(a) There is hereby created and established within the Treasury of the City of Los Angeles a special fund to be known as the “Animal Welfare Trust Fund,” hereinafter referred to in this article as the “Fund.”
(b) The Fund shall be used to augment established programs and activities of the Department of Animal Services, other than those involving pet sterilization, and may be used for the acquisition, construction and maintenance of land and capital improvements and the purchase of equipment, services or furnishings in support of such programs and activities, subject to any special terms or conditions attached to individual gifts, contributions or bequests to the City.
(1) New Programs. The Fund may also be used to establish or augment new programs established by the Department, other than those involving pet sterilization, including, but not limited to, the full or partial payment of adoption, microchip and/or redemption fees in connection with specified adoption events or programs for low income persons.
(2) New Programs – approval. Use of the Fund to establish or augment new programs require prior City Council approval by resolution; may only be funded through gifts, contributions or bequests to the Fund received after May 1, 2018, or after the effective date of this subdivision, whichever is later; and must comply with any special terms or conditions attached to individual gifts, contributions or bequests to the City.
(c) Monetary gifts, contributions or bequests to the City, to the Department of Animal Services, to a division or operation thereof or to the General Manager thereof for the acquisition, construction and maintenance of land and capital improvements, to establish or augment new programs approved by the City Council, or for the purchase of equipment, services or furnishings in support of the programs and activities of the Department of Animal Services, other than those involving pet sterilization, which exceed in value the sum of $25,000, shall be submitted to the City Council for acceptance or rejection. Such monetary gifts, contributions or bequests, the value of which is $25,000 or less, may be accepted or rejected for the City by the General Manager of the Department of Animal Services.
(d) All monetary gifts, contributions or bequests accepted by the City Council or by the General Manager of the Department of Animal Services for the purposes set forth in this article shall be placed in the Fund.
(e) The General Manager of the Department of Animal Services shall inform the Controller of any special terms or conditions placed upon the use of all moneys accepted for deposit in the Fund. The Controller shall establish a separate account within the Fund for each accepted monetary gift, contribution or bequest which includes any such special term or condition. No money shall be expended from the Fund except in compliance with each special term or condition under which such money was accepted. Any request by the General Manager of the Department of Animal Services for an expenditure of money accepted with any special term or condition placed upon its use shall be accompanied by sufficient information for the Controller to determine that the proposed expenditure of said money does not violate such special term or condition.
(f) All other monetary gifts, contributions or bequests which are accepted without special terms or conditions upon their use shall be placed in a general account in the Fund established by the Controller for such purpose.
(g) The Fund shall be administered and expenditures therefrom may be authorized by the General Manager of the Department of Animal Services in accordance with established City practice, provided, however, that no expenditure shall be made from the Fund for any purpose which is contrary to the budget policy of the Department of Animal Services as established by the Mayor and City Council.
(h) The General Manager of the Department of Animal Services shall report to the City Council regarding and identifying all receipts into, and all expenditures out of, the Fund, as well as the purposes for which the expenditures were made. Each report shall cover the most recent six-month period of time which commenced on April 1 or October 1 and shall be submitted within 15 days after the close of said period.
(i) All interest and other earnings from moneys placed in the Fund shall be credited to each account in the Fund to which they are attributable and shall be devoted to the purposes thereof.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 162,039, Eff. 4-5-87.
Amended by: Subsec. (i) added, Ord. No. 164,471, Eff. 3-26-89; “Department of Animal Regulation” renamed “Department of Animal Services,” Ord. No. 174,661, Eff. 8-9-02; Subsec. (c), Ord. No. 176,520, Eff. 4-19-05; Subsecs. (b)(1) and (b)(2) added and Subsec. (c) amended, Ord. No. 185,617, Eff. 7-30-18.