Before one of the worst wildfires in California history, the city of Los Angeles cut millions of dollars in funding from its fire department. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of dollars were given to programs like a “Gay Men’s Chorus” and housing for transgender people who are homeless.
This week, deadly fires broke out all over Southern California. The winds made the fires even worse, and they destroyed about 10,000 homes and businesses. Many people were angry at the Democratic-led state government for cutting the Los Angeles Fire Department’s (LAFD) budget by $17.6 million just a few months before the fires, when fire hydrants stopped working and homes burned down.
But while the department’s funding was being cut, Fox News Digital looked into the L.A. County budget and found that thousands of public dollars were going to programs that give syringes to the homeless and worked on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
This year, $14,010 was set aside in the budget for the “Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.” This is a group whose goal is to “create musical experiences that strengthen our role as a leader among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and performing arts organizations.”
The Homeless and HIV Program got an extra $190,000. This money goes to a “syringe exchange” program that gives homeless drug users clean syringes.
Extra $100,000 from the county was set aside to pay for Juneteenth events, and $13,000 was given to “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Heritage Month Programs.”
The Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department was also given $100,000 to fund a “Midnight Stroll Transgender Cafe” that will help homeless transgender people in Hollywood find housing.
Also, the county gave $13,000 to “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Heritage Month Programs” and $4.5 million to build chargers for electric vehicles (EVs). To pay for general city purposes, $250,000 was set aside for “equity and inclusion.”
The report says that for the second year in a row, spending for homeless people was higher than the LAFD budget.
Amid the fires in the Los Angeles area, famous people like actor Sara Foster criticized state leaders for how they have run the legislature over the years.
“The taxes we pay are the highest in California.” The fire hydrants we had were empty. Our plants were overrun, and the brush hadn’t been cut down. Because tribe leaders wanted to save fish, our governor drained our lakes and rivers. The mayor cut the money our fire department had. “Thank God drug addicts are getting their drug kits, though,” Foster wrote on X. Hey @MayorOfLA and GavinNewsom, RISE UP. Our state is in bad shape because of your far-left ideas. Also our party.”
Because of the cut in funds, L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said on Wednesday that “there are not enough firefighters in L.A. County to deal with four separate fires of this magnitude.”
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