A file often stays open after the Council has already adopted an item. The summary above reflects the latest recorded action.

Brief

Councilmembers Heather Hutt and Ysabel Jurado introduced a motion to create or clarify budget policy around grant-funded full-time equivalent (FTE) positions in Los Angeles city departments. The motion, seconded by Tim McOsker, was referred to Budget and Finance Committee in April 2026 and approved by that committee in September 2026. It remains pending final Council action.

Full summary

This motion, introduced by Councilmembers Heather Hutt and Ysabel Jurado, addresses how the City of Los Angeles budgets and manages staff positions funded through external grants. The core problem the motion targets is ensuring that grant-funded projects are completed on time and within their original proposed budgets — something that can break down when there is no consistent citywide policy governing how staff assigned to those projects are permanently hired, allocated, and funded. The Budget and Finance Committee approved a specific directive on September 15, 2026: instruct the City Administrative Officer (CAO) and the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA) to report back to Council within 30 days with formal recommendations for a Grant-Funded FTE Budget Policy. That policy would govern the permanent hiring, allocation, and funding of staff working on grant-funded projects, whether the positions are paid directly from grant dollars or through matching funds identified by the city. The emphasis on "permanent" hiring suggests the motion is trying to move the city away from precarious, project-to-project staffing arrangements that can slow down grant execution and jeopardize milestone delivery. The motion was referred to the Budget and Finance Committee in April 2026 and sat there for several months before being scheduled for a hearing in mid-September. The committee approved the item unanimously — 5-0, with Yaroslavsky, Blumenfield, Hutt, McOsker, and Hernandez all voting yes — and forwarded it to the full Council. No fiscal impact analysis has been completed by either the CAO or the CLA, and no community impact statements were submitted. The CAO and CLA reports, due within 30 days of Council adoption, will be the next substantive development to watch.

Activity (3)

  • 2026-09-15 Budget and Finance Committee approved item(s) .
  • 2026-09-11 Budget and Finance Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on September 15, 2026.
  • 2026-04-17 Motion referred to Budget and Finance Committee.

Documents (2)

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