City of Los Angeles Budget Quiz
City of Los Angeles Budget Quiz
1. The size of the City's operating budget for Fiscal Year 2007-08 (General Fund and Special Fund) is between:
- 3-4 Billion
- 4-5 Billion
- 5-6 Billion
- 6-7 Billion
Answer
| (D) For the current fiscal year (2007-08), the City's operating budget (General Fund and Special Fund) is $6.8 billion. Of this amount 65% or $4.4 billion is General Fund and 35% or $2.4 billion is Special Fund. The City's General Fund is what supports most of the municipal services in the City such as Fire and Police services. Special funds are generated for a specific purpose, typically approved by voters for a specific service like sewer construction. Proprietary Departments and the CRA are governed by separate boards but still fall within the jurisdictional review of the Mayor and City Council. When accounting for the budgets for the Proprietary Departments and the CRA, the total City Government budget is $16.6 billion. |
BUDGET COMPONENT |
AMOUNT
($ Billions) |
City Budget |
$6.8 |
General
Fund |
4.4 |
Special
Funds |
2.4 |
Proprietary Department Budgets |
8.3 |
Airports |
2.4 |
Harbor |
1.0 |
Water
and Power |
4.9 |
Community Redevelopment Agency
(CRA) |
.6 |
Grants and Other Non-Budgeted |
.9 |
Total City Government |
$16.6 |
|
2. The City's fiscal year beings in ___and ends in ____:
- January-December
- July-June
- September-August
- April-March
Answer
| (B) Pursuant to Sec. 310 of the City Charter, the fiscal year of the City shall begin on July 1 of each year and shall end on June 30 of the following year. |
3. The City Charter deadline for the Mayor to submit his proposed budget to the City Council is:
- January 20
- March 1
- April 20
- July 1
Answer
| (C) Pursuant to Sec. 312 of the City Charter, on or before April 20 of each year, the Mayor shall submit to the Council a budget for the next ensuing fiscal year. |
4. The largest source of revenue for the City is:
- Sales taxes
- Property taxes
- Business taxes
- Licenses, Fees, and Permits
Answer
| (B) Property taxes represent the City's largest source of revenue. The adopted budget for Fiscal Year 2007-08 includes $1,397.3 million in Property tax receipts. This amount represents 20.5% of all City revenues (General Fund and Special Fund) and 32% of General Fund revenues. The top 8 General Fund revenue sources are as follows: |
|
GENERAL FUND REVENUES |
AMOUNT
($ Millions) |
Property Tax |
$1,397.3 |
Utility Users' Tax |
627.2 |
Licenses, Permits, Fees
and Fines |
620.7 |
Business Tax |
477.6 |
Sales Tax |
348.9 |
Power Revenue Transfer |
184.6 |
Documentary Transfer Tax |
157.0 |
Transient Occupancy Tax |
144.0 |
TOTAL |
$3,957.3 |
|
5. The largest spending area of the City's budget is:
- Elected offices
- General government and support services
- Public Safety
- Public Works
- Recreation, Library, and Cultural facilities
Answer
| (C) The largest spending area of the City's budget is public safety which includes fire and police services. The budgets for the Police Department and Fire Department are the two largest budgets in the City $1,227 million and $535 million, respectively. |
|
6. The number of Police Officers per 10,000 residents in the City of Los Angeles is about:
- 25-29
- 30-34
- 35-39
- 40-44
- 45-49
Answer
| (A) According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics the City of Los Angeles has 25 police officers per 10,000 residents. The number for other major U.S. cites are as follows: San Francisco (29), Philadelphia (46), and New York (50) (Source: OJP 2000). |
|
7. The current cycle for trimming the City's urban forest is approximately:
- 3 years
- 5 years
- 7 years
- 9 years
Answer
| (D) The current cycle for trimming of the City's urban forest is approximately nine years. The industry standard to facilitate healthy growth of trees is five years. With nearly 7,000,000 street trees growing along 6,500 miles of streets with over 1,000 different species, it would cost the City an additional $14 million to achieve a five-year tree trimming cycle. However, if your request involves an emergency situation such as a tree or limb down or a partially uprooted tree, a crew will respond within 24 hours. |
|
8. The adopted budget for Fiscal Year 2007-08 assumed a revenue growth of:
- 2%
- 4%
- 6%
- 8%
Answer
| (A) The adopted budget for Fiscal Year 2007-08 is $6.8 billion. The adopted budget for Fiscal Year 2006-07 was $6.7 billion. This difference represents an increase of 2%. |
|
9. The City department that serves as the banker and investor of public funds for the City of Los Angeles is:
- The Office of Finance
- The City Administrative Officer
- The Office of the Treasurer
- The Office of the City Controller
Answer
| (C) The Office of the Treasurer serves as the banker and investor of public funds for the City of Los Angeles. As the City's banker, the Treasurer oversees a cash management program that exceeds $50 billion annually. Since January 2001, the City's general investment portfolio has increased from approximately $3.2 billion to today's $5.5 billion. In its entirety, the investment program exceeds $6.5 billion. Los Angeles is one of the very few cities that can boast a "AAA" rating from both Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Services. |
|
10. The City collects approximately __ thousand tons of refuse, recyclables, yard trimmings, and bulky items from more than 750,000 homes per day:
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
Answer
| (B) The City collects refuse, recyclables, yard trimmings, and bulky items from more than 750,000 homes. That's an average of 6,652 tons per day. |
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