Page 9 - FY 2020-21 Blue Book Volume I

THE BLUE BOOK

I. OVERVIEW

This supporting document – the “Blue Book”- describes the Mayor’s proposed changes to the adopted budget
for the ensuing fiscal year. The Blue Book supplements the budget document which presents financial
information by line item. The Blue Book describes budgetary changes by program within each department.
These changes are further subdivided into major categories.

The Blue Book is comprised of three sections as follows:

 Section 1 presents changes in appropriations for budgets controlled by the Mayor and Council, such
as the Police, Fire, and Transportation departments. Changes are shown for each program and each
department. In addition, this section summarizes contractual services and authorized position counts
for each department.

 Section 2 presents changes in appropriations for budgets of departments having control of their own
funds and depending upon the General Fund for some of their operating funds, such as the Library
and Recreation and Parks departments.

 Section 3 presents changes in appropriations for selected non-departmental funds as well as
provides supplemental schedules that summarize the funding provided for items such as alteration
and improvement projects, the City’s Pavement Preservation Plan, and the Sidewalk Repair Program.

II. THE PRESENTATION OF DEPARTMENT BUDGETS

SUMMARY OF FUNDING AND STAFFING

The first page of each department’s material summarizes their historical level of funding and staffing,
significant financial and position changes from the current year’s adopted budget to the ensuing year’s
proposed budget, distribution of funding by program, and main budget items.

RECAPITULATION OF CHANGES BY ACCOUNT AND FUNDING SOURCE

This page provides a summary of changes in appropriation by budgetary account and funding source. A
detailed explanation of the changes appears on the following pages.

CHANGES APPLICABLE TO VARIOUS PROGRAMS

Budgetary programs are subsets of department budgets within which the department provides services.
Often budgetary programs align with the department’s organizational chart, with department sections or
divisions summarized within programs. Some smaller departments may only have one budgetary program,
while larger departments can have ten or more programs. Budgetary changes that are department-wide or
affect multiple programs are shown in the Changes Applicable to Various Programs section.

CHANGES APPLICABLE TO SINGLE PROGRAMS

Subsequent to the Changes Applicable to Various Programs section are individual single program pages.
The program title, the Priority Outcome with which the program best aligns, and a summary description of
the services provided within the program are shown at the top of the first page of each program.
Performance metrics are also provided for most department programs. While not exhaustive, these metrics
are representative indicators of progress towards Priority Outcomes. Additional information on the City's
performance metrics can be found at http://data.lacity.org. As many of the reductions included in the
2020-21 Proposed budget were added late in the budget process, after the onset of the City's Safer at
Home order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, City departments may not be able to achieve the
2020-21 projected outcomes for all of their metrics.