The impact this $80 million could have if it were being used means streets could get paved, parks could get improvements, and more fire hydrants could be installed. And these services wouldn’t strain the City’s budget – it’s money the City already has.
Check out the report:
bit.ly/idlefunds
Right now, the City is facing another tough budget year. We need to make sure to use the money we already have before we dip even further into our reserves or make deeper cuts into City services.
What idle funds COULD HAVE been used for:
$10.9M for economic development
$11.9M for community safety
$9.7M for parks
$7.8M for housing and homelessness.
$7.1M for streets
$4.3M for transportation
$1.7M for fire hydrant installation & main replacement
Special Funds are different than the General Fund: Special Funds can only be used for specific purposes. (The General Fund can be used for anything.)
Special Funds sitting idle means that there are specific purposes that the City could have been spending on but wasn’t.
Imagine finding $80 MILLION sitting IDLE around your house that you could have been using!
That’s what our office found when we looked at the City’s Special Funds for any funds that hadn’t been used for 2+ years!
Read our Idle Funds Report:
bit.ly/idlefunds
Read the full report:
fwavendor42.lacontroller.app
Note:
The City Attorney was also investigating the same events & secured a default judgment against Makai for breach of contract. The court ordered Makai to pay the City $542k. Also, Makai was banned from doing business with the City for 3 years.
Our FWA Unit’s investigation helped to ensure that GSD is now overseeing vendors better & sticking to protocol.
We only have 5 FWA investigators for the entire city (40k+ employees, 40+ departments). Even so, we thoroughly evaluate all cases.
The City must fund our FWA Unit.
- We reminded GSD that they’re required to report potential fraud, waste or abuse within 10 days of discovery (they waited over 2 years to report this allegation)
- GSD should conduct reviews to ensure that accurate information is entered into the City’s financial management system
- GSD should train purchasing staff on the importance of City policies on sharing usernames/passwords
(more)
We made recommendations to the General Services Department (GSD), and they agreed with implementing our recommendations:
- GSD has already reminded staff about prepayment rules ✔️
- GSD should conduct reviews to ensure that prepayment rules are being followed
(more)
Staff (including nonpermanent staff) were allowed to share a single login for the City’s financial management system - so it was almost impossible to tell who marked the lifts as received.
Staff were directed to falsely mark the lifts as received, in order to make the payment happen. (Had the lifts not been marked as received in the City’s systems, the City would not have approved the payment.)
Our investigators were told that the Superintendent authorized prepayment because it was “chaotic at the time” due to COVID & supply chain issues, and that they wanted to get the lifts installed asap.
How did this happen?
We found that the Superintendent of the City department involved – the General Services Department (GSD) – verbally OK’d prepaying without following City rules.
Rules include clarifying what goods will be provided, a plan in case of non-delivery, etc.
So what did our FWA team find?:
The allegation was substantiated ✅
We confirmed that Makai never provided the lifts that the City had prepaid for, despite multiple attempts by the City to contact Makai.
According to City rules, when the City buys something, it has to be delivered *before* the City pays.
There is, however, an *exception* if prepayment is the only way to get an item – but City departments must follow specific guidelines for this.
Our Fraud, Waste & Abuse (FWA) Unit got a hotline tip alleging FRAUD by Makai Solutions, a vendor to the City.
The tip said Makai was paid $461k by the City for 2 vehicle repair lifts, but Makai never delivered the lifts.
Our FWA Unit began an investigation.
The report cover. It's called "Fraud Waste and Abuse Investigative Report: GSD Unauthorized prepayments and vendor fraud"
🚨 VENDOR FRAUD
The City spent $461k & never got the goods! Our FWA Unit investigated & substantiated the allegation!
- City’s response led to $542k judgment against vendor
- Vendor can't do business w/ City for 3 years
- Defrauded city dept. is implementing our recommendations
📸 125 SPEED CAMERAS ARE COMING TO THE CITY OF LA!
- Coming late summer / fall (first 60 days will be a warning period)
- Civil speeding fines will start at $50 if you go 11mph over the speed limit
Visit our map: speedcameras.lacontroller.app
LADOT info: ladot.lacity.gov/speed-safety...
- also find City cooling centers at emergency.lacity.gov. or head to the library to cool down.
bathrooms.lacontroller.app is a map of public bathrooms in the City of LA.
The heat wave is going to reach extreme temps through Friday 3/20. Next week will only cool down a bit (highs will still be in the 80s until the end of the month)
Stay cool: Bookmark our map and -
TAKE ACTION NOW! Take action! Email the Charter Reform Commission at reformlacharter@lacity.org Commissioners, Thank you for voting to protect the Controller's budget. As the City's chief accountant and auditor, it's essential that the Controller be empowered and independent After years of cuts, the Controller is currently underfunded with ust 0.29% of the General Fund. This only allows for 7 auditors and 5 fraud, waste and abuse investigators for the second largest City in the County Despite these restrictions, the Controller's FWA unit was able to expose a $23 million fraud case related to a homeless provider not meeting contractual obligations and providing fake invoices. Adequate resources would allow the Controller to provide robust oversight, helping to restore trust in government. To empower the Controller to carry out the office's charter-mandated duties, we ask the Commission to support the Controller's recommendation for a budget of no less than 0.42% o the General Fund. Less than one half of one percent of the General Fund is a small price to pay for transparency and accountability Thank You. VISIT LACONTROLLER.ORG TO SEND AN EMAIL
We made it easy to email the Charter Reform Commission. Visit lacontroller.org to send an email.
