LA City Council wants to put LAPD’s multi-billion dollar budget under financial watchdog

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted in late March to research what it would take to create a Bureau of Police Oversight, moving accounting and audit roles out of the police department and into the controller’s office.

Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez of District 13 said Angelenos lack transparency on how the LAPD spends its approximately $3 billion budget. The motion he introduced has others on council backing the effort to provide the public with a better understanding of the cost of policing.

“We deserve to have some transparency around how that money is being spent,” Soto-Martinez told The LA Local. “Moving these auditors to the City Controller’s office will allow for an independent agency to review how our taxpayer dollars are being spent, so that we can make informed decisions on our budget, and prevent unnecessary cuts to other essential services.”

City Controller Kenneth Mejia oversees the city’s finances, tracking how individual departments spend. Folding in LAPD accounting would provide his agency with the ability to report on police spending at a new level of detail.

“Currently, most audits of LAPD are conducted by LAPD themselves,” Mejia told The LA Local, adding that the “move would mean that the Controller’s Office would get dedicated auditors and accountants to oversee the City’s largest and most expensive department.”

What’s next

The motion still faces several rounds of analysis before it could be established but the unanimous vote indicates a high level of support among the council.

It requires the city’s legislative analyst and administrative officer, among others, to research the feasibility of transferring several positions out of the police department and to the controller’s office. After those reports are submitted and their recommendations considered again by the council, the mayor’s office would also have to approve it.

The new Bureau of Police Oversight within the controller’s office would generally focus on financial accountability, conducting performance audits, cost analysis for every division, reviewing the department’s reports and monitoring its contracts. In total, it would transfer two accountants and eight performance auditors.

The legislative effort started as one focused on the police department’s accounting, recruiting and hiring practices, according to a review of city clerk filings dating back to last year.

Soto-Martinez in January first introduced a motion directly requesting the ten positions be transferred out of the LAPD. Monica Rodriguez, of Council District 7, countered with an amended motion in March requiring reporting on the move before it’s fully implemented.

A spokesperson for Rodriguez said that her amendment was introduced to ensure the city does its due diligence and “report on implementation, feasibility, costs, staffing, and the structure of a proposed Bureau of Police Oversight” so the various stakeholders can make an informed decision.

Mejia echoed support for the motion to be further reviewed: “My office is committed to ensuring that the Bureau is set up for success and that we can bring an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability for Angelenos. We will work diligently in these early planning stages, in partnership with city leaders, so that the Bureau is primed to execute our collective vision.”

A spokesperson for the LAPD declined to comment on the motion, saying, “We will wait for further guidance from our city partners.”