Sec.
260. Auditor and General Accountant.
The Controller shall be the auditor
and general accountant of the City and shall exercise a general
supervision over the accounts of all offices, departments, boards
and employees of the City charged in any manner with the receipt,
collection or disbursement of the money of the City. The Controller
shall be elected as provided in Section 202.
Sec.
261. Powers and Duties.
The Controller shall:
(a) appoint assistants, deputies, clerks and other persons as
the Council shall prescribe by ordinance;
(b)
prescribe the method of keeping all accounts of the offices,
departments, boards or employees of the City in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles, except that any change
of the system of accounting shall first be authorized by the
Council;
(c)
regularly review the accounting practices of offices and departments
and upon finding serious failings in accounting practices, be
empowered to take charge of the accounting function, and thereafter
assist the office or department in implementing appropriate
accounting standards and practices;
(d)
maintain a complete set of accounts which shall be deemed the
official books and accounts of the City, which shall show at
all times the financial condition of the City, the state of
each fund, including funds of departments responsible for managing
their own funds, the source from which all money was derived
and for what purposes all money has been expended;
(e)
in compliance with generally accepted government auditing standards,
audit all departments and offices of the City, including proprietary
departments, where any City funds are either received or expended;
be entitled to obtain access to all department records and personnel
in order to carry out this function; establish an auditing cycle
to ensure that the performance, programs and activities of every
department are audited on a regular basis, and promptly provide
completed audit reports to the Mayor, Council, and City Attorney
and make those reports available to the public;
(f)
maintain a reconciliation between the accounts in all offices
and departments with the accounts in the Controller's office,
and from time to time, verify the condition of all City funds
in the City Treasury, and report to the Mayor and Council thereon;
(g)
allocate among the several respective funds all public money
at any time in the City Treasury not otherwise specifically
allocated and appropriated by law or ordinance, and promptly
notify the Treasurer of the allocation or appropriation;
(h)
report to the Mayor and Council, at times established by law,
the condition of each fund, and make other reports as the Mayor
or Council requests;
(i)
maintain each fund on a parity with its obligations at all times
by transferring from the Reserve Fund as a loan to any fund
which may become depleted through tardy receipt of revenues,
and upon receipt of revenues sufficient to make an allocation
as will restore each fund to parity, retransfer the amount of
the loan to the Reserve Fund;
(j)
monitor the level of debt incurred by the City and report periodically
to the Mayor and Council on City debt; and
(k)
conduct performance audits of all departments and may conduct
performance audits of City programs, including suggesting plans
for the improvement and management of the revenues and expenditures
of the City. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude the Mayor
or Council from conducting management studies or other review
of departmental operations.
Sec.
262. Approval of Demands on Treasury.
(a) The Controller
shall, prior to approval of any demand, make inspection as to
the quality, quantity and condition of services, labor, materials,
supplies or equipment received by any office or department of
the City, and approve before payment all demands drawn upon
the Treasury if the Controller has adequate evidence that:
(1)the
demand has been approved by every board, officer or employee
whose approval is required by the Charter or ordinance;
(2)the
goods or services have been provided, except that advance
payment may be authorized by ordinance for specified categories
of goods and services;
(3)the
payment is lawful;
(4)the
appropriation for the goods or services has been made;
(5)the
prices charged are reasonable;
(6)the
quantity, quality and prices correspond with the original
specifications, orders or contracts; and
(7)any
additional criteria established by ordinance have been satisfied.
(b)
Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Controller shall delegate
to the various offices and departments the duties of inspection
of goods and services and approval of demands, in accordance
with methods for inspection and approval established by the
Controller, but the Controller may suspend the authority delegated
pursuant to this subsection upon a finding of abuse of that
authority or on a determination that the office or department
lacks adequate controls to exercise that authority properly.
In the event of suspension of the authority delegated pursuant
to this subsection, the Controller shall assist the office or
department to achieve adequate controls and standards prior
to reinstatement of that authority to the office or department.
(c)
The Controller shall withhold approval of any demand, in whole
or in part, if there is a question as to whether it is improper,
illegal, or unauthorized, and immediately file a report with
the Mayor and Council stating the objections to the demand.
The Council shall promptly consider the report and may overrule
or sustain the objections of the Controller.
(d)
The Controller shall keep a record of all demands on the Treasury
approved by the Controller and of all demands to which objections
have been made and overruled.
Sec.
263. Approval of Expenses of Controller.
All demands for the expenses of
the office of the Controller shall, before payment, be presented
to the Mayor, who shall have the same powers as to approval
or disapproval as are exercised by the Controller in the case
of other demands. The action of the Mayor shall be subject to
review by the Council.
Sec.
264. Reduction of Demand on Treasury.
No demand upon the Treasury shall
be allowed by the Controller in favor of any person or entity
indebted to the City without first deducting the amount of the
indebtedness, to the extent permitted by law.
Sec.
265. Payment of Bonds.
Nothing in this Article shall
be construed as interfering with or preventing the payment by
the Treasurer of principal and interest on bonds payable by
the City in accordance with the California Constitution, laws
and ordinances authorizing the issuance and payment of those
bonds.
Sec.
266. Periodic Surveys of Proprietary Departments.
(a) The Controller, Council and
Mayor shall jointly cause, at least once in every five years,
an industrial, economic and administrative survey to be made
of the business and property of each of the Harbor, Water and
Power and Airports Departments and shall select an independent
qualified industrial engineer or organization specializing in
such surveys to conduct the survey. The cost of each survey
shall be paid for from the funds of the surveyed department.
(b) Each survey shall be made
in consultation with the Mayor and City Council to ascertain
if the surveyed department is operating in the most efficient
and economical manner.
(c)
A copy of the report of each survey shall be transmitted to
the Mayor, Council, and board of the surveyed department and
shall be made available to the public.
