The Government of Los Angeles County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Los Angeles.[1] Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of Los Angeles County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, health care, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.
It is composed of the elected five-member Board of Supervisors, several other elected offices including the Sheriff, District Attorney, and Assessor, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the chief executive officer.
Some chartered cities such as Los Angeles and Inglewood provide municipal services such as police, libraries, parks and recreation, and zoning. Other cities arrange to have the County provide some or all of these services under contract. In addition, several entities of the government of California have jurisdiction coterminous with Los Angeles County, such as the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Overview
Los Angeles County is the most populous county in the United States, and the largest municipal government in the nation. If the County were a state, it would be the 9th most populous state in the United States, in between Georgia and North Carolina. As of 2020, the Board of Supervisors oversees a $35.5billion annual budget and over 112,000 employees.[2] The county workforce is larger than the state-level government workforces of most U.S. states.
Under its foundational Charter, the five-member elected Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (BOS) is the county legislature. The board operates in a legislative, executive, and quasi-judicial capacity. As a legislative authority, it can pass ordinances for the unincorporated areas (ordinances that affect the whole county, like posting of restaurant ratings, must be ratified by the individual city). As an executive body, it can tell the county departments what to do, and how to do it. As a quasi-judicial body, the Board is the final venue of appeal in the local planning process, and holds public hearings on various agenda items. A local nickname sometimes used for the board is the "five little kings."[3][4]
The board members as of December6,2020[update] were:
In addition to the board of supervisors, there are several elected officers that form the Government of Los Angeles County that are required by the California Constitution and California law and authorized under the Charter.
The Los Angeles County District Attorneyprosecutes all felony crimes that occur anywhere within Los Angeles County (cities and unincorporated areas), and any misdemeanor crimes that occur within the unincorporated areas of the county, and for any city that has abdicated this responsibility to the county. The City of Los Angeles, for example, has its own city attorney to handle most misdemeanor crimes and infractions that occur within the City of Los Angeles.
Assessor
The Los Angeles County Assessor is the assessor responsible for discovering all taxable property in Los Angeles County except for state-assessed property and inventorying and listing all the taxable property, valuing the property, and enrolling the property on the local assessment roll.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), also known the chief administrative officer, assists the board of supervisors in handling the mounting administrative details of the county and coordinating between departments.
From 2007 to 2015, the CEO had direct supervision over 31 of the 37 departments while the other departments (Assessor, Auditor-Controller, Community Development Commission, County Counsel, District Attorney, Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors, Fire, and Sheriff) did not report to the CEO.
Prior to 2007 and from 2015 and following, the CEO provides a strategic coordination and support role. Departments submit recommendations and action items directly to the Board offices without CEO input required, and are fired and hired directly by the board, with the CEO providing administrative support in negotiating department head salaries and facilitating communications between departments when necessary. Board offices felt that the CEO added bureaucracy and that the additional deputy and assistant CEOs added little value.[6]
Other tasks specifically given to the CEO include preparation and control of the annual budget in consultation with departments, providing leadership and direction for Board-sponsored initiatives and priorities, analysis and advocacy of state and federal legislation; coordinating Countywide strategic communications and cross-departmental public information (including the main County website), and managing capital projects and debt, asset, leasing and space management. The CEO's office also administers the risk management and insurance programs, and facilitates departments addressing unincorporated area issues and international protocol issues, manages the County's employee relations program and compensation/classification systems, represents the board in labor negotiations, and monitors cable television companies operating in unincorporated areas. The chief information officer, Homeless Initiative (which manages Measure H, the voter-approved homeless tax), child care, and Office of Emergency Management are also located in the CEO's office.[7]
Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning:[9] responsible for planning functions for unincorporated areas. The Department maintains the Zoning Code that regulates land use in the unincorporated areas, researches and facilitates land-use decisions, and serves to connect the community to the established building regulations. It supports the Regional Planning Commission, a five-member quasi-judicial body under the board of supervisors.
Los Angeles County Internal Services Department: responsible for the general operations of county government, including Information Technology Service, Data Center management, County Cyber security, fleet management, energy and environmental services, building management, contracting and procuring, etc.
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder / County Clerk: responsible for voter registration and elections with the county, birth; death; and marriage records, recording of legal documents and fictitious business filings, registration of notaries, and issuance of marriage licenses.
Independent
Los Angeles County Auditor-Controller: responsible for allocating collected taxes to the appropriate taxing jurisdictions such as the county, cities, schools and special districts within the county, receipts, and financial reporting.[11] The Auditor-Controller is appointed by the board of supervisors.[11]
Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services: administers foster care
Community Development Commission of the County of Los Angeles[12] serves as the County's housing authority as well as the housing and community and economic development agency with wide-ranging programs that benefit residents and business owners in unincorporated County areas and in various incorporated cities.
Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs: offers consumers in the county a variety of services including: consumer and real estate counseling, mediation, and small claims counseling. The department also investigates consumer complains, real estate fraud, and identity theft issues.
Los Angeles County Mechanical Department: Responsible for maintenance, repairs, and security for all County-owned buildings, and well as fleet services for county vehicles. Merged into the Los Angeles County Internal Services Department
Los Angeles County Marshal's Department: Responsible for courthouse security, bailiff services, and civil process services to the Municipal Court system. Merged into the Sheriff's Department when the Municipal and Superior Court systems were amalgamated.
Los Angeles County Department of Charities: responsible for operating the county hospitals, poor farm, and welfare system. Split into the Department of Hospitals and Department of Public Social Services in 1966.
Los Angeles County Department of Health: responsible for public health throughout the county; merged in 1971 with the Los Angeles County Department of Hospitals to form the Department of Health Services.
Los Angeles County Department of Hospitals: operated the county hospitals; merged with the Los Angeles County Health Department to form the Department of Health Services in 1971.
Los Angeles County Roads Department: responsible for constructing and maintaining roads in unincorporated areas, merged into the Public Works Department in 1985
Los Angeles County Engineer: responsible for building safety and regulation. Merged into the Public Works Department in 1985
Los Angeles County Flood Control District: quasi-independent agency responsible for flood control channel and dam construction. Merged into the Public Works Department in 1985.
The Chief Executive Officer as of September 1, 2020 is:
Fesia Davenport
Law
The Los Angeles County Code is the codified law of the County in the form of ordinances passed by the board of supervisors. Every act prohibited or declared unlawful and every failure to perform an act required by the ordinances is a misdemeanor, unless otherwise specified as an infraction.[18]
Budget
As of 2020, the Board of Supervisors oversees a $35.5billion annual budget and over 112,000 employees.[19]
The Los Angeles Superior Court, which covers the entire county, is not a County department but a division of the State's trial court system. Historically, the courthouses were county-owned buildings that were maintained at county expense, which created significant friction since the trial court judges, as officials of the state government, had to lobby the county board of supervisors for facility renovations and upgrades. In turn, the state judiciary successfully persuaded the state Legislature to authorize the transfer of all courthouses to the state government in 2008 and 2009 (so that judges would have direct control over their own courthouses). Courthouse security is still provided by the county government under a contract with the state.
1 2 "Auditor-Controller". California State Association of Counties. Retrieved July 27, 2013. In 54 of the 58 counties, the Auditor-Controller is an independent, nonpartisan elected office established to provide various accounting and property tax administration services to the county government, special districts, schools, and cities. These four counties have appointed officers: 1) San Francisco, Controller appointed for eight years; 2) Santa Clara, appointed Director of Finance; 3) Los Angeles, appointed Auditor-Controller; and 4) San Diego, appointed Auditor and Controller. The Auditor-Controller is the chief accounting officer of the county responsible for budget control, disbursements and receipts, and financial reporting. In addition, this office is responsible for audits of certain agencies within the county. Also, the position may be combined with the treasurer-tax collector position, with the title Director of Finance, and/or county recorder, or even the county clerk.
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The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States.
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