Page 9 - 2022-23 Blue Book Vol 1

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, street improvements, and homeless-related expenditures.

II. THE PRESENTATION OF DEPARTMENT BUDGETS

SUMMARY OF FUNDING AND STAFFING

The first page of each department’s material summarizes its 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. The Changes Applicable to Various Programs
section shows budgetary changes that are department-wide or affect multiple programs.

CHANGES APPLICABLE TO SINGLE PROGRAMS

Subsequent to the Changes Applicable to Various Programs section are individual single program pages.
At the top of the first page of each program is the program title, the Priority Outcome with which the program
best aligns, and a summary description of the services provided within the 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.

The first item for each single program is the Apportionment of Changes Applicable to Various Programs.
This item reflects the portion of changes in funding and position authority that were made in the Changes
Applicable to Various Programs section that are applicable to the single budgetary program.