Hawthorne council reviews $266.5M citywide budget, hears $117M general fund proposal

Felice Lopez, Hawthorne’s finance director, presented the city’s proposed fiscal year 2026–27 spending plan on May 12, saying the city is proposing an expenditure budget of $117,019,999 for the general fund and a $266,454,000 citywide total including grants and restricted funds. "We are proposing an Expenditure Budget of $117,019,999," Lopez said during the workshop presentation.

The presentation framed public safety, workforce, infrastructure investment and facility improvements as the budget’s core priorities, and stressed an emphasis on long-term fiscal stability and grant-funded capital work. Lopez detailed department-level changes: police will remain the largest share of the general fund (about 45 percent), non-departmental accounts and grant-funded capital projects are increasing, the city clerk budget rises primarily for election costs, and an additional $1,000,000 is budgeted for fire services this year with further increases forecast in the coming two years.

Why it matters: Council members pressed staff on the scale and drivers of public-safety increases and on how one-time or restricted funds change the picture for city services. Council questions focused on the $1,000,000 increase for fire services this year and recurring increases of roughly $2,000,000 in subsequent years; Lopez confirmed the first-year increase and that future contract changes will drive additional cost growth. Lopez also said $300,000 of the police department’s overtime increase is expected to be reimbursed by Inglewood for World Cup-related events.

Supporters and critics: Council members said they wanted more detail on how fire-service costs are allocated and whether alternatives or negotiations exist; one council member urged staff to return with usage and call-out statistics so the council can evaluate value relative to cost. Lopez and city staff repeatedly urged that grant and restricted funds cannot be used to offset general fund uses and that some capital activity is driven by externally imposed timelines and opportunity windows for grant awards.

What’s next: The council voted to receive and file the budget workshop materials, sending staff back to refine detail ahead of the final budget adoption expected in June. City staff noted supporting documents were published online for detailed review and that staff would follow up with requested breakdowns and clarifications for council consideration.