Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released her administration’s first budget proposal on Tuesday, which calls for more police and increased spending on homelessness, anti-gang programs and the city’s struggling animal shelters.

Bass renewed her call for the Los Angeles Police Department to increase its ranks by 400 officers to about 9,500. She also revealed that her plan will be based on a key recruiting strategy: persuading 200 retired officers, many of whom have recently left, to return for at least 12 months.

The mayor told reporters that those retirees would “get off to a flying start.” She predicted that her overall plan for rebuilding the LAPD, which has lost nearly 1,000 officers since 2019, will be met with skepticism by some on the city council, particularly those who have called for money to be diverted from the LAPD to other programs.

“We propose to increase the police force, and that will create tension in the city council,” she said. “But I have every confidence in our city council

,

that we can overcome those tensions.”

The council must review, amend, and ultimately approve Bass’s $13.1

–

billion budgeted by May 31.

Bass said she hopes to work with the council to build its newly created Office of Community Safety, which will oversee unarmed response and anti-violence programs. The mayor has described the office as part of the city’s effort to break the cycle of violence and crime.

The mayor’s budget is targeting a 45% increase in funding for an additional $13 million for the Gang Reduction and Youth Development program, which will eventually be overseen by the community’s security bureau, Bass aides said.

Two of the skeptics of the municipal police, Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martnez, did not immediately think about the budget proposed by the mayor. Council president Paul Krekorian said he expects the council to have one of its “firmer discussions” in recent years.

The central question is: How do you deal with the police budget? Krekorian said.

The mayor wants to give newly hired police officers a $15,000 signing bonus, as well as other financial incentives for city employees who find recruits. Police Chief Michel Moore said the LAPD has sent inquiries to former officers and received some interest from about 70 people so far.

Bass’s spending plan calls for nearly $1.3 billion for homelessness and housing services, an increase of 9.7% from the prior year. The mayor is asking for $250 million for her Inside Safe program, which has moved people from large-scale homeless camps to motels and hotels.

That figure represents a fivefold increase over the amount approved by the board for Inside Safe at the start of Bass’ administration. It would include $47 million to purchase hotels or motels.

Until now, Inside Safe has rented rooms in downtown, Silver Lake, South Los Angeles, Venice and other parts of the city. Acquiring real estate, Bass aides said, would cut costs by drastically cutting nightly room rates.

Mercedes Marquez, the mayor’s homeless czar, said the city is looking for at least eight motels or hotels. She declined to say which properties are being considered, to avoid driving up the price

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.

The mayor’s team didn’t have a figure for how many rooms it wants to rent next year, saying only that it will be “in the thousands.”

Councilman Traci Park, who represents the city’s coastal neighborhoods, said she is pleased to see the mayor working to expand Inside Safe. The program conducted camp operations in two areas of its precinct, so far Venice and Del Rey.

“I have seen firsthand how transformative this program is for a community and for the people who need help,” she said.

Bass’ team said the proposed budget also includes treatment beds for homeless people suffering from substance abuse.

While the spending plan calls for an increase in funding for homelessness initiatives, Bass has recommended that the council spend only a fraction of the projected revenue from Measure ULA, a property sales tax passed by voters in November. was approved.

The measure, which imposed an additional tax on commercial and residential real estate transactions of more than $5 million, is expected to raise an estimated $672 million for housing and homelessness initiatives in the coming fiscal year.

But

the mayor’s team

only

plans to use

only

$150 million until the city determines whether the ballot measure will pass multiple legal challenges.

That $150 million will be spent on housing acquisition and rehabilitation, along with a number of tenant protection measures, the mayor said.

Boy, would we love to spend that $672 million,” Bass said. “But we want to be conservative about that because of the lawsuits.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., one of the suing groups, alleges that Measure ULA violates Proposition 13, as well as part of the City Charter.

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If it was a laughable lawsuit that made no sense, maybe they’d go ahead and spend the money, said Jon Coupal, the association’s president.

Bass budget also recommends an additional $4.8 million for the city’s troubled animal service, an increase of nearly 18% from last year. The spending plan provides for 28 additional jobs for a department that is struggling to staff its shelters.

Times staff writer Libor Jany contributed to this report.