L.A.’s Road Ahead Is Filled With Potholes and Potential, IT Leaders Say

In Los Angeles, city and county IT leaders are walking a tightrope, balancing consistent service and innovation with considerable financial turmoil.

During the recent Los Angeles Digital Government Summit*, city CIO Ted Ross and county CIO Peter Loo offered a look at the road ahead, with many potholes and potential opportunities for industry to fill them.

The pair swept nothing under the rug when it came to the financial realities facing their respective organizations. The need to move strategically has perhaps never been greater.

“Doing more with less is always something that is front and center, but even more so now,” Loo said. “And less doesn't mean necessarily lower cost or resources, it’s how can we be more effective and deliver more with what we're able to do,” he added.

Both governments were hit hard by the devastating wildfires earlier in the year, as well as disruptive budget cycles that will mean even deeper staffing reductions for Ross’ Information Technology Agency (ITA).

“Next week, I'm going to have to let 12 people know they've been laid off, and that doesn't even change the fact that my department — among many other city departments — lost 27 percent of our positions in the last two years and 21 percent of our expense budget,” Ross said. “So, even after we deal with the horrible human consequences … we are now going to be in a conversation of, how do we operate with such a dramatic loss?”

Ross said these cuts will have a dramatic impact on the levels of service ITA’s partners have come to expect. He’s actively working to realign agency expectations, noting that one casualty will be the “Cadillac service,” 24/7 tech support.

“I've been going out and basically having to dismantle expectations that were unreasonable in the first place,” Ross said of his realignment efforts.

Looking ahead, Ross said he anticipates that the next few budget cycles will be similar or worse, barring some dramatic financial rebound like the one that followed COVID-19. Some of the large events being hosted in the city in the coming years — the 2026 World Cup, the 2027 Super Bowl, the 2028 Olympics, etc. — could help move the needle, but are still years out in some cases.

“How do I not try to get more out of less, but how do I give [city employees] the tools and the capabilities for them to have a fighting chance against all that's expected of them?” Ross said.

For the city and county more generally, the top priorities are addressing the significant homelessness crisis, navigating the current financial situation, public safety and fire recovery, and using data more effectively.

While it’s easy to get lost in the challenges, Ross and Loo said their organizations are still able to buy the right solutions where they make sense.

Ross noted that many of the citywide technology systems have been updated in recent years, but he said some business systems are in need of attention. These include systems like the tax and building and safety systems.

Loo and the county are in a slightly different position with several large projects in flight or on the radar. He pointed to the need for updates to the county’s tax replacement solution, election system, enterprise resource management and computer-aided dispatch systems.

For those looking to work with the city or county, Loo and Ross advise that vendors approach with real-world solutions to real-world problems. They also urge a shift away from the “transactional” business approach and toward one of patience, admitting government processes are slower, layered and include many stakeholders.

“There are some transactional parts of the relationships, I get that, but for those who have a true partnership, it really is a deep understanding of our issues — partnering with us to help evaluate and craft solutions and what you bring to the table,” Loo said.

*The Los Angeles Digital Government Summit is hosted by Government Technology. Industry Insider — California and Government Technology are both part of e.Republic.