The Los Angeles Building and Safety Department used financial “tricks and games” to boost its budget and may have systematically overcharged developers for permits and other services, City Controller Laura Chick said Thursday in a second stinging audit of the agency, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
In a sharply worded rebuke of how the agency manages its $68 million budget, Chick said the way fees are calculated is among the questionable financial practices. She also criticized the agency for continuing to impose a fee to pay for an automated system that was completed nearly a decade ago.