Tomorrow (Tues), the meeting is at 3pm at City Hall Room 1010. You can give public comment in person or over Zoom. Visit reformlacharter.lacity.gov for meeting link.
Letter to charter reform commission As you reform the City Charter following the leaked tapes that severely damaged public trust in local government, it is essential to ensure the Controller has the authority and independence needed to help restore confidence in City Hall. To that end, we thank you for voting to recommend an independent budget for the Controller. However, we are concerned about the proposed language that uses our current operating budget as a baseline, which now stands at an incredibly low 0.29% of the General Fund after years of budget cuts. To allow the Controller’s Office to fulfill its Charter-mandated responsibilities as the City’s chief accountant, auditor and paymaster, we propose a baseline operating budget of 0.42% of the General Fund. The current 0.29% operating budget has hindered our ability to carry out our Charter-mandated functions due to insufficient staff and resources. In 1999, before the Charter reforms that gave the Controller the authority and responsibility to conduct performance audits, this office had 205 positions. Today, after years of budget cuts, staffing has fallen to 159 positions. Since 1999, the amount of money the Controller’s Office is tasked to oversee has grown exponentially. The General Fund has grown from $2.8 billion to $8.2 billion, and the City’s total annual budget now amounts to over $35 billion including proprietary departments. As the number of City employees, programs, and operations has grown, staffing at the Controller’s Office has dwindled due to repeated budget cuts. Our budget constraints create serious risks for the City, including: ● Inability to audit and provide reliable oversight over ALL departments and programs as mandated by the Charter ● Inability to effectively investigate hundreds of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse claims (We received 700 claims last year) ● Inability to proactively launch risk-based FWA investigations ● Elimination of the City’s Annual Preliminary report
● Delays in closing the accounting books at year-end and implementing the City’s budget ● Delays in implementing Council instructions for appropriating funds, including quarterly instructions from the Financial Status Reports ● Delays in payments to vendors and employees ● Inability to provide effective oversight over all city payments / spending ● Lawsuits and labor grievances due to delays in fixing payroll issues and implementing labor contract provisions ● Incurring penalties for noncompliance with tax laws ● Inability to train and assist Citywide accountants Despite these restrictions, the Controller's FWA unit was able to expose a $23 million fraud case related to a homeless provider not meeting contractual obligations and providing fake invoices. $23 million is also the size of the annual operating budget of the entire Controller’s Office. Adequate resources would allow the Controller to provide robust oversight, helping to restore trust in government. To empower the Controller to carry out the office’s Charter-mandated duties and provide the robust level of accountability and oversight expected by the people of Los Angeles, please support our recommended budget of no less than 0.42% of the General Fund, which would allow us to hire 240 employees. Less than one-half of one percent of the General Fund is a small price to pay for transparency and accountability. Bar chart showing Controller’s staffing levels decreased since 2009
In 1999, the Controller’s Office had 205 positions. Today, staffing has fallen to 159 positions.
Tomorrow, the Charter Reform Commission could empower us to provide robust oversight & accountability - or keep our budget the same, exposing the City to serious risks.
🏦P.S. Liability payouts get taken out of the General Fund, not from the responsible department's budget. This leads to the defunding of other City departments.
⚖️P.P.S. The $187M budget for Liability Claims is more than the Operating Budget of 34 departments!
💸FY 2020 thru FY 2025, LAPD had the highest liability payouts of all City departments, totaling almost $400M.
💸Last fiscal year alone (FY 2025), LAPD’s liability payouts totaled $155M
TOTAL LIABILITY PAYOUTS THIS FISCAL YEAR (SO FAR): 💲$157M 💲
Police $57M
Street Services $41M
Sanitation $22M
Transportation $6M
Fire $6M
Rec & Parks $4M
Animal Services $3M
Street Lighting $1M
All other departments combined $15M
#piday #piday2026
How is the City doing financially in fiscal year 2026? 💰
Unfortunately, expenditures are outpacing revenues (again). Liability claims & departmental spending over budget continues to lead the way!
Check out our latest Revenue Forecast Report!
revforecast2027.lacontroller.app
What's a performance metric you want to see from a City of LA Department? 🤔
Let us know in the comments‼️
Check out LAcitymetrics.lacontroller.app for our City metrics dashboard that shows financial spending metrics and performance metrics!
🚨 TODAY IS THE DAY!
Support the Controller's Office in person, over Zoom, or send an email to reformLAcharter@lacity.org voicing your OPPOSITION to directly or indirectly take away from the Controller's Office current duties.
Charterreform.lacontroller.app
