(a) There is created and established in the Treasury of the City of Los Angeles a trust fund to be known as the "Department of Transportation Expedited Fee Trust Fund" (Fund).
(b) The purpose of the Fund shall be the receipt, retention and disbursement of funds received by the Department of Transportation (the Department) from public utilities to offset expenses for additional human and physical resources necessary to expedite the technical study, traffic study review or plan review process for projects submitted by applicants contributing to the Fund. The Fund may also be used for the receipt, retention and disbursement of funds received by the Department from grants or special funds to expedite the administration of technical studies, review of traffic studies or review of plans for projects proposed by City departments.
(c) In no instance shall work mentioned in Subsection (b), above, serve to impede or delay the processing of project applications not provided for pursuant to this section.
(d) The Fund shall be administered by the General Manager of the Department of Transportation or their designee (General Manager) in accordance with established City practices for necessary staffing, expenses and equipment for the purposes of the Fund as set forth in Subsection (b), above, including, but not limited to: wages, including, where applicable, overtime, retirement contributions, compensated time off and other benefits, bureau/divisional overhead, departmental overhead and general City overhead, and the direct costs of necessary materials and equipment. The Fund may also be used by the department to repay cash advances received from any other fund established by the City, including the General Fund, for any of the purposes mentioned in Subsection (b), above.
(e) The Department shall maintain appropriate accounting records of the actual cost of the processing services rendered pursuant to the Fund.
(f) The General Manager shall inform the Controller of any special condition or restriction imposed upon any monies accepted for deposit in the Fund. The Controller shall establish a separate account in the Fund for each specific use. No money shall be expended from the Fund except in compliance with the provisions of the program for which it was accepted. Any request for an expenditure of money from the Fund or any of its separate accounts shall be accompanied by sufficient information for the Controller to determine that the proposed expenditure is consistent with the specific use for which the Fund or the separate account was established.
(g) The General Manager is authorized to establish appropriate procedures, including creating an Expedited Plan Review Division of the Department, to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
(h) Monies not expended from the Fund at the close of any fiscal year shall not revert to the Reserve Fund, but shall remain in the Fund.
(i) All interest and other earnings attributable to monies in the Fund or to any of the separate accounts within the Fund shall be credited to the Fund or to the account to which it is attributable and shall be devoted to the purposes of the Fund.
(j) The General Manager shall report to the City Council and the Mayor regarding and identifying all receipts into, and all expenditures out of, the Fund, as well as the purpose for which the expenditures were made. Each report shall cover a fiscal year and shall be submitted within 90 days after the close of that fiscal year.
(k) This ordinance establishing Article 13.10, Section 5.111.20 of Chapter 5 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code shall be called: "Department of Transportation Expedited Fee Trust Fund" related to fees paid to the Department of Transportation for the review or administration of technical studies, traffic study review, plan review, condition clearance and permit issuance activities related to obtaining any environmental clearance for public utilities projects within the City of Los Angeles.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 183,958, Eff. 12-28-15.