The Fire Department, as a Special District, is funded independently of the County of Los Angeles General Fund, and must operate within its available funding. Given this, the Department relies on multi-year fiscal planning to ensure adequate funding to sustain all current emergency and support services. The Department’s strategic plan also incorporates budgetary accountability, prudent fiscal management, and efficient business processes, which allow the Department to continually provide essential levels of life safety and fire protection services to the residents of Los Angeles County.

The Financial Management Division, as part of the Administrative Services Bureau, provides the fiscal oversight, planning and management of the Department’s multi-million-dollar budget. The Division plays a key role in ensuring the Department’s fiscal stability and maintaining the integrity of financial reporting and accuracy to safeguard the public’s trust in the Department. Its team of professional and technical staff is involved in the day-to-day budget and fiscal operations of the Department.

One of its two sections is the Accounting Services Section, which is divided into two units: Expenditure Management and Revenue Management. The Expenditure Management Unit is responsible for paying over 40,000 invoices from over 3,000 vendors and other agencies. Payments are made for a variety of supplies, equipment and services, ranging from general stationery supplies to state-of-the-art fire apparatus and photocopy machine leases to rental payments to Quebec, Canada for seasonal use of their SuperScooper aircraft. Routine duties also include processing petty cash vouchers, travel, training and other employee reimbursement requests.

In addition, unit staff compiles and prepares payments related to state and federal grants and processes various types of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) claims to recover personnel and equipment costs responding to disasters, such as Hurricane Frances, 1992 Los Angeles City Riots, 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing, 2003 Southern California Firestorms, 2005 Winter Storms, the South Asia Tsunami Disaster, and most recently Hurricane Katrina.

The Revenue Management Unit is responsible for the billing, collection, reconciliation, and reporting of all revenue and fees for various services provided by the Department. In addition to its core fire suppression and rescue services, the Department also serves the public in areas related to hazardous waste and materials inspection and response, the Junior Ocean Lifeguard Program, brush clearance and vegetative management programs, plan checks and the Fire Safety Officer reviews — all of which are related to various fees utilized by Revenue Management staff. The unit generates over 30,000 invoices and manages over $217 million in revenue the Department receives each year, in addition to property taxes. This revenue collection plays a vital part in the Department’s overall operations.

The second FMD Section is the Budget Services Section. This seven-employee section recommends, develops, and monitors the Fire Department’s operating budget, consisting of major expenditure items, such as salaries and employee benefits, services and supplies, and fixed assets, totaling over $770.6 million for the 2005-06 fiscal year. Special and other funds in excess of $60 million, such as the capital projects, developer fees, and helicopter replacement funds are also prepared and monitored by this staff.

The Budget Services Section is also tasked with ensuring that the Department operates within the Board-approved budget. This is accomplished by working with other bureaus to determine budgetary needs and developing alternative solutions to meet their changing priorities. Action plans are defined to accomplish specific goals, whether it is a one-time or a multi-year plan, given our existing and projected fiscal condition and resources. In addition, Budget staff conducts periodic estimates and multi-year fiscal forecast reports, which are used by the Department’s executive staff as a planning tool for budget and fiscal matters. The Budget Services Section is also responsible for developing various rates which are used in billings to other agencies for services provided by the Department, such as our 11 fee-for-service cities for fire suppression and rescue services, and the California Department of Forestry and the USFS Angeles National Forest for assistance-by-hire responses.

The Financial Management Division plays a vital role in supporting the Department’s mission and assisting the Department in all financial matters.