Los Angeles County supervisors approved a $43.4-billion budget Monday, saying they hoped it will fix the failing jails and juvenile halls while acknowledging the board's failures to successfully oversee the departments in the past.
The budget for the fiscal year beginning Saturday is bigger than many state budgets and will fund a workforce of more than 114,000. Roughly $5 billion of the total will flow into the county's two most troubled agencies — $4 billion for the Sheriff's Department and $1 billion for the Probation Department.
The budget approval followed hours of testimony, much of it urging funding cuts to the Sheriff's Department, which is on track to have one of the deadliest years in its jails in recent history. The Probation Department has also had a perilous year with a surging number of overdoses and violent incidents.
