About · How it works
How does City money work?
These 9 short notes explain how the City's budget is made, where its money is kept, how contracts are approved and what the records behind this site do and do not show. Each one cites the City Charter, City codes and official reports, and links to the pages where you meet it.
The explainers
How is the City budget made?
The Mayor proposes a budget by April 20, the City Council's Budget and Finance Committee reviews it, the Council adopts or changes it by June 1, the Mayor can veto changes and the Council can override by a two-thirds vote, and the result funds the fiscal year that runs July 1 to June 30.
Where you see this: The 2026-27 budget, All City funds, Past budgets
What is the difference between the General Fund and special funds?
The General Fund holds City revenue that is not set aside by law for a particular purpose; special funds hold money that is, such as sewer fees, transit sales taxes and the Measure ULA tax, and Water and Power, the airports and the harbor keep their own funds under their own boards.
Where you see this: All City funds, House LA Fund, The 2026-27 budget, Departments, Revenue
Why don't the budget's numbers match the Controller's?
The adopted budget is a plan of appropriations set before the year starts, while the Controller's records track the budget as it is amended and transferred during the year and the money actually spent or committed, so the two answer different questions and rarely match.
Where you see this: Departments, All City funds, Checkbook, Past budgets, Council office spending, Deep dives
What is a Council file, and how do City contracts get approved?
A Council file is the City Clerk's public record of an item before the City Council; most contracts are approved by the department or board that makes them, under competitive-bidding rules in the Charter, and go to the Council when they run longer than three years.
Where you see this: The City's biggest contracts, Checkbook, Who gets paid most, Council files
What does the City checkbook show, and what does it leave out?
The Controller's Checkbook L.A. data lists payments the City has made, with payee, department, fund and purchase order; LA Receipts' spending pages narrow it to payments to outside vendors from the City's governmental funds, so payroll, benefits, debt, transfers to other governments and the self-funded departments are left out.
Where you see this: Checkbook, Who gets paid most, The City's biggest contracts
How is LAHSA funded and governed?
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is a joint powers authority of the City and County, created in 1993, governed by a 10-member Commission appointed by both, and funded mainly by the County and City along with state and federal money.
Where you see this: LAHSA, City spending and the count, Inside Safe
How do 311 requests work, and what do their statuses mean?
Requests made through MyLA311 by phone, app or website are logged as cases assigned to a City department; the City moved MyLA311 to a new system on March 28, 2025, which changed the case types and status labels the public data uses.
Where you see this: 311 requests, My district
What is Measure ULA, and where does its money go?
Measure ULA, approved by City voters in November 2022, adds a tax of 4% or 5.5% on sales of real property above an inflation-adjusted threshold, now $5.4 million, and the law requires the revenue to go into the House LA Fund for affordable housing and homelessness prevention.
Where you see this: Measure ULA, House LA Fund, Housing and permits
How do City pensions work, and how is the City's contribution set?
City employees outside the Department of Water and Power belong to one of two pension systems, LACERS for civilian staff and LAFPP for sworn fire and police, and each system's board sets the City's yearly contribution from actuarial valuations, which the City then pays through its budget.
Where you see this: What the City owes, Payroll
How these are written
- Every factual statement links the official document it comes from: the City Charter and Administrative and Municipal Codes, budget documents from the City Administrative Officer and the Controller, City Clerk records, and the published records of LAHSA, the County and City departments.
- Each note lists its sources at the foot with the date they were last checked. Laws and procedures change, so read each note as of that date.
- The notes describe how things work. They do not assess officials or policies. Corrections are listed on the corrections page; data sources for every figure on the site are on Sources and methods.