LA city council exploring LAFD funding initiatives

The Los Angeles City Council approved a measure on Tuesday that could lead to more funding for the LA Fire Department.

City leaders now have 60 days to create a bond that would be voted on in June 2026.

All 15 members in the chambers voted in favor of this. This came after three city council members passionately talked about the need for new and improved fire stations.

Not just in the Palisades, but across the city in areas like Sylmar and Lincoln Heights.

“Simply put, we need a 21st century fire department that can tackle 21st century problems. Too many stations past their originally intended life stamps. We have leaky roofs, broken staircases, and PFAS extractors that we can’t plug into the wall because we don’t have the right electrical equipment to support the equipment,” Councilwoman Traci Park said.

“We already know we can’t get the kind of investment that we need inside the walls of our own city budget, and that means we need to explore a ballot measure for 2026,” Park said. 

This comes in the wake of the Palisades Fire and frustration from the LA Fire Department, the union representing firefighters and the people impacted by the fire about a lack of resources.

In January, NewsChopper4 spotted several fire trucks, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles at a maintenance yard in Lincoln Heights.

They were broken down and not able to be used to fight fires and save lives.                   

Now that this measure was approved, the city attorney, fire department, and other city officials would have 60 days to come up with recommendations for the ballot measure.

The bond, if approved by voters, would fund the construction of new fire stations and repairs of old ones.         

However, it would not fund staffing.

City councilors who brought the measure forward argue this would bring the department up to the standards needed for the next 50 years.

The union representing the LA city firefighters sent a statement to NBC4 before that vote, saying in part:

“Our LAFD firefighters and paramedics support any and all efforts to grow our department, build additional fire stations, and ensure that we have the equipment we need to protect Los Angeles.”

“After decades of neglect, we need to finally prioritize the LAFD," the statement continued.

A list of community groups across the city supported this as well, saying that they support this proposed measure.

This will ultimately come down to the voters, and whether they want to spend the money in this way.