Abracadabra - L.A. budget deficit is all gone!

Of course it comes at the expense of $121 million worth of cuts at the police department - $80 million in overtime pay and $41 million from trims yet to be determined. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council are obviously hoping that nobody will notice the loss in police services, especially since it doesn't involve actual job cuts. Maybe they're right - but if they are, I've got to wonder why the city has been shelling out that overtime pay all these years. Other cuts that the honchos are certain not to notice: a 10 percent reduction to homelessness programs and a more than 6 percent cut in graffiti removal efforts. The actual budget numbers will move around during the year, based on the ups and downs of revenues and spending. What's important to keep in mind - and what Villaraigosa and the others often sidestep - is that $336 million had to be eliminated from the start, in part because of the still-soft economy and in part because the city hasn't properly dealt with pensions. The mayor, sounding all warm and fuzzy, formally signed off on the budget earlier today.

"Today, I was proud to sign a budget that preserves core services and makes the necessary structural changes to put our City on a path to fiscal sustainability. With this budget, we are able to maintain police hiring to attrition, reorganize our fire department to maximize resources to better serve the needs of our communities, restore library service to six days a week, allocate funding to fill 300,000 potholes, and provide funding to allow Recreation and Parks to open new facilities.

So what does he mean by "core services," "necessary structural changes," and "fiscal sustainability"? You got me. (LAT, LA Weekly)